Active Schools Aberdeen is celebrating increased results across the board this academic year, with more than 20,000 recorded volunteering hours within local schools, delivering a social return on investment of more than £250,000.

While nationally, volunteer numbers were static, Aberdeen’s increased by 31% to 797, illustrating that 91% of Active Schools activities were delivered by volunteers.

Participation levels also increased by an impressive 16% compared to last year, with 278,089 participant sessions and a 13% increase in female participation recorded in Aberdeen during the academic year 2017/18. This figure compares to 85,421 visits reported back in 2010/11, showing a phenomenal growth of 255%.

Award winning local charity Sport Aberdeen which delivers the Active Schools programme in partnership with sportscotland across Aberdeen, has been delivering opportunities for school pupils to get involved in sport and physical activity for more than a decade.

Commenting on the success, Sport Aberdeen Chairman, Colin Taylor, said:

“It is extremely encouraging and reassures me to know that young people across the city are being exposed to the best possible opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity from a young age.

“Sport Aberdeen is committed to creating opportunities, inspiring people and changing lives and real progress has been made this year in the more deprived areas of the city to close the poverty related attainment gap. This is the perfect example of the positive outcomes that can be achieved through partnership working.

“These results have been achieved through a true team effort from our partnership with the schools and I’d like to thank the volunteers involved, especially the PE teachers and teachers, for their continued commitment and support, because without them the programme couldn’t happen.

“Additionally, I’d like to thank our team of Active School Coordinators and the support received from sportscotland, Aberdeen City Council, schools, colleagues within Sport Aberdeen, parents and of course the children and young people themselves who have all been vital in achieving these results.”

Partnerships have been vital in achieving these results and help to boost the overall impact of Active Schools. Working with partners including RGU, NESCOL, the Wood Foundation and National Governing Bodies, alongside members of the Active Aberdeen Partnership.

Stewart Harris, Chief Executive, sportscotland said:

“It’s really encouraging to see the continued growth in participation in Active Schools activities across the country. The success of Active Schools is the result of strong local partnerships between Active Schools teams, school staff, sports development teams in local authorities, regional managers from the governing bodies, and local sports clubs. By working together with Sport Aberdeen, we can continue to deliver more and better opportunities for young people of all abilities to take part in sport across the city as these latest figures show.

“It is also rewarding to see the impact of programmes like Active Schools on the lives of the young people who take part, increasing their confidence and motivating them to continue an active lifestyle in the future.”

View the 2017/18 city wide Active Schools Annual Review here.