Glasgow sporting excellence school could close

BBC News

24-02-2025

A Glasgow school dedicated to sporting excellence could close and be replaced by a bursary scheme due to difficulty securing financial support.The future of Glasgow School of Sport, based at Bellahouston Academy, will be decided on Thursday at a meeting of the local authority's city administration committee.A report regarding the school, run by the city council and Glasgow Life, suggests a "transition" period for pupils would conclude by June 2026, after other local authorities and the Scottish government said they could not provide funding. Parents of pupils at the school told BBC Scotland News the closure would be a "huge loss" for young athletes.
Glasgow Life told BBC Scotland News the school's future was uncertain due to the question of whether it offered "the appropriate model" for young athletes.
However a parent at the school told the BBC she had only found out about the decision online.She said: "A closure of this is a huge loss to pupils on a sports and academic level, leaving them with fewer national qualifications and no training facility, coaching or funding for their remaining years at Bellahouston Academy." The school opened in 1999 and the 65 pupils who attend it specialise in one of five sports - athletics, badminton, gymnastics, hockey, and swimming - with dedicated sports coaching taking place alongside regular academic classes.Former pupils at the school include swimmer Michael Jamieson, an Olympic and Commonwealth Games silver medallist, and badminton player Kirsty Gilmour.
A freeze on new pupils was introduced in 2024, due to the city council and Glasgow Life seeking funding support for the school. A report by Bailie Annette Christie, the city convener for culture, sport and international relations, states that although 62% of the school's pupils come from outside Glasgow, "both the Scottish government and local authorities indicated they were not able to provide financial support."As a result, the report found "this equates to Glasgow spending circa £380k on the education of non-Glasgow pupils each school session."
Bursary plan
The report adds that other organisations - including sportscotland, the Scottish Institute of Sport and various national governing bodies - were contacted regarding assistance.It states: "None of these organisations are able to financially support the GSOS, with their focus being on their performance and excellence programmes."Pupils would continue to study at Bellahouston for the next two years, with "pupil athlete plans" in place for that time.The affected students could then continue their education at the school beyond 2026, while their sporting efforts would shift to "excellence programmes" delivered by the governing bodies of each sport.A new sports bursary would then launch in June 2026, coming in the same year as the Commonwealth Games takes place in Glasgow.A spokesperson for Glasgow Life said: "The current School of Sport model was introduced more than 25 years ago and was designed to meet the needs of pupils from across Scotland at the time. "Since then, national funding for governing bodies of sport has improved the support they offer prospective athletes considerably, offering multiple pathways to elite sports competition. "In considering whether Glasgow School of Sport offers the appropriate model in the wider national context, we have also proposed a new way to support young athletes from Glasgow to achieve their full potential."