British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) is among a group of over 120 organisations working in partnership with Sport England to level up access to sport and physical activity across the country.

BUCS will receive expertise, support and an investment of £1.34m of Government and National Lottery funding from Sport England to co-deliver its 10-year Uniting the Movement strategy. 

Sport England research shows that some groups are typically less active – like women, people with long-term health conditions, disabled people, people from ethnically diverse communities and lower socio-economic groups. Right now, the opportunities to get involved in sport and activity – and reap the rewards of being active – depend too much on your background, your gender and your postcode. 

BUCS will be supported to focus on making sport and physical activity accessible for all; becoming a thought leader in tackling inequalities; and supporting universities and colleges reach underrepresented groups. The student experience will be at the core of everything we do, as we set out to make sport and physical activity accessible for everyone.  

Over £550m is being invested in total, with the partners, including BUCS, receiving funding for up to five years. This new funding model from Sport England provides longer-term financial security as organisations recover and reinvent from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

All partner organisations were selected by Sport England due to their ability to influence change and improvement at the heart of the system they are a part of, no matter how big or small.  This is the first step on a journey to revolutionise Sport England’s approach to long-term partnerships as it seeks to partner and collaborate with innovative organisations to deliver Uniting the Movement and build a nation where everyone can get active. 

Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of Sport England, said: “Sport England’s goal is to get everyone active– no matter who they are, where they live, or what their background is. But we know that certain groups – such as people on lower incomes – are more likely to be inactive. 

We can only innovate and tackle inequalities effectively by thinking about long-term change; Uniting the Movement is a long-term vision, and our funding approach needs to reflect that. Changes to our funding model will help us achieve our goal, by making it easier for our partners to do what they need to do to level up and deliver.” 

Jenny Morris, BUCS Director of Delivery, said: “This renewed partnership with Sport England is a tremendous endorsement of the work we have been doing and of our long-term vision to make sport and physical activity available to everyone. 

We want to showcase the positive impact sport and physical activity has on the lives of young people, and make real headway in ensuring there is equity in access to these benefits for underrepresented groups. 

We are delighted to be able to partner with Sport England to help achieve this and, in doing so, play our part in achieving their ambitions of tackling inequalities to ensure more people have equal access to sport and physical activity.” 

Find out more about Sport England’s 10-year vision Uniting the Movement here

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