Barton Peveril’s Association of Colleges Sports Leaders

Four @bartonpeveril students have been selected for ambassador roles in the Association of Colleges (AoC) Sport Leadership Academy @AoC_Sport @AoC_info

The Leadership Academy is an AoC Sport project to support colleges to enhance and develop volunteering programmes for their students. The aims of the academy are to get more college students volunteering in sport and physical activity and to diversify the volunteer workforce.

Hannah Gardiner and Courtney Willsher, who joined Barton Peveril from The Mountbatten School, will work as part of the This Girl Can team to promote and encourage inclusivity and female participation in sport. Amy Cooper and Emily Gardiner, formerly of Thornden School and The Mountbatten School respectively, will work as Mental Health in Sport ambassadors who will help promote sport-based opportunities for students to support their mental health.

Each year, Barton Peveril students work with the This Girl Can team to plan, organise, and run events for all students to engage with to increase participation in physical activity. Past events have included a Colour Run and an Olympic Weightlifting session with coaches from Lakeside Lifters Weightlifting Club in Eastleigh. This year, the students’ work will also focus on the benefits sport will have on supporting positive mental health and will help students stay active throughout the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions.

Speaking on the students’ successes, Barton Peveril Teacher of Sport and TASS Dual Careers Coordinator, Alix Christopher, said:

“The four students chosen are excellent role models and I’m sure will have some great, creative ideas on how to promote sporting opportunities in this challenging time. They will be working closely with the Eastleigh Sport and Physical Activity Alliance, and local facilities, so that students can still have access to as many sporting events as possible.”

Emily Gardiner commented on her hopes for her time in the role: 

“It is great to have been selected for this role and I look forward to helping as many people as I can and hopefully getting them following the correct pathway as well as them enjoying and playing sport to help themselves engage with others.”

Hannah Gardiner, another student who has been awarded an ambassador role, also commented:

“It’s a big deal for me to be selected. I hope to be the role model I wish I had growing up, knowing girls aspiring to have careers in sport was just as common and important as boys.”