Oaklands secure silver for commitment to Sport

Oaklands College has been successful in securing a silver School Games Mark in recognition of its commitment to the development of competition across the College and within the local community.

The accolade tops last year’s bronze in the Government led awards scheme, which was launched in 2012 to reward schools and FE colleges for their outstanding commitment to sport.  All schools and Colleges in the UK face a summer assessment, with the best meeting standards in bronze, silver and gold.

The mark is awarded retrospectively, with marking take place in the summer for the current academic year, 2016/17. Suitability for each level of award is judged by participation and uptake figures, the range of sporting opportunities available, leadership opportunities for students and the College’s link to local sporting clubs in the area. 

Here at Oaklands, engagement in sport is led through two main schemes, Active Oaklands with delivers a range of Enrichment sport activities and wider College support of the School World Games, bringing school children from the local area together to complete in activities using the on-site sporting facilities usually enjoyed by full-time students.

Sports Game Organiser Tanya Argus said: “To get Silver is fantastic recognition for the hard work we have put into at Oaklands College to not only offer a wider range of sporting activities and enrichment, but also encourage our students to take consistent and active involvement in sport.

“Beyond the physical, the wider social benefits make sport a great way for young people to interact, engage and develop their personal confidence. To go from bronze to silver is great but we’ve now got our sights on gold!”