What can you expect?

Focused on their Future: The programme is delivered by Trust athlete mentors who will work closely with four young people, chosen by your school. We run the programme for 120 students across 30 schools in the UK, and participating students will have multiple opportunities throughout the year to meet with students from other schools and our athlete mentor team.

Two Year Cycle: Successful schools will be offered the opportunity to enrol onto the programme for two consecutive academic years.   Each school will be required to nominate four students per year, with eight pupils benefiting from the programme in total, and offering opportunities for some students to become ambassadors (see below).    At the end of year one, schools which have successfully completed the programme will be invited to nominate students for year two without having to go through the full application process.                                                     

A Teammate like no Other: Feedback from previous students shows they would benefit from the opportunity to see their athlete mentor in action and have the potentially once-in-a-lifetime chance to train with a sporting champion. To include more inclusive physical activity and movement, the programme is delivered across ten sessions. This provides more opportunities for the students to be inspired by their athlete mentors and to improve their physical and mental wellbeing.

Student Ambassador Scheme: Schools involved for two consecutive years will have the option of participating in our Student Ambassador Scheme.  Based on feedback from previous years, selected students from the Year 1 cohort will have the opportunity to provide support to year 2 students in their school.

key dates

Nominations open on 11 September 2024 and close at 5pm on 30 September 2024. For further information on key dates throughout the programme please click here

For more information on the programme, or to talk to one of our team, please contact elliso@damekellyholmestrust.org

criteria

As a teacher at your school/college, you must nominate four students, aged between 11 and 19 who you believe are not fulfilling their potential. You must nominate students who are currently being held back by one or more of the following:

• Challenging personal circumstances

• Low self-esteem and a lack of confidence

• Lack of local opportunities

Applications will also be judged on:

• the suitability of nominated students, including how they will work together as a group

• your school’s ability to facilitate the programme

Students

When selecting your students for AQA Unlocking Potential please consider:

• Their individual suitability for the programme

• The group dynamic of your students

The students also need to have demonstrated their strength of character, despite being held back by one or more of the above.  Attributes demonstrated could include one or more of the following:

• Commitment – have shown willingness to give their time and energy to something that they believe in or want to do

• Enthusiasm – have shown energetic interest in a particular subject or activity and an eagerness to be involved

• Determination – have shown the ability to continue trying to do something, although it is challenging

• Integrity – have shown that they can stick to a set of strong moral principles

In regards, to group dynamics please consider how the group will work together to support and encourage each other on activities such as their social action project.   

School/College commitment

Before applying to the programme, please consider the following requirements and responsibilities of participating schools. You will be asked to demonstrate how you meet these requirements in the application form:     

• Support and buy in from your Senior Leadership Team

• A named lead teacher contact who is responsible for coordinating the programme in line with the teacher role below

Further information on the role of the lead teacher can be found here

how to apply

All applications need to be made via the official application form. Please click the button below to access.

Please note you cannot save this document as you go along, so it is a good idea to save your answers in Word or similar prior to completing. The questions you will be asked are:

• Name and email addresses for Lead Teacher and Senior Leadership Team Champion

• What challenges do you have in your local community, and how will the AQA Unlocking Potential programme help impact on these?

• Why you are nominating each student?

• What steps will your school/academy/college put in place to ensure it has the capacity to work with Dame Kelly Holmes Trust to deliver the programme as outlined in the supporting information?

• Please explain how you would use the AQA Unlocking Potential programme to maximise the benefits to your school/academy/college

There is a word limit of 200 words for each question.

All responses will be stored in line with Dame Kelly Holmes Trust privacy policy:

https://www.damekellyholmestrust.org/privacy-policy

If you have any further questions or require any further information, please contact Ellis Oliver on elliso@damekellyholmestrust.org