Published Date: Feb 6th, 2025
Schools in the Levenmouth cluster have made history as the first in Fife, and only the second in Scotland, to achieve the prestigious SportScotland School Sport Gold Award, with the full cluster achieving gold status. This recognition, awarded by sportscotland, highlights the commitment of local schools to promoting sport and physical activity among young people.
The Levenmouth cluster includes Levenmouth Academy and its associated primary schools: Aberhill, Balcurvie, Buckhaven, Coaltown of Wemyss, Denbeath, East Wemyss, Kennoway, Methilhill, Mountfleurie, and Parkhill. Each of these schools had to individually meet the Gold Award standard, demonstrating their dedication to high-quality sport, physical activity and leadership opportunities.
The journey to gold required each school to submit supporting evidence and an action plan to meet the award’s criteria. While some schools achieved gold status immediately, others worked their way through bronze and silver levels before reaching the top level. The achievement is down to the hard work of both staff and pupils, with each school having a dedicated staff member leading the way and young people playing a key role in gathering evidence. Each school now proudly displays a flag to represent their success.
The Active Schools team played a crucial role in supporting schools throughout the process. Active Schools Young Ambassadors also had a significant impact by promoting participation and encouraging young people to get involved in a range of sporting activities.
Ronan Capon, Active Schools Manager said:‘We are hugely proud of the journey our schools, staff and young people have been on within the Levenmouth Cluster. They have used the School Sport Award to drive improvement in the physical wellbeing opportunities offered to pupils - specifically in promoting sport, physical activity & leadership as a critical area of the school day to improving the life chances of our young people and their overall health & wellbeing. This award signifies the dedication from the cluster to use young people’s voice and effective planning to embed quality provisions for pupils to become and/or remain active now and into adulthood."
To continue building on this success, Active Schools is looking for volunteers to support sports and physical activity opportunities in the Levenmouth Cluster. Whatever your skill, there's a place for you. Volunteers can give as much or as little time as they can, with no set expectation on hours. All volunteers will be PVG checked before enrolment and will receive training and development opportunities. Anyone interested can apply online at https://forms.office.com/e/YdQKppi141 or email Darren Robertson, Active Schools Co-ordinator, at Darren.robertson@fife.gov.uk.
Darren Robertson, Active Schools Co-ordinator for Levenmouth, praised the efforts of all involved:
"Levenmouth Cluster achieving full Gold Award status highlights the passion for sport and physical activity across our schools. While I’ve only been part of Active Schools since June, I’ve witnessed first-hand the dedication and hard work that has gone into this achievement. It’s a testament to the staff, pupils, and the wider community who believe in the value of sport in young people’s lives. Now, we want to keep this momentum going and encourage more people to get involved. Volunteering is a great way to support young people and make a real impact on the community.”
This award highlights Levenmouth’s dedication to school sports and sets a great example for other areas across Scotland.
For more information about the Gold Award visit www.sportscotland.org.uk
