Award-winning charity Sport Aberdeen is pleased to announce it has sealed a renewed partnership agreement with sportscotland, the national agency for sport, as it continues to strengthen its work with children and young people across the city.

The agreement, which will bring over £1.6 million of funding into the city over four years, will enable Sport Aberdeen to continue to support the delivery of local sport and physical activity provision through the hugely successful Active Schools and Community Sports Hubs programmes.

Both initiatives help Sport Aberdeen to deliver against key outcomes in Aberdeen’s Local Output Improvement Plan for children and young people and support the whole community to be more active.

Over the last four years, Active Schools Coordinators have supported significant positive change in engagement from school children. Participant sessions have risen by 54 per cent to over 278,000 a year, while the number of secondary pupils now holding sports coaching and sports leadership qualifications has gone up by 40 per cent.

The number of schools which now have active links to sports clubs has risen by a staggering 154 per cent, which highlights the significance of partnership working, and the positive impact it is having on school and community sport interaction.

Sport Aberdeen currently supports five Community Sports Hubs across the city which work with 24 sports clubs. The aim is to increase the number of people participating in sport within local communities by improving access to sport and supporting local sports clubs to work together as part of a hub.

Over the last year Community Sports Hubs facilitated by Sport Aberdeen have seen an astounding rise in participation, from 1,500 to 5,500 (267%), and a 110 per cent increase in the number of active coaches.

Alistair Robertson, Sport Aberdeen Managing Director, said:

“We are delighted to announce this new four-year agreement with sportscotland, which builds further on our strategic partnership spanning over a decade.

“This further investment by sportscotland is testament to Sport Aberdeen’s commitment to creating opportunities, inspiring people and changing lives through sport and physical activity. The Active Schools programme has had a hugely positive impact on participation rates of children and young people in extracurricular sport in schools over a number of years, whilst Community Sports Hubs have been instrumental in supporting local sports clubs to develop and positively impact on their communities.

“We look forward to continuing our work with sportscotland in Aberdeen and further strengthening our relationship through this latest agreement.”

sportscotland Chief Executive, Stewart Harris said:

“We are delighted to continue our partnership with Sport Aberdeen and Aberdeen City Council to support the delivery of sport and physical activity across the city.

“We want to help the people of Scotland to get the most from the sporting system and by working with our partners we can maximise our resources, creating a greater impact and ultimately making sport more accessible.

“Sport has a key part to play in a thriving Scotland and through initiatives like Active Schools, Community Sport Hubs, and wider investment directly into clubs and facilities, we can play our part in creating strong communities with sport at their heart.”