Portree Primary School, has become the first school in the Highlands to receive the sportscotland, Gold School Sport Award. This prestigious national award recognises achievement and innovation in delivering physical education and extra-curricular sport.
The School Sport Award is a national initiative that is designed to encourage schools to continuously improve the quality and quantity of physical education and school sport opportunities. They also encourage the sporting links between schools and the communities around them.
There are currently 82 Gold Schools, 181 Silver and 65 Bronze across Scotland.
The Active Schools programme has played a key role in ensuring that the Children of Portree Primary School have access to a breadth of extra-curricular physical education activities as well as leadership opportunities.
Sarah Ross, Active Schools Co-ordinator for Portree said:
“Portree Primary School’s achievement in being awarded the first Sport Scotland Gold School sports award in the Highland Council area is richly deserved.
It is an honour which is a tribute to the staff, pupils and parent volunteers all pulling in one direction as a part of a team, with the school’s sporting ethos and ambitions driven by the head teacher John Finlayson. During his tenure Mr Finlayson’s enthusiasm for a range of sports and ensuring that all his pupils have the opportunities to participate in different activities has undoubtedly helped in securing national recognition. But it could not be done without the great support of Portree parent-volunteers and staff members giving up their time to deliver a number of afterschool activities covering all age groups.
Portree Active Schools has supported the band of volunteers by organising several coaching courses so they can achieve National sporting governing body awards, which then ensures that sessions are then delivered to a high standard. Within the school programme Active Schools has worked with the Primary 5, 6 and 7 pupils at Portree and helped develop them as Young Leaders through the High Life Highland Leadership programme so they can deliver lunch time activities and games for their younger classmates within the school. That has helped put the pupils themselves at the forefront of planning and running activities and given them responsibility at a young age which they have thrived on.”
