The London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games provide a once in a lifetime opportunity to establish a lasting impact on the lives of learners, particularly young people of the 2012 Olympic generation.

The Government, through the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), is determined to maximise these opportunities in schools, Further Education, Higher Education, and wider adult learning sectors. We will be encouraging schools and colleges to take the lead in putting on their own events, using 2012 to inspire their young people.

In particular, the Games provide a range of opportunities to support:

• Olympic ideals of striving for excellence and doing one's personal best, fair play and cultural understanding
• Inclusion and encouraging positive views of disability
• Celebration of diversity and supporting community cohesion
• Encouragement of young people to make a positive contribution to the community, for example, through volunteering

In order to maximise these opportunities, we intend to focus our efforts on the following areas and, as far as possible, use the Games to add value to existing strategies. 

We will use 2012 to:

• Boost the interest and active participation of children and young people in sport (working both to secure the long-term benefits to elite sport competitors and to maximise the increase in UK participation at community and grass-roots level in all sports and across all groups), and to help them to make healthy living choices more generally
• Help address young people's under-achievement and disaffection
• Better equip young people and learners for life in a global society by transforming the nation's capability in language learning and ensuring that young people take a more outward-looking approach to other countries

top

How can my school get involved in the 2012 Games?
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games have launched "On Your Marks!", a set of online education resource materials for schools. It includes news articles, fact sheets and an image bank covering a range of topics which can be used in subjects across the curriculum. The material is aimed at all young people and teachers with some specific but adaptable material for 7-14 year-olds.

A similar education pack has been established by the British Paralympic Association and can be found on the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme website.

What is the 2012 Young Ambassadors Programme?
DCMS and DCSF are appointing just over 800 Young Ambassadors to develop areas of the National School Sport Strategy that could support the 2012 Games and its legacy. Two young people are being selected from each of the 411 School Sport partnerships across the country. From September 2006, the Young Ambassadors will help spread the Olympic message and ideals within the School Sport Partnerships, and act as advocates and role models to other young people within the Partnerships.

top

UK School Games
The UK School Games are an annual multi-sport competition for the most talented people of school age from around the UK. The Games seek to create an inspirational and motivational environment which will encourage more young people to take part in sport.

The inaugural UK School Games took place in Glasgow between 7 and 10 September 2006. These Games featured athletics, swimming, gymnastics, table tennis and fencing competitions, plus disability events in athletics and swimming. The Games will expand over the coming years, allowing more athletes to compete in a wider range of sports.

Where will the UK school Games be held in the future?
At the closing ceremony of the 2006 UK School Games it was announced that Coventry will host the 2007 Games. The locations for the 2008 Games and beyond will be announced shortly.

What support is the Government providing for the UK School Games?
The Chancellor has committed £6 million of funding towards the cost of staging the Games until 2011.

TASS 2012
The Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) is a government funded scheme to support young athletes, bridging the gap between junior representative sport and world class competition.

TASS 2012 is a strand of the TASS Programme that wil support young athletes, usually aged 12-18, that have the potential to be medal winners at the London 2012 Games and other major events in the future.

What support do TASS 2012 scholars receive?
Scholars will receive an award of up to £10,000 for the provison of world class sporting support, including services such as coaching, physiotherapy, sports science, nutritional advice and sports psychology.

What sports are supported by TASS 2012?
There are currently 50 sports that are eligible for TASS support, of which 16 are disability sports. Details of the eligible sports are available online.

Further information on TASS 2012 can be found on the official TASS website.