City College Plymouth receives £45,000 to get more students active

Students at City College Plymouth can look forward to better opportunities to get involved in sport thanks to £45,000 of National Lottery investment from Sport England’s Further Education Activation Fund.

The College is one of 62 projects at further education and sixth form colleges across England to benefit from £4 million of funding to help get 59,000 new students playing sport.

The project is aimed at engaging more females in sport and physical activity following extensive research which identified a gap in provision. As a result fewer female students participate on a regular basis, compared to males, a trend which is reflected nationally. The funding will be used to improve existing resources, purchase equipment as well as employing professional coaches and instructors. The money will allow the college to hire external facilities and link with local sports clubs to help bridge the gap between college and community sport.

Kim Eschbaecher, College Sports Maker at the college, said: “This Lottery funding means we can provide specific opportunities which will encourage female students to participate in regular sport and physical activity. Having carried out extensive student consolations earlier this year and listened to the students’ voice we can now offer access to specific coaches in a broad range of female-orientated activities, inspiring them to start and enjoy sport and activity on a regular basis.

“We believe our project will benefit the health and well-being of our students, improving retention, achievement and encouraging lifelong participation in sport and physical activity.”

Further education college students’ play the least sport of young people aged 16 and over who are in education. Sport England’s Active People Survey shows that around 65 per cent of school pupils aged 16 and over do sport at least once a week, compared to 53 per cent of higher education students and 50 per cent of further education students. Sport England’s Further Education Activation Fund aims to boost the number of students taking part in sport by supporting colleges to design and develop projects tailored to the sporting needs of their students.

Sport England Chief Executive, Jennie Price, said: “Our investment in further education and sixth form colleges is vital if we are to get more young people playing sport. By investing in City College Plymouth we’re helping to make sport more accessible, more attractive and more convenient to young people as they move on from school to college.”

Over two rounds of funding, 115 colleges have benefitted from £6.5 million of investment. As well as giving students the chance to play sport, the funding is also enabling a number of colleges to work together more closely, sharing facilities and expertise. It is also supporting the work of the 153 College Sport Makers, recruited through £17 million of investment from Sport England, who help market sports opportunities as well as linking colleges with community sports clubs, running leagues and sports groups and offering coaching for certain sports at their further education college.

To find out about courses available at City College Plymouth, call 01752 305300 or visit www.cityplym.ac.uk.