Alleyn’s Hosts Girls Active Event to Champion Participation in Sport

March 31st 2026

Alleyn’s Hosts Girls Active Event to Champion Participation in Sport

As Alleyn’s marks 50 years of co-education, the school continues to celebrate the progress made in creating equal opportunities for girls across all areas of school life. On Thursday 26 March, this commitment was reflected in action as Alleyn’s hosted a Girls Active event in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust (YST) and Haberdashers’ Academies Trust South, bringing together more than 100 pupils and educators to champion girls’ participation in sport.

The event welcomed 20 Alleyn’s pupils (10 from the Junior School and 10 from the Senior School) alongside approximately 90 pupils from across Haberdashers’ five primary and four secondary schools. Staff from the participating schools and representatives from the Youth Sport Trust were also present for a day focused on empowerment, collaboration and leadership.

Empowering girls through sport

The day centred around the Girls Active programme, an initiative created by the Youth Sport Trust to increase girls’ engagement in sport and physical activity by empowering them to influence, lead and inspire their peers.

Through workshops, discussions and physical activities, pupils explored how sport can become more inclusive and engaging for girls, while developing confidence and leadership skills. A key focus of the programme is ensuring that girls themselves have a voice in shaping the sporting opportunities available to them.

Founded in 1995, the Youth Sport Trust is a national children’s charity that works to improve young people’s health and wellbeing through sport and physical education, providing opportunities for more than two million children each year to experience the life-changing benefits of play and sport.

Youth Sport Trust National Manager – Women & Girls, Wendy Taylor, said:

“We know there is a gender gap in participation and enjoyment of PE, sport and physical activity. Our most recent Girls Active survey found girls are nearly four times (3.8) more likely than boys to not like taking part in PE and over three times (3.4 times) more likely than boys to not feel confident when taking part in physical activity.

The Youth Sport Trust’s Girls Active programme aims to tackle the barriers girls experience and through cultivating a movement of girls and young women, empower them to take positive action through influencing, leading and inspiring their peers. When we place girls’ voices and needs at the heart of provision, we create spaces where girls truly feel they belong and can experience not only the physical but the wider associated benefits including improved social connection, enhanced health and wellbeing and development of wider life skills.”

Collaboration across schools

The event created an opportunity for pupils from different schools to connect, share ideas and work together to identify ways to encourage greater participation among girls.

By bringing together pupils from both primary and secondary schools, the day fostered meaningful collaboration and allowed students to explore how sport can help build confidence, friendships and a sense of belonging.

“Girls Active is about more than participation – it’s about empowering girls to shape their own sporting experiences,” said Barny Day, Director of Sport, Physical Activity and Wellbeing at Haberdashers’ Academies Trust South. “By bringing our schools together and collaborating with partners like Alleyn’s, we can better understand the different barriers faced across sectors and ensure every girl has the opportunity to engage, lead, and thrive in sport.”

Throughout the day, pupils took part in activities designed to promote teamwork and leadership, encouraging them to think about how they can become advocates for sport within their own school communities.

Pupils also participated in a range of practical workshops, including sessions from Skip2bfit and tennis coaches, alongside workshops led by professional athlete mentors:

· Hannah Beharry: Former British and European Champion boxer

· Noorin Gulam: Record holding GB/England Weightlifter

· Amelia Coltman: GB Skeleton Olympian

Workshops focused on key themes such as consulting and listening, asking questions, advocacy and marketing, as well as how to share ideas, promote initiatives, and deliver and run activities.

The event concluded with teachers supporting pupils in developing action plans, helping them take what they had learned back into their own schools.

A culture of inclusion at Alleyn’s

Hosting the Girls Active event reflects Alleyn’s wider commitment to creating a sporting culture that is inclusive, accessible and aspirational.

In recent years, the school has made significant progress in addressing gender disparity in sport. Since 2017, fixtures for girls’ sport have increased by 490%, while the number of female teams has grown by 90%. Today, 71% of pupils represent the school in competitive sport, with participation now almost evenly split between boys and girls.

The school’s sporting programme offers a wide range of opportunities, from competitive team sports to activities designed for pupils discovering a sport for the first time, ensuring that every pupil can find something they enjoy.

This approach also reflects a growing focus on wellbeing, recognising the importance of positive and sustainable participation in sport, particularly given research highlighting the high dropout rate among teenage girls.

Alleyn’s Director of Sport, Ryan Shedwick said:

“At Alleyn’s, we’re committed to championing girls’ sport. Sport isn’t an add‑on here, it’s a priority. When young women feel confident, included and empowered to shape their own sporting journeys, their engagement doesn’t just support their wellbeing it lasts a lifetime.”

As Alleyn’s celebrates half a century of co-education, initiatives such as Girls Active highlight the school’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that sport is inclusive, empowering and shaped by the voices of young people themselves.

By bringing together pupils from across different schools and communities, the event reinforced a shared ambition: creating a future where every girl feels confident, welcomed and inspired to participate in sport.

More News