Sportscotland is to invest a further £50m into its Active Schools Network, which creates opportunities for young people to participate in sport before school, during lunch, and after school.

The grassroots agency will distribute the money across the Network’s 32 local authorities from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2019.

Funding for the initiative, which this year celebrates its 10th anniversary, has been continued due to the success it has had in activating Scotland’s young people.

The latest figures from 2012-13 show a 13 per cent increase in participant sessions compared to the previous year – a rise of more than half a million to 5.1 million.

According to sports minister Shona Robison, the programme has become embedded as part of the “fabric of school life” and is a major reason for the number of schools meeting government PE targets being higher in Scotland than anywhere else in the UK.

“For more than ten years, the Active Schools Network has been successfully bringing volunteers and schools together to deliver millions of sessions of activity for young people across the country,” she said.

“This £50m investment is a vital part of that legacy, and builds on the 96 per cent of Scottish schools meeting the target of two hours, or two periods, of PE each week.

Background:

• Sportscotland works in partnership with all 32 local authorities to invest in and support the Active Schools Network of managers and coordinators who work with primary, secondary and Additional Support Needs (ASN) schools across Scotland.

• In 2012-13 Sportscotland invested £11.9m into the Active Schools Network.