Thursday 28th September 2023

In an exciting development for the student sporting community, Scottish Student Sport (SSS) is thrilled to announce the successful purchase of seven brand-new table tennis tables through its Special Projects Fund.

In an exciting development for the student sporting community, Scottish Student Sport (SSS) is thrilled to announce the successful purchase of seven brand-new table tennis tables through its Special Projects Fund. This initiative is a significant step forward for the organisation and demonstrates a commitment to enhancing the student table tennis experience in Scotland.

Special Projects Funding: A Brief Overview

The Special Projects Fund is a cornerstone of SSS’s mission to support student athletes and foster sustainable sporting initiatives. This fund allocates resources to projects that have a lasting impact on the student sporting community and align with SSS’s core values. Projects eligible for funding can receive up to £5000, enabling them to create a meaningful and sustainable difference.

Seven New Tables: A Game-Changer

The acquisition of seven new table tennis tables marks a milestone for student table tennis in Scotland. These tables boast a consistent design and a key accessibility feature—making them wheelchair-friendly. This inclusivity aspect is a testament to SSS’s commitment to ensuring that sports are accessible to all, regardless of physical abilities.

SSS’s strategic partnership with Table Tennis Scotland played a pivotal role in securing these tables. This collaboration not only facilitated a smoother acquisition process but also resulted in additional discounts, ensuring that the funds were stretched even further to benefit the student sporting community.

These new table tennis tables will find their home at Heriot-Watt University’s Oriam facility. Oriam is rapidly evolving into a hub for racket sports, including table tennis. The addition of these tables will further establish Oriam as a premier destination for athletes across Scotland.

Pictured; Cameron Hussain (TT Scotland), Jess Baillie (SSS), Max Tuma (HWU TT Club)

In October of this year and in the years to come, students from across Scotland will have the opportunity to use these tables to participate in Centralised BUCS League Fixtures. These tables will provide a dedicated and high-quality venue for competitive matches, elevating the student sporting experience in the region.

SSS has ambitious plans to collaborate with Oriam to make it the home of the Scottish Student Table Tennis Championships, hosted annually in February. This move promises to bring Heriot-Watt University into the spotlight during the prestigious Scottish Student Games weekend.

Alisa Khalid, Scottish Student Table Tennis Chair, highlighted the significance of these new tables, stating, “These additional table tennis tables are more than just equipment – they represent the growth and development of student table tennis in Scotland. Their purchase will help provide a dedicated venue for our Centralised BUCS League matches and, we hope, the Scottish Student Table Tennis Championships. They will help Heriot-Watt University’s Table Tennis Club develop too by creating an inviting environment for competitive play – inspiring new students to join the sport for both its social and competitive aspects.”

Richard Yule, CEO of Table Tennis Scotland, expressed his excitement about the development, saying, “We’re absolutely delighted to see seven brand new Table Tennis tables delivered in collaboration between Scottish Student Sport and Table Tennis Scotland. It’s an exciting time for student Table Tennis, and these new tables will provide yet another venue for competitive fixtures and a space to further grow the student community.”

The impact of these tables will be felt for years to come, fostering growth and development in student table tennis while providing a dedicated space for both competitive fixtures and training. As SSS continues to invest in special projects that align with its values, the future of student sports in Scotland looks brighter than ever.

If you’re interested in submitting an application for a Special Project please contact the SSS Business Manager, Julia Stenhouse, at julia@scottishstudentsport.com.

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Monday 5th June 2023

The final SSS Medal Table of the 2022/23 season is here!

The SSS Medal Table is a method for institutions to see how successful their student-athletes have been over the course of the SSS season.

The table includes all events in which SSS medals* have been awarded during the 2022/23 season.

All semester 1 and 2 events which took place have been added.

The table defaults to alphabetical but can be sorted by any of the column headings.

