London Sports Scholarships for Barking and Dagenham Schools, Newham

New funds are available to schools in the district to support them in opening their sports facilities to young people outside of school hours.

London Sport gives grants to schools in parts of the capital to help more children discover and maintain active lifestyles.

All schools can apply for funding up to £ 10,000, but state secondary schools in Barking and Dagenham and Newham are among the eight priority counties.

London Sport will then work with schools, activity providers and national governing bodies to improve access to high quality and varied physical activity that meets student needs.

Project Manager Molly Adkin said, “This is an excellent opportunity for London schools to receive support and funding to help them make better use of their current facilities.

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“If your school wants to create more activity opportunities for young people and communities who really need it, this is the fund for you.

“Schools that were part of the original pilot last year found this to be a great way to start a new project that will generate sustainable income that will benefit the entire school.

“Participants in the pilot also found that their school is now at the heart of their local community, with students and their families regularly accessing the site after hours.”

The Riddlesdown Collegiate in Croydon and Capital City Academy in Brent said their students benefited from it during the pilot phase.

Riddlesdown Sports Director Paul Langan said, “Funding from London Sport has enabled Riddlesdown to connect with new sports clubs that have expanded our after-school program and improved the use of our facilities.

“It’s just getting started, but the impact has been positive and we look forward to further developing this.”

Capital City Academy’s Sporting Director Jacqui McDonnell added, “This funding has given us the opportunity to reopen our facilities to the community while helping local people feel safe.”

Visit londonsport.org/our-work/children-young-people/opening-school-facilities to learn more about the application criteria and how to apply for funding.