Latest news from Loughborough University

8 Sep 2015

Loughborough to host 2016 School Games

Loughborough University is delighted that it has been chosen to host the 2016 School Games National Finals after a competitive bidding process.

Loughborough beat competition from numerous other sporting cities to win the bid, following detailed consideration from an independent panel, Sport England and the Youth Sport Trust. The event brings together 1,600 of the UK’s best young athletes for four days of sporting competition and will take place 1-4 September 2016.

The Games have been a launch pad for many elite athletes. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, 150 of the competitors previously took part in the School Games. Attending the 2015 event were alumni Dina Asher-Smith, Adam Peaty, Ellie Simmonds and Hannah Cockroft, who regularly trains in Loughborough, the home of British Athletics.

Hosting the School Games National Finals provides an ideal opportunity to develop pathways for future generations of elite sport, mirroring our very own values and ambition, and attracting the very best future talent to Loughborough.

The University’s extensive range of sports facilities allows us to accommodate the majority of sports in their dedicated sport specific venues, as we aim to create an Olympic-style environment that holistically combines all Games services on the University campus.

John Steele, Executive Director of Sport, commented:

“Loughborough is proud to deliver across the full spectrum of sport, from performance to participation and from coaching to volunteering. With this in mind, I am confident that our students, staff and volunteers will be part of delivering an unforgettable School Games experience for everyone involved. I speak on behalf of all of my colleagues at Loughborough in saying we are relishing the challenge of staging this iconic school sport event.”

Of the news, Vice Chancellor Professor Robert Allison said:

“With sport in our DNA here at Loughborough, we are proud to be named hosts of the next School Games. I have no doubt that everyone here at the University and our partners will seize the opportunity to host a truly memorable school sport event.”

Youth Sport Trust Chief Executive, Ali Oliver, added:

“The School Games give a true taste of high-level multi-sport competition to the UK’s best school-aged competitors. I have no doubt that Loughborough will continue the excellent reputation this event has now rightly gained.”

Notes for editors

Article reference number: PR 15/167

Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, putting it among the best universities in the world, and was named University of the Year in the What Uni Student Choice Awards 2015.Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. It was 2nd in the 2015 THE Student Experience Survey and was named Sports University of the Year 2013-14 by The Times and Sunday Times. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

In 2015 the University will open an additional academic campus in London’s new innovation quarter. Loughborough University London, based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, will offer postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities.

Contact for all media enquiries

Pete Matthews
PR Officer for Sport
Loughborough University
P.W.Matthews@lboro.ac.uk
01509 228686