 

SSS Medal Table 2022/23

InstitutionGoldSilverBronzeTotal
Aberdeen University28241769
Abertay University4239
City of Glasgow College4228
Dumfries & Galloway College0011
Dundee University17112452
Edinburgh College1326
Edinburgh Napier University54211
Edinburgh University1049162257
Fife College2439
GCU127827
Glasgow University625763182
Heriot Watt University10151540
NESCol0101
New College Lanarkshire0101
QMU0213
RGU1081533
St Andrews University646247173
Stirling University42302698
Strathclyde University343836108
UHI80210
UWS551020
West College Scotland1001
Z-GUEST29282986

 

Last Updated: June 2023

*Also includes BUCS medals won at Scottish Conference Finals

Compare how your instution got on against the 2021-22 Medal Tracker!

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Wednesday 1st February 2023

Want to know more about Table Tennis before joining a society? Here’s a quick overview of the sport and what SSS has to offer.

Table Tennis Image

Table Tennis is a sport with origins you may not expect. Despite its dominance by Asian competitors, Table Tennis was initially invented in Victorian England. It is derived from Tennis, which had become a nationally beloved sport and had been adapted into a tabletop game. While the game is also known by the name Ping Pong, it is officially known as Table Tennis.

Table Tennis can be played by either two players or two teams of four players. A game is split into three sets with the winner being the first player to win two. To win a set, a player must reach eleven points and be two or more points clear of their opponent.

A point is mainly obtained in one of three ways. Firstly, a player will win a point if they can strike the ball into the opponent’s half and have the ball bounce twice without their opponent being able to return the ball. To win the point, the player must hit their first shot on the table, the edges also count. The second is for an opponent to hit their ball into the net. If a ball clips the net but is still able to reach the opponent’s half of the table, the ball will still be in play. Thirdly, if your opponent is unable to land the ball back onto the table, they will forfeit the point. A server can also lose a point if they don’t hit the ball on their side of the court first during the service, or if the ball is handled incorrectly during the serve. In a doubles match, players must hit the ball consecutively. If a team player hits the ball twice in a row, they will lose the point on behalf of the team.

Despite inventing the game, Great Britain has never won a medal in Table Tennis at the Olympic Games. They competed most recently in the 2020 Olympic Games, where they were represented by Liam Pitchford, Paul Drinkhall and Tin-Tin Ho

Scottish Student Sport holds both a Table Tennis League and the Table Tennis Championships at the Scottish Student Games.

For more information, click this link: https://www.scottishstudentsport.com/sports/table-tennis/

If you’re interested in joining a Table Tennis club, click the following links:

 

Edinburgh College: https://twitter.com/ecsportsunion?lang=en

Heriot-Watt University: https://sportsunion.site.hw.ac.uk/tabletennis/

RGU: https://www.rguunion.co.uk/getinvolved/societies/tabletennis/

University of Aberdeen: https://www.ausa.org.uk/sports/club/tabletennis/

University of Edinburgh: https://www.eusu.ed.ac.uk/organisation/shinty/

University of Glasgow: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/sport/whatson/club/tabletennis/

University of St. Andrews: https://table-tennis.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/

University of Stirling: https://www.stirlingstudentsunion.com/sportsunion/clubs/tabletennis/

University of Strathclyde: https://www.strathunion.com/sports-union/club-sport/club/7844/

UWS: https://www.facebook.com/teamUWSonline/

 

Sports Chair: Edmund Lau – scotstutabletennis@gmail.com

Governing Body: Table Tennis Scotland – https://tabletennisscotland.co.uk/

Follow us at: https://www.instagram.com/scotstutabletennis/?hl=en

 

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Monday 6th June 2022

The final SSS Medal Table of the 2021/22 season is here!

The SSS Medal Table is a method for institutions to see how successful their student-athletes have been over the course of the SSS season.

The table includes all events in which medals have been awarded during the 2021/22 season.

All semester 1 and 2 events which took place have been added.

The table defaults to alphabetical but can be sorted by any of the column headings.

 

SSS Medal Table 2021/22

InstitutionGoldSilverBronzeTotal
Abertay University43
411
Ayrshire College112
Borders College11
City of Glasgow College4217
Edinburgh College224
Edinburgh Napier University4217
Fife College1427
Glasgow Caledonian University96318
Heriot Watt University10111334
Queen Margaret University123
Robert Gordon University510722
Scotland's Rural College112
UHI51410
University of Aberdeen23361978
University of Dundee34212075
University of Edinburgh876652205
University of Glasgow466245153
University of St Andrews714138150
University of Stirling433731111
University of Strathclyde32333398
University of the West of Scotland116623
Z-Guest Entries12111538

 

Total Events: 73 (88% of planned activity)

Last Updated: June 2022

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Wednesday 9th February 2022

After two years of waiting we were able to host the Scottish Student games once again on the first weekend of February.

