Bridge Academy – Developing life skills through sports
How SportInspired’s Young Leaders Programme helped Bridge Academy expand its range of extracurricular activities, enabling students to develop critical life skills, discover new passions, and grow into confident individuals.
The Challenge
Bridge Academy in East London is on a mission to ensure that every student can succeed at a good university or equivalent, thrive in their chosen field and live a great life. To achieve this, one of the Academy’s goals is to prepare its students for the world of work and academia by broadening their horizons. However, the skills they need to succeed in the real world cannot be acquired in day-to-day lessons alone. Preparing them for life after school requires a blend of academic knowledge AND practical skills, some of which are best learned through direct experience and not solely within the confines of a classroom.-school sports clubs provide, including improved physical health, social skills, and mental well-being.
The Solution
One of the brilliant ways to broaden their students’ perspectives is through SportInspired’s Young Leaders Programme. “We chose to work with SportInspired because we knew they would offer us a great deal of support, including valuable time from their staff to come in and lead the leadership sessions. This is obviously a massive relief for us teachers. Plus, the students benefit hugely from SportInspired’s experts, who consistently spark their curiosity and expand their knowledge beyond the textbook”, says PE teacher Dan Skipper.
The Results
students completed their Level 1 or 2 qualifications in 2024
showed improvements across all emotional and social skills
UBS volunteers attended the festivals
- Bootz, Year 8 Student
The Impact
Helped hundreds of students gain their Level 1 Qualification as Young Leaders.
Inspired one student, who completed the Level 1 and 2 Qualifications, to become the Academy’s head student.
Widened the school’s learning opportunities available to students beyond the standard curriculum
Improved the students’ self-awareness, self-management, and self-belief, leading to positive behavioral changes in school.
“The Festivals are incredible. The sheer number of students around Hackney, the rest of London, and across the whole country that SportInspired is working with [is impressive]. Especially seeing the joy that the children get from taking part in the different activities and the confidence it builds in them. The energy that goes into these festivals and the passion for sport and play that the SportInspired team have is amazing.” –
– Dan Skipper, PE teacher, Bridge Academy
Bridge Academy – Developing life skills through sports
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