Boston Spa Academy is delighted to have achieved the Gold School Games Mark for 2024/25, recognising our commitment to delivering high-quality, inclusive sport and physical activity for all students. Validated by the Sport Industry Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University, the award celebrates the academy’s strong culture of participation, equality, and wellbeing. The report commended our extensive extracurricular programme, which offers a wide range of clubs every day, during and after school, including football, rowing, karate, volleyball, netball, and table tennis, alongside our GORSE Gets Healthy initiative promoting 60 active minutes a day. Our focus on inclusion ensures all students — including the least active — have opportunities to participate through targeted support, pupil voice, and initiatives like late buses and new enrichment clubs. The academy’s Student Leaders and GORSE Gets Healthy Ambassadors play a key role in leading activities, supporting events, and inspiring younger pupils, while staff continue to develop their expertise through high-quality CPD.

This year has also been one of outstanding sporting success, with our Year 9 and Year 10 Boys Football Teams crowned City Champions, our Sixth Form Boys finishing as both City and County Cup Runners-Up, and our Cricket Team winning the Yorkshire Cup. We also celebrated strong performances across other disciplines, including Runners-Up at the GORSE Games, Regional Runners-Up and National Finalists in Squash, and our KS3 Panathlon Team achieving Regional Winners and National Finalist status. With numerous young people competing in local, intra-, and inter-school competitions throughout the year, we are extremely proud of our students for their dedication, teamwork, and sportsmanship — as well as the young volunteers, leaders, and officials who made our fixtures and events possible.

We would like to extend a huge thank you to all members of staff who dedicate their time and enthusiasm to our Enrichment++ programme, whose support makes such a diverse and engaging offer possible. This award and our sporting achievements reflect the dedication of our students, staff, and community partners in embedding physical literacy, wellbeing, and a love of sport across school life — a fantastic accomplishment for the entire Boston Spa Academy community.