What a weekend that was! After two years of waiting we were able to host the Scottish Student games once again on the first weekend of February.  Although the format was slightly different, we in the SSS office felt it brilliantly showcased the magic that is Student Sport.

We were absolutely delighted to see so many smiling faces involved in all four sports and the atmosphere really was electric! The event was made possible by the support from our amazing volunteers, judges, officials, partner institutions and of course, our participants, who showed off some incredible talent and sportsmanship despite dealing with all of the challenges a post-COVID event brings.

Without further ado let’s break down some of the action from across the weekend!

We saw fierce competition from across the field that culminated in two thrilling Men’s and Women’s Individual Finals. We had a total of forty five competitors representing seven institutions across Scotland all competing to be crowned Scottish Student Table Tennis Champions.

Mae Ng (University of Edinburgh) went unbeaten throughout the day in both Women’s Singles and Doubles. She first won the doubles alongside fellow Edinburgh teammate, Faye Leggett, against a tough Glasgow duo of Ailsa Khalid and Siqi Li before playing the very same doubles teammate an hour later in a tense singles final, winning  3-2.

Similarly, on the Men’s side, Chongzhi Wang (University of Edinburgh) also kept a spotless record, remaining unbeaten throughout the day. He paired up with John Hannah ( University of Dundee) to win the Men’s Doubles, before playing his former teammate in a tight Singles Semi-Final. Great play was seen from both players, with Chongzhi Wang taking the gold in  a 3-1 win

Overall, the University of Edinburgh dominated the medals table with 38% of all medals available, with the University of Glasgow coming in second with 29% of the share. Full results can be found HERE.

We’d love to extend a huge thanks to the University of Edinburgh and the Edinburgh University Sports Union for hosting us, as well as a massive thank you to the volunteers who helped make the event possible. Without your time and dedication the Table Tennis event couldn’t have operated as successfully as it did!

You can check out the photos in our Facebook album HERE

The Trampoline Championships was a roaring success, with 109 nine students representing 9 institutions from across Scotland. 74 Women and 35 Men took to trampolines across a variety of categories including; DMT, Individual and Syncro – it was certainly an event to be remembered!

A highlight from the day was Murray Findlay (University of St Andrews), who competed in the Pro-Elite Men category, completing an incredible routine with a difficulty of 12.5! Another athlete, Sophie Thomas (University of Glasgow), also had a standout performance. Sophie competed in the Elite Women’s category and caught the attention of competitors and judges by scoring 32.0 for her second routine, with one of the highest execution scores of the day.

Check out the full results HERE!

Everyone at SSS would like to extend a huge thank you to the University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh Sports Union, the judges, and volunteers who made this event possible! We’d also love to extend a thanks to the participants for creating such a lively atmosphere and offering up some excellent competition.

View the pictures from the event HERE.

Swimmers from Stirling, Strathclyde, St Andrews and Dundee competed for podium placings in the fantastic venue of University of Strathclyde, under the expert eyes of Scottish Swimming officials.

All 46 swimmers swam brilliantly, enjoying the return of the competition after 2 years. One of the top highlights from the day came from Albertus Andika Bangun (University of Stirling & Indonesian National Team swimmer) who won the 50m and 100m butterfly events by large margins -a whopping 2.5 and 4.3 seconds, respectively!

Another highlight from Saturday was University of Stirling’s swimmer Zoe MacDonald who achieved 4 individual gold medals! Zoe swam to victory in the 100m fly, 100m IM, 50m fly & 100m breast. What a performance!

The competition for the Trophy awarded to the Best Overall Institution was incredibly close between the University of Stirling and the University of St Andrews – just 4 points in it! Congratulations to the University of Stirling who took the crown with 185. Full results can be found HERE.

We’d like to extend a huge thank you to the University of Strathclyde, Strathclyde Swimming and the Scottish Swimming Officials, as well as the volunteers and participants who made the event a reality!

