About the School Games National Finals

The School Games National Finals is a biennial four-day multi-sport event for young athletes of school age and is funded by Sport England National Lottery Funding and backed by all the Home Country Sports Councils and UK Sport.

This year’s Games are the 16th since the inaugural event in Glasgow in 2006 and falling in an Olympic and Paralympic year, we are reminded of the success of the alumni of the Games through the Team GB and Paralympics GB athletes competing in Paris – Hannah Cockroft, Adam Peaty, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Dina Asher-Smith to name a few.

Together the Sport England Talent and Performance team and the Youth Sport Trust, working closely with National Governing Body and system stakeholders have re-shaped the 2024 School Games National Finals programme to ensure that it best contributes to two strategic aims which are important to all those responsible for the sporting ecosystem across the UK:

• Providing positive experiences for children and young people – the Games seeks to lead the way in role modelling how this can be achieved through competitive sport and major events.
• Tackling Inequalities – working with the sports to catalyse novel, contemporary approaches to broaden access to talent pathways for athletes from more diverse backgrounds. Such as adjusting their selection policies and integrating new approaches and methodologies which embed inclusive practice.

This complements the aims of the national School Games programme, funded by Sport England National Lottery, DCMS, and DHSC, which seeks to improve physical literacy and tackle inequalities by embedding youth engagement and providing positive opportunities for competition through intramural sport in school, inter-school competitions and county festivals.

Competitors at this year’s School Games National Finals will include both those currently populating junior national rankings in their sport alongside a broader range of young people who are exhibiting potential and have been identified via non-traditional routes and other partners.

The School Games National Finals has always been used to drive innovation, collaboration, and development in our sporting system. It aims to create an inspirational and developmental environment that provides aspiring athletes with experiences to accelerate their progression alongside promoting inclusion and celebrating diversity, thereby helping to inspire more young people to take part and succeed in sports.

In our theory of change, talent is a tool that leads to inclusion.

The event was established after London won the bid to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and demonstrates the legacy of our home Games. The event has evolved and adapted since its inception in 2006. It was previously named differently as UK School Games. The Games have since been hosted by Glasgow, Coventry, Bristol and Bath, Cardiff, Newport and Swansea, Gateshead, Newcastle and Sunderland, Sheffield, London, Manchester, and Loughborough University.

• 1,000 school-age athletes from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland competed at venues across Loughborough University campus/area, Derby, and Donnington. 
• By the end of the event, 22,900 young athletes have competed at the School Games National Finals since 2006. 
• 265 School Games National Finals alumni represented the Home Nations at Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Alumni have secured 100 medals that include 31 golds, 35 silvers, and 34 bronzes placing them 3rd if they were all to compete as a nation in the medal table. Medallists included Katarina Johnson-Thompson (England), Hannah Cockroft, Adam Peaty, Eilish McColgan, Olivia Breen, and Bethany Firth. 
• 84 of the athletes representing Team GB at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo have competed at the School Games National Finals. Alumni secured 29 medals across 21 events, including 8 golds. Medallists included Adam Peaty, Max Whitlock, Dina Asher Smith, and Alex Yee. 
• 38 of the athletes representing Team GB at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo have competed at the School Games National Finals. Alumni secured 36 medals across 34 events, including 12 golds. Medallists included Hannah Cockroft, Aled Davies, and Lauren Steadman.
• The 2024 School Games National Finals will introduce 3x3 Basketball to the programme as well as offering participants the opportunity to take part in an Obstacle Course Experience event taken from the modern pentathlon.
• There are seven Values that underpin the Games: Determination, Honesty, Self Belief, Teamwork, Passion, Respect and Eco Friendly.