What is the school games?

The School Games comprises both intra and inter-school competitions as well as an annual National Finals event. Read on to find out more about how this works and how young people are given the opportunity to take part.

What is the mission?

Keeping competitive sport at the heart of schools and providing more young people with the opportunity to compete and achieve their personal best.

What is the vision?

By 2020 the School Games will be continuing to make a clear and meaningful difference to the lives of even more children and young people.

How does it work?

The School Games events consist of four unique types of competition: intra-school competitions, local inter-school competitions, county finals, and the School Games National Finals.

You can find out more about getting involved with these competitions by clicking here.

21,500

School Games registered schools

The School Games consists of four unique types of competition:

• Intra-School Competition (Level 1)
• Local Inter-School Competition (Level 2)
• County Final (Level 3)
• School Games National Finals

What is an intra-school competition?

An intra-school competition is a sporting activity taking place between pupils who attend the same school. For example, this can be in the form of an inter-class or house activity. These competitions should culminate in an annual School Games Day, or Sports Day, to celebrate a school's sporting success.

What is a local inter-school competition?

A local inter-school competition is a sporting activity taking place between schools from the same area - either as a one-off fixture or as part of a league. These competitions may act as qualifiers for county finals or can be run as developmental competitions or festival events to meet the needs of a local area.

What is a county final?

A county final is a showcase event held either as the culmination of a series of local inter-school competitions or as open entry events, with invitations made by the Local Organising Committee (LOC).

What makes an event School Games?

• School Games branding is present throughout the duration of the event
• Participation figures are maximised through the use of round robin or league formats
• The competitions at the event follow the National Governing Body formats and are age group appropriate
• There is a strong emphasis on inclusion at the event to ensure all young people are given the opportunity to take part
• Young people are offered additional opportunities to take part by leading, managing, or officiating
• Signposting to community opportunities
• Encouraging participants to follow the six School Games values - determination, honesty, passion, respect, self belief, and teamwork

Who are the school games?

The School Games, which is funded by Sport England and delivered by the Youth Sport Trust, involves funded School Games Organisers (SGOs) at a local level and Local Organising Committees (LOCs) at a county level working alongside us to create an annual calendar of competition. Read on to find out more about those involved with the School Games.

Where we started... 

The School Games started in 2006 as a single annual multi-sport competition - what is today known as the School Games National Finals. In 2010, the School Games was expanded to include more localised competitions, from major county level events to smaller competitions within the same school. As part of this work, the Youth Sport Trust were funded by Sport England to work alongside the National Governing Bodies of Sport, assisting in the creation of a series of sport formats to help guide the future of school sport competitions. Over the years, the list of NGBs involved with the School Games has grown to over 40, with everything from American Football to Wheelchair Basketball events currently taking place around the country. 

During the 2016/17 academic year, the School Games was able to offer 2.2 million participation opportunities for young people at local inter-school events, and it is our vision that the Games will continue to make a clear and meaningful difference to the lives of young people for many years to come.

Team delivering the School Games...

• Schools - our schools are integral to the successful delivery of the School Games and we currently have more than 20,000 School Games registered schools taking part in intra and inter-school events every year. Are you one of them? Use the school search bar below to find out.
   
• School Games Organisers (SGOs) - there are more than 450 SGOs who work across the country to support schools in their local area. SGOs have several key roles: to coordinate appropriate competitive opportunities for all young people from Key Stage 2-4, to recruit, train and deploy a suitable workforce, and to support the development of club opportunities for all young people. Schools can find out the contact details of their local SGO by registering with the School Games website or, if you already have an account, by clicking the 'Log in' button at the top of the page.
   
• Local Organising Committees (LOCs) - LOCs are groups which will oversee school sport on a larger scale. Each LOC will deliver a minimum of two multi-sport county level events each year, one in the winter and one in the summer. These events will often comprise the most promising young athletes from the inter-school competitions run by SGOs.

240,000

people visited the School Games website during 2016/17

Team behind the School Games...

• Youth Sport Trust (YST) - the Youth Sport Trust has been funded to deliver the School Games since 2010 and is committed to ensuring that the programme continues to make a major impact on the lives of young people over the coming years. You can contact us through the School Games team, who you can reach by pressing the 'Contact us' button at the bottom of the page.
   
• Sport England - we are extremely grateful for the continued support of Sport England. Without their support and that of our other partners we would not be able to ensure that the School Games is delivered to such a high standard.