You can check out the photos from the event in our Facebook album HERE –

A sport severely impacted by COVID-19 made a brilliant comeback at the University of Strathclyde on 5th February, with 74 competitors and 6 teams attending the competition. The Training Day on Sunday 6th February was also a massive hit with  25 attendees learning from the significant experience of Ramsay Thomson (6th Dan).

Students from Glasgow, Edinburgh, St Andrew’s, Stirling, Napier, Queen Margaret, Heriot-Watt, Glasgow Caledonian and Dundee universities competed alongside  Fife, Edinburgh and Glasgow Clyde College students in the Championships. Congratulations to the University of Edinburgh who took gold in both the Men’s and Women’s Team competitions. Full results can be found HERE.

We’d like to extend a massive thank you to the University of Strathclyde, the officials and volunteers who made the event possible, without your contribution we wouldn’t have been able to achieve anywhere near the level of success that we did! We’d also love to thank the competitors for their excellent sportsmanship and respect for each other and the officials.

You can check out the photos in our Facebook album HERE –

 

Please also take the time to tell us how you found the event by filling out our Feedback Survey! It only takes a few minutes and helps the events improve year on year.

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Wednesday 16th December 2020

Inspiration, innovation and collaboration at every corner. These were some of the key themes that emerged from the SSS 2020 Festive Gathering. Over 70 members tuned into the virtual gathering and were treated to thought-provoking discussion, high-quality guest speakers and plenty of Festive Fun! Read all about it here!

In a change to tradition and a fitting tribute to 2020, the SSS Festive Gathering was delivered virtually this year with over 70  members across the tribe tuning in to hear from a panel of world-class athletes and leaders in sport.

Whilst the virtual gathering was a first of its kind, the longstanding tradition of participants wearing festive jumpers remained true – with some fantastic outfits on show throughout the afternoon. None more so than panelist Robyn Love (pictured below) in what is undoubtedly a candidate for the most festive photo of the year.

After an energising welcome from SSS Chair Pete Burgon, a brief review of the year gone by and finances approved – our attendees were met by two equally inspiring and thought-provoking discussions from our special guests.

First up, the Road to Tokyo panel, where SSS Head of Competitions Chris Purdie, was joined by three athletes whose experiences through student sport had helped shape their career path and their journey to next year’s Tokyo Olympics.

Neah Evans (Cycling), Megan Gaffney (Rugby) and Robyn Love (Wheelchair Basketball) discussed how their positive student sport experiences helped them reach where they are today. From balancing the workload of their studies with the pressure of performing in their sport and also trying to keep up a social life in the process, the panelists spoke honestly and fondly of their student days.

All three touched upon the huge sacrifices required to make it at the top level and acknowledged the vital support they received from their institutions and staff during their time at University. This support has been vital to them and many other young athletes looking to achieve their potential while also studying and preparing for their future.

The panel discussed the importance of resilience and “bounce-back ability” that the challenges of Coronavirus and lockdown caused before previewing what promises to be a jam-packed and exciting year of sport in 2021.

All three have very real and promising hopes of competing at the Tokyo Olympic Games and everyone at SSS wishes Megan, Robyn and Neah every success for 2021 and beyond.

Following this inspirational panel, the next section was packed full of ambition, innovation and collaboration at every corner: An Audience with Jan Paterson.

Jan is currently Managing Director Sport for Neom, delivering a bold new vision of future living. Neom is being designed as a global city for global citizens and Jan’s role is to engrain sport and physical activity in the lives of residents. In the future city, citizens will never be more than 8 minutes from a sports facility and physical activity will be an integral part of the curriculum.

Jan herself is a pioneer and her experiences in leadership roles were a great learning opportunity for our audience. She spoke of the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people, and the significance of bottom-up team building. We also heard some great stories of her times at the World University Games, Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.

To round off the day and in true 2020 style, the SSS Tribe were treated to a Zoom Quiz of the Year courtesy of Pete Burgon. This gave everyone a chance to show off their best Christmas jumpers, share some “funny” Christmas jokes and engage in some much needed festive cheer.

We would like to wish everyone a restful festive break and we look forward to seeing you all in 2021.

