The Educator Magazine U.K. Sept-Dec 2026 issue - Magazine - Page 70
New “Elevate” programme backs sporting potential
at the School Games National Finals 2026
Sport England, the Youth Sport Trust and
Greenhouse Sports join forces on an
inclusive talent identification and
development programme, with embedded
research led by global research and insight
studio Beyond, to identify and develop 45
young people with exceptional sporting
potential, whatever their background.
A new talent programme that deliberately
puts potential ahead of privilege launches
this September. Elevate will bring 45 young
people aged 13-16, to the School Games
National Finals 2026 (3-6 September at
Loughborough University) for a unique and
inclusive talent identification and
development experience, with a qualitative
research project embedded throughout.
Elevate is a partnership between Sport
England, the Youth Sport Trust and
Greenhouse Sports. Together, the partners
are testing the idea that the next generation of sporting role models already exists
in communities that talent systems too
often overlook - and finding and nurturing
them is one of the most powerful routes to
a more inclusive sporting system.
Potential, over privilege
Traditional sporting talent pathways can
sometimes reward those with the strongest
resources, networks and access to be seen,
whilst underlying potential extends much
wider. Elevate is designed to challenge that.
Rather than asking who is already
performing at a high level, it asks who
has the greatest potential to thrive when
given the right environment, support and
opportunity.
By identifying talented young people from
a wide range of backgrounds, Elevate will
provide a high-quality development
programme to support more young people
to explore their potential. It will provide
them with opportunities that athletes
within the talent pathway have exposure
to, in an aim to level the playing field in the
talent space.
How the 45 young people are identified
Participants are nominated by Greenhouse
Sports’ specialist Coach-Mentors, who work
full time in schools across some of the
country’s most under-resourced
communities. Their daily, trusted
relationships with young people mean they
are uniquely placed to spot raw potential the physical, psychological and behavioural
markers that don’t always show up in
conventional selection - and to nominate
those who would benefit most from an
opportunity like Elevate.
The 45 invited young people will be
supported to attend the School Games
National Finals, removing the practical and
financial barriers that can prevent some
talented young people from taking part.
The Elevate experience at the School
Games National Finals
Set within the School Games National
Finals - one of the UK’s flagship celebrations
of youth sport - Elevate gives participants
access to a major sporting event, as well as
multi-day talent identification and
development experience. Delivered by
Youth Sport Trust over three days, the
participants will take part in structured
assessment and development activity, learn
from leading coaches and Youth Sport Trust
athlete mentors, and experience what a
high-quality, supportive performance
environment feels like, all alongside their
peers from across the country.
Elevate is designed to be developmental
rather than purely selective: every young
person will leave with new skills, new
connections and a stronger belief in what
they can achieve.
Research at the heart of the programme
Working with Beyond, the partners have
embedded a qualitative research project
throughout the experience to understand,
in young people’s own words, what enables
potential to emerge and what gets in its
way.
The research will explore participants’ lived
experiences, motivations and the barriers
they have navigated, generating insight
to inform how talent is identified and
developed more inclusively in future.
Findings are intended to benefit not only
the partners but the wider sport sector,
national governing bodies and the talent
system as a whole.
“We are delighted to work in partnership
with the Youth Sport Trust and Greenhouse
Sports on this exciting initiative. We all
share the belief that Talent is everywhere,
but opportunity is not - this programme
is about providing that opportunity and
exploring systemic solutions to the
challenges that stand in the way of
inclusion and progression.”
— Duncan Truswell, Strategic Lead Talent
and Performance, Sport England
“The School Games National Finals gives
young athletes a unique, and often first
opportunity to experience and learn about
the challenges of a major multi-sport
event akin to the Olympic, Paralympic or
Commonwealth Games. But while talent is
everywhere, sadly access and opportunity
are not. Through Elevate, we are tackling
inequalities and pioneering talent inclusion
by bringing young talent from outside the
traditional pathways of National Governing
Bodies of sport, to a specially designed,
immersive experience. While at the Games
they will explore their aptitudes, experience
new sports, and meet role models. At the
same time the environment we create will
act as a living laboratory for the sporting
system, contributing to Sport England’s
talent inclusion mission.”
— Ali Oliver, CEO, Youth Sport Trust
“Traditional talent systems can mistake
existing skills and confidence for future
potential. That’s why development
environments like Elevate matter so much:
to recognise potential in young people
who’ve had more challenges than
opportunities so far in life, and support it
with our team’s expertise in positive youth
development.”
— Don Barrell, CEO, Greenhouse Sports
