Oxgang Primary School in Kirkintilloch has been recognised with a prestigious national award for innovation and achievement in delivering school sport. Staff and pupils recently received the sportscotland Gold School Sport Award.
Oxgang Primary School is among 284 schools awarded gold status across the country, a record number and a jump of over a third from 2016/2017. As part of the National Lottery funded programme, the sportscotland School Sport Award is a national initiative that is designed to encourage schools to continuously improve sport. The award also encourages sporting links between schools and the communities around them.
Education Convener, Councillor Jim Goodall, congratulated the school on its achievement, saying, "Being awarded Gold status is a huge achievement for Oxgang Primary School and they should be very proud that all their hard work has paid off. Pupils and staff have worked very hard to put exercise and healthy living at the forefront of their activities. With the support of the Active Schools Team and parents, they have been able to achieve this prestigious award. Well done to everyone at the school."
Stewart Harris, Chief Executive of sportscotland, added, “Congratulations to all the staff and pupils at Oxgang Primary. They should be extremely proud of this fantastic achievement. Not only have they put physical education and sport at the heart of their school and local community, but they have managed to do so in a way that encourages all pupils to engage in physical activity whilst having fun at the same time.
"Sportscotland is committed to building a world-class sporting system for everyone, and a crucial part of that is putting young people at the heart. Working with our partners in local authorities and governing bodies of sport, we are creating closer links between physical education, school sport and club sport, which benefits young people by providing more and better opportunities to take part in sport.”
There are currently 284 sportscotland Gold School Sport Award schools, 307 schools have been awarded Silver and 82 with Bronze. To achieve a Bronze or Silver sportscotland School Sport Award, schools self-assess their current practice. However, to gain Gold status an extensive external assessment is also carried out by an independent panel of experts.
Hannah Young, Acting Head Teacher at Oxgang Primary School said,
“We are delighted to be awarded the sportscotland Gold School Sport Award. We know how important physical activity and sport is to children and the health and wellbeing curriculum is at the heart of everything we do at Oxgang. We strive to provide a range of clubs and activities for every pupil, working with staff, parents, volunteers and local clubs to deliver this. This award is a real team effort but particular thanks goes to the pupils on our sports committee who shared feedback from their classes and helped plan and improve our PE lessons as well as the clubs we offer.
"I would also like to highlight the work of our Active Schools Team who support us to plan our extra curricular clubs, and to our P4 class teacher who collated all the evidence we submitted as part of the inspection process.”
The sportscotland School Sport Award is supported by the Active Schools Network, a programme that involves sportscotland working in partnership with all 32 local authorities to encourage schools to ensure there are opportunities for all children and young people to engage, participate and reach their potential in this area.
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