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Wednesday 9th September 2020

Check out the highlights from our first-ever virtual Chair Development Day and meet your new and returning SSS Sports Chairs!

Last Sunday (6th September 2020) Scottish Student Sport hosted the first-ever virtual Chair Development Day! A total of 35 volunteers across 28 of our sports engaged in a zoom-based training day designed to equip them with all the necessary tools to tackle the upcoming 2020/21 season.

Throughout the day, the eager volunteers were treated to a series of different workshops delivered by the SSS staff touching upon a little bit of everything and anything. Including; introductions to the staff team, planning the return to play for student sport, how to encourage growth and participation levels within their sport, student mental health, all things social media and communications,  and engaging discussion surrounding where student sport fits in the wider student landscape.

In another first, the workshop was opened up to include not only sports chairs themselves but also other members of each sports development committees. This enabled vice-chairs and other officers to learn, engage and contribute to the conversation around planning for the next 12 months and beyond!

Despite not being able to meet in person, in true SSS fashion, everyone on the call grasped the opportunity to get to know each other, collaborate with one another and share best practice. We can’t wait to see some of your fantastic ideas in action. We hope all our volunteers found the day beneficial and are feel better prepared to grasp their unique opportunity and tackle season 2020/21!

Meet your sports chairs and find out what they made of the day!  🎥👇

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Tuesday 30th June 2020

The SSS AGM took place virtually on Thursday 11th June 2020. Did you miss it? Catch up on everything you need to know here!

The 2020 SSS AGM took place on Thursday 11th June via Zoom webinar in what was the first (but perhaps not the last…?) of its kind for the SSS Tribe. Over 50 members from 16 institutions were able to tune in and whilst something was lost in the two-way face-to-face interaction, we also gained in some respects and the Chair is to be congratulated for bringing it all to a close within 62 minutes. Please click here for the official AGM minutes.

The meeting allowed for a bittersweet look back at the unusual year, which until mid-March had been going like a train, with a bumper year in terms of club activity at an institutional level, and event entries nationally. This appetite will surely stand us all in good stead as the subsequent lockdown begins to lift.

The AGM endorsed a sober but pragmatic approach to the 20-21 Academic Year in terms of SSS’ planned activities and finances, and approved a one-year plan that can get the organisation safely to next summer whilst still being well placed to deliver across every part of the business.

Some notable features of the revised plan include:

  • Carrying as little risk as possible, with modest aims around event entries
  • Shelving of all non-essential costs
  • Budgeting for a significant deficit on the year, equal to the current level of our non-fixed reserves
  • Offering up to a 25% discount on membership fees for those who need it

This will mean less room for manoeuvre and the cessation of some aspects, including our Special Projects Fund, but gives us a solid footing for what is a most unpredictable year. It also allows for the full staff team to remain in place throughout, so as to be best placed to provide a strong service to the members.

For more information about our plans for 20-21, please don’t hesitate to contact stew@scottishstudentsport.com

With the finances dealt with the AGM was then able to confirm the line-up of volunteer officers and appointments that will help to shape SSS’ work over the next twelve months. Across all of our committees we are blessed to have the most capable and enthused individuals in place and each of them comes into office with the thanks and optimistic expectations of the wider membership. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see the new SSS Executive, Development, and Competitions Committees for season 2020/21.

The departing volunteers – and particularly the sabbatical students leaving office – exit with a huge vote of thanks from all at SSS. We all appreciate that the year has ended in strange circumstances for you all, but we know that you have all the traits and tools you need to make a really positive transition, and we hope you’ll retain a long and positive engagement with the Tribe.

 

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Monday 29th June 2020

The CHANGES: Train the Trainer programme is designed to up-skill staff in the network to deliver awareness workshops to clubs in an attempt to tackle the challenge of initiation and hazing activity within student sport. Read more about the partnership, and the work done so far.

As of August 2019, the SSS and CHANGES partnership, led by Professor Moira Lafferty (University of Chester) and her colleague Dr. Caroline Wakefield (Liverpool Hope University), continue to work towards a joint aim of making student sport safe and inclusive for all. Together we are continuing to work towards the commitments set out in the partnership agreement alongside the CHANGES trainers, Development Committee, and Equality Steering Group.

