This year’s Games mark a departure from the previous 15 iterations that have seen stars such as Hannah Cockcroft, Max Whitlock and Dina Asher-Smith appear, before going on to star on the world stage.

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 approach is part of a wider strategy to ensure that talent pathways in England are more accessible and inclusive, with the goal of ultimately creating winning England and GB teams which are more representative of the youth population of the country.

The 2024 programme has been designed to create an environment for all young talent to thrive, including a blend of those currently at the top of the junior rankings in their sport alongside peers showing the greatest potential. Underpinning the purpose of this year’s Games is the belief that we need to create more and better opportunities for young people from a wide range of backgrounds to explore and develop their potential. We believe that positive and progressive development experiences at this level will ultimately leading to wider inclusion and deeper engagement in sport.

This year’s event 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.

Between now and the start of the Games on the 29th August, we’ll be profiling some of the sports and their selection policies, which will help to make this Games fit for the future.