A Bacup secondary school has been recognised for its outstanding sporting provision by achieving a top award. 

Pupils of all ages and abilities at The Valley Leadership Academy have been pursuing their passion for sport by participating in inter-school competitions across Rossendale and beyond as part of the school’s efforts to earn the School Games Mark Gold Award.

Founded in 2012, the School Games Mark is a government-led scheme facilitated by the Youth Sport Trust that rewards schools for their commitment to engaging in and developing sporting competitions in their school and throughout the local community.

Valley Leadership Academy in Bacup has been awarded the School Games Mark Gold Award for 2023-24Valley Leadership Academy in Bacup has been awarded the School Games Mark Gold Award for 2023-24 (Image: Valley Leadership Academy)

Tournaments in football, rugby, netball, and badminton have all been on the sporting schedule for pupils over the past year and the calendar of competitions was rounded out in style with the Star Athletics Competition and Star Football Tournament.

To achieve the gold award, particular emphasis was placed on PAN (Panathlon) competitions, which are suitable for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) – such as PAN ten-pin bowling and PAN sports hall athletics.

Many of the competitions would not have been possible without the school’s sports leaders, pupils who volunteer to contribute to the running and organisation of sporting events throughout the year.

The school previously earned the bronze award for 2022-23The school previously earned the bronze award for 2022-23 (Image: Valley Leadership Academy)

Beyond the variety of inter-school competitions on offer, pupils also take part in a range of enrichment activities aimed at promoting physical activity and healthy lifestyles thanks to funding from the ‘Opening Schools Facilities’ initiative. These include sessions in judo, kickboxing, yoga, dance and even hula hooping, all of which are delivered by specialist coaches.

The Valley Leadership Academy had previously earned the School Games Mark Bronze Award for the 2022-23 academic year and both pupils and school staff were determined to achieve the Gold Award 12 months later, which they succeeded in doing after satisfying a stringent criteria in the areas of participation, competition, workforce and clubs.