01 November 2017

Gordon Schools given gold status

An Aberdeenshire school is hosting a special event to acknowledge being recognised in a national sports award for innovation and achievement in delivering PE and extra-curricular sport.

The Gordon Schools in Huntly will receive sportscotland’s sought after gold status School Sports Award from Ian McGregor, the national agency for sport’s Partnership Manager at a special assembly.

Two other schools in Aberdeenshire have been awarded gold status: Ellon Academy Community Campus and Meldrum Academy. Aboyne Academy, Barthol Chapel Primary School, Elrick Primary School, Lairhillock Primary School, Markethill School, Mearns Academy, Midmar Primary School, Skene Primary School and Westhill Academy all received silver status. Crombie School has achieved bronze status.

Aberdeenshire Council’s Education and Children’s Services Chair, Cllr Gillian Owen, said: “Congratulations to The Gordon Schools and all other schools across Aberdeenshire who received awards from sportscotland. These awards are highly prestigious and demonstrate that PE and extra-curricular activity is innovative and of a good standard.”

Cllr Mark Findlater, Committee Vice Chair, said: “PE and extra-curricular sport plays such an important part in keeping young people across Aberdeenshire fit and healthy so it is wonderful news that our schools and after school sports clubs are being honoured with this national award. I would like to pass on my appreciation for all those involved who have achieved this success.”

Stewart Harris, Chief Executive of sportscotland, said: “Congratulations to all the staff and pupils at The Gordon Schools in Huntly – 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 the 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 being 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.”

With more applications than ever before, there are currently 212 sportscotland Gold School Sport Award schools – 336 schools have been awarded silver and 84 with bronze.

To achieve a Bronze or Silver sportscotland School Sports 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.

The on-line self-assessment tool supports schools to achieve this by helping them to reflect on their current practice and identify areas for improvement. It also puts young people in the school at the forefront of the decision making and implementation processes around the school.

For more information, please visit https://sportscotland.org.uk/schools/school-sport-award/.