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What is Active Schools?

Active Schools in South Lanarkshire is a partnership between South Lanarkshire Council and sportscotland, as part of the Scottish Government's Healthy Living campaign. Active Schools is run by South Lanarkshire Leisure Trust on behalf of the Council.

The aim of Active Schools is to give school-aged children the tools, motivation and opportunities to adopt healthy, active lifestyles throughout their school years and into adulthood.


Active Schools on the water

Active Schools in South Lanarkshire

In South Lanarkshire, a team of co-ordinators are working across all our primary and secondary schools, providing opportunities for sport and fun physical activity. In addition to incouraging participation in sports and exercise, Active Schools promotes increased levels of daily physical activity through walking, cycling and play. As well as providing new activities, Active Schools work in partnership with local clubs to promote opportunities in local clubs to promote opportunities in local communities.




Active schools rugby

Why is Active Schools important?

Scotland, as a nation, is becoming increasingly inactive, unfit and overweight. Two thirds of the Scottish adult population is now at risk from physical inactivity. This scale of physical inactivity makes it the most common risk factor for coronary heart disease in Scotland and accounts for over a third of deaths from heart disease, and has been called "the silent killer of our time". We need to encourage children and young people to become more active, and maintain this participation in sport and physical activity throughout their lives.



Active Schools athletics

How much, how often?

"children should accumulate (build up) at least 1 hour of physical activity on most days of the week"
Physical Activity Task Force, 2003.

One hour of activity does not need to be done at once and it can be accumulated throughout the day. Examples of moderate activity could be brisk walking, swimming, cycling, active play and dance.

Currently, 27% of boys and 40% of girls are not active enough to meet the guidelines. It is really important that children become more physically active an an early stage. Building healthy habits now will help children stay in good shape.