So far the partnership has hosted two Train the Trainer programmes which has led to the upskilling of 17 student sports staff across five regions of Scotland. In February this year, SSS invited the trainers to a CHANGES networking and planning workshop to discuss the journey so far and future steps. Amongst other things, the trainers made it clear a third train the trainer programme was required to reach the target of training all student sports clubs in Scotland.

Train the Trainer Course

The third Train the Trainer will take place on Friday 23rd October in Edinburgh. The deadline for signing up is Monday 19th October at 12:00. Professor Lafferty’s research highlights the advantages of having external staff deliver the CHANGES workshops to student clubs. The overall aim is to be in a position where we have developed a large enough workforce so that institutions are able to support one another to train up all our 614 clubs in the network.

Please note that we are mindful of the challenges Covid-19 may bring with delivering this course. We will continue to monitor the situation and keep up to date with public health guidelines so that we can take all the necessary steps to ensure the safety of those involved.

📲Sign up here for the next CHANGES: Train the Trainer course.

Michael Webster from the University of Edinburgh, participated in the training last year and from that, co-delivered a workshop to over thirty sports club members.

He said: “The Train the Trainer course was engaging, informative and eye-opening. The effects of hazing and negative group events can be catastrophic, so to have the ability to deliver workshops with the aim of positively influencing the culture of student sports clubs, feels incredibly impactful, and fulfilling on a personal level.”

“The tools and techniques from the course have allowed me to frame conversations around looking to the future, creating new traditions, and utilising team-building techniques to create inclusive, positive, and safe welcome activities.”

The current list of available trainers can found below and will be updated after the October Training.

Tayside, Fife, and Grampian Regional Trainers;

Eamonn Laird, University of Dundee – e.y.laird@dundee.ac.uk

Ellen Morrissey, Robert Gordon University – e.morrissey@rgu.ac.uk

Claire Scott, University of St. Andrews – cls25@st-andrews.ac.uk

South East Regional Trainers;

Fraser Reynolds, Edinburgh Napier University – f.reynolds@napier.ac.uk

Craig Bodel, University of Stirling – craig.bodel@stir.ac.uk

Amy Beattie, University of Stirling – amy.beattie1@stir.ac.uk

Michael Webster, University of Edinburgh – michael.webster@ed.ac.uk 

Bethany Lawrie, University of Edinburgh – Bethany.Lawrie@ed.ac.uk

Catherine Wilson, Heriot-Watt University – catherine.wilson@hw.ac.uk

West Regional Trainers;

Iain Christie, the University of the West of Scotland – iain.christie@uws.ac.uk

Seona McKenzie, University of Strathclyde – seona.mckenzie@strath.ac.uk

Jamie Taylor, University of Glasgow – Jamie.Taylor@glasgow.ac.uk

Scottish Student Sport Staff;

Gavin Rittoo, Scottish Student Sport – gavin@scottishstudentsport.com

Nicola Scott, Scottish Student Sport – nicola@scottishstudentsport.com

Megan Richardson, Scottish Student Sport – megan@scottishstudentsport.com

Neil Rankin, Scottish Student Sport – neil@scottishstudentsport.com

 

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Wednesday 29th April 2020

The numbers are in and SSS are excited to announce a 12% growth in club membership numbers in the 2019/20 academic year. Check out the sport-specific breakdown and highlights here!

Scottish Student Sport are delighted to report that across Scotland, the collective total club membership numbers has reached just under 40,000.  Here are some of the facts behind the numbers…

  • Across 571 student sports clubs there are 39,947 individuals reported to be taking part in club activity. This healthy annual growth of 12% is representative of the hard work put in by the staff, volunteers and students at each institution working hard to ensure good quality, fun and friendly sport and physical activity are available on campus.
  • We are delighted to see a huge increase in the reported involvement of students with a disability with that number reaching a total of 1,330 students.
  • The sex balance reported is 45% male, 48% female and 6% unknown.
  • There is slight movement in the top 10 sports per membership numbers with Netball moving up and Tennis moving down. Each sport in the top 10, with the exception of mountaineering, have all increased in size since the 2018/19 reporting.

Please see below a snapshot of the data capture. If you have any questions regarding the data then please email Development & Competitions Assistant Leah Davidson.

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