Geographical location: South-West Scotland1
Area: Covers around 600,000 hectares
Population: Approximately 148,0302
Main towns: Dumfries (31,100 residents), Stranraer (10,900 residents), Annan (8,400) and Locharbriggs (6,100)
Population density: 60 people per square mile compared with the national Scottish average of 1684
Number of pupils: Primary- 12,138 / Secondary- 96565
Number of schools: Primary- 105 / Secondary- 176

"The furthest distance between schools measures an impressive 124 miles"

 

One of the primary issues that faces competitive school sports in Dumfries and Galloway is the sheer distance between schools and the costs that mount up in order to cover the travel expenses.  Dumfries and Galloway is the third largest local authority area in terms of geographical size in Scotland and yet the population density figures above reflect how remote an area it truly is.  The furthest distance between schools measures an impressive 124 miles, between Langholm Primary School to Portpatrick Primary School, which takes 3 hours and 22 minutes travel time according to the RAC.   

"opportunity to break down these barriers"

 

The objective for Dumfries and Galloway Council is to provide their Leisure and Sport Service with the opportunity to break down these barriers so that physical activities and sporting prospects can be optimised.  Dumfries and Galloway have collaborated with Candidsky School Software to set up a Virtual League system to run throughout the schools in the area.  The Virtual League eradicates any need for travel as schools can take part in sports as the challenge or skill is available for the schools to download for implementation within their own grounds.   

"a huge driver to pupils’ enthusiasm and sustained interest"

 

Active Schools have found that measuring scores against other teams has been a huge driver to pupils’ enthusiasm and sustained interest in an activity.  The core of the Virtual League system is to use comparative scoring as a basis for competitive sports and we have also customized our product especially for the needs of Dumfries and Galloway.  The scoring can be put into context as it is calculated using an average so that no school is disadvantaged due to its size.  It also allows the Council to customize its leagues to reflect its target/priority sports and allows a vast range of traditional and non-traditional sports to be offered to young people.  The Virtual League also enables Sport Development Officers to identify talented individuals at a glance and for Active Schools Coordinators to offer more support to those scoring below average.  In addition, Dumfries and Galloway are given the capacity to monitor user figures, participant feedback, popularity and pupil experience of an activity without having to distribute costly and time consuming questionnaires.   

Testimonial from Dumfries and Galloway Council

 

A representative of Dumfries and Galloway Council has written a testimonial to explain how the Virtual League will improve the quality of school sports throughout the area:

‘One of the biggest barriers to inter school sport is the cost of travel. The online leagues remove travel costs while still offering both competitive and non-competitive opportunities for pupils to participate against other young people either individually or as part of a team. Online leagues aim to enhance and offer new inter school competition and not replace young people physically coming together to participate in sport/physical activity.

Schools can take part in a range of activities through the online leagues, and many could be new initiatives. There is no cost to schools to set up leagues, resulting in less pressure if they prove less popular or desirable.  Students will eventually be given their own passwords so they can access competitions at home and try and improve their personal performance.  In the future, local clubs may be able to access the software and allow them to promote activity and produce resources to enhance young people’s involvement in sport and physical activity.’

  View the Virtual League Product Page

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