Over the past five years, Sport England’s Uniting the Movement strategy has provided a powerful framework for reimagining how people engage with sport and physical activity. Through system partner funding aligned to this strategy, BUCS has sought to develop and enhance sporting and active participation experiences of students across England - and to ensure that higher education sport remains relevant, inclusive and impactful in a rapidly changing landscape.
Our work under Uniting the Movement has focused on three principal areas: Diversity in Active Participation, Research and Insight, and Governance.
Diversity in Active Participation
A central ambition of Uniting the Movement is to address long-standing inequalities in sport and physical activity. BUCS has used this investment to work annually with its English members to cultivate, share and embed emerging and best practice that grows opportunities for students from all backgrounds to be active.
A significant step forward has been connecting participation outcomes directly to those most pertinent to higher education institutions. This has supported members to demonstrate the value of higher education sport not simply through competition, but through its contribution to student wellbeing, belonging and success. As a result, the national community of Active Wellbeing leads continues to flourish, convened by BUCS throughout the year to share insight, challenge thinking and accelerate progress.
Alongside this, BUCS has deliberately increased its expertise in Equity, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. This has enabled us to develop organisational key performance indicators that measure how relevant and accessible our programmes are to the full diversity of the student population - both in what we deliver and how we support members to deliver sport locally.
Our Race and Equality Research study is a strong example of this approach in action. The learning from this work has directly informed the development and piloting of a BUCS Anti-Racism Toolkit, scheduled for launch in July 2026. In parallel, BUCS continues to take a careful and sensitive approach to managing the evolving dynamics of gender eligibility and trans inclusion across a programme spanning 55 sports and disciplines, and across all four home nations.
Research and Insight
Investment through Uniting the Movement has significantly strengthened BUCS’ research and insight capability, enabling us to better understand what makes a meaningful difference to students and to support members to evidence their impact.
The Race and Equality Research project stands alongside our convening work on demonstrating the Value of Sport and Active Participation in higher education. At a time of substantial financial pressure across the sector, BUCS’ ability to help members make a compelling internal case for sport and physical activity is critical. Our research consistently shows that participation in BUCS sport and wider active opportunities has a positive impact on student mental health, sense of belonging and continuation, reinforcing the role of sport as a core contributor to the student experience.
Uniting the Movement has also sharpened our focus on participant insight. Following an initial temperature check of student feedback in 2023, our most recent data shows a significant increase in average Net Promoter Score, moving firmly towards the ‘exceptional’ range. This insight has driven tangible changes to BUCS league, knock-out and events programmes, ensuring they better meet the needs of the contemporary student.
Crucially, we have also used more nuanced feedback from the diverse subcultures that exist within BUCS sport to inform delivery. From rugby union to dodgeball, hockey to ultimate, and athletics to climbing, this approach recognises that a one-size-fits-all model cannot serve such a broad sporting ecosystem.
Governance
As a historic member organisation with roots stretching back over a century, BUCS has a sophisticated governance structure that requires constant attention and evolution. Significant changes across the higher education sector - including a diversifying student base and increasing financial challenge for institutions - mean that agility in governance is essential.
BUCS is currently midway through a holistic governance review, marked most notably by the overwhelming support of members for vital changes to our Articles, approved in 2025. This work has been underpinned by the Code for Sports Governance, which has required careful interpretation given BUCS’ unique position straddling both the higher education and sport sectors.
Building on this foundation, BUCS has transformed its safeguarding processes, introduced and begun implementing a Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan and a People Plan, and embedded Environmental Sustainability within organisational planning. Together, this progress led to BUCS being certified as fully compliant with the Code for Sports Governance in autumn 2025.
Looking Ahead
Five years into Uniting the Movement, BUCS is better equipped than ever to support its members and to ensure that sport and physical activity play a vital role in student life. The strategy has strengthened our focus on inclusion, insight and governance - and, most importantly, on the students we collectively serve.
As we look ahead, BUCS remains committed to working in partnership with Sport England and our members to continue evolving higher education sport, ensuring it meets the needs of today’s students and contributes positively to their lives, now and in the future.
