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The best of both worlds: rethinking how Scotland supports student athletes

There is a long-held assumption about elite sport that everything else has to come second. That reaching the highest level means putting education on hold. Or that a qualification is something to fall back on when a sporting career comes to an end.

National sport scholarship programme Winning Students 100, however, believes Scotland has the opportunity to champion a different approach: one where sporting and academic ambition sit side by side.

The dual career method – enabling athletes to pursue sporting excellence alongside further or higher education – understands that developing the student and developing the athlete are not competing ambitions. On the contrary, each can strengthen the other and ultimately help someone thrive in all aspects of their life.

With student athletes facing growing pressures, leading figures in Scottish sport and education argue that this approach is more important than ever.

Competitive environment

“Student athletes are operating in an increasingly competitive environment, with greater training loads, travel commitments, performance expectations and financial pressures. At the same time, they are investing in their education because they recognise the importance of developing their future beyond sport”, Cathy Gallagher, Chair of the Winning Students 100 Advisory Board, explains, “That is why the dual career model is so important. It gives student athletes the opportunity to pursue sporting excellence alongside academic attainment.”

There are clear parallels between the two worlds. Both high-performance sport and education require discipline, resilience and an ability to perform under pressure.

Elite sport inevitably brings highs and lows. Results, injuries, selection and performance can change quickly, making an academic environment, a wider university or college community and a sense of identity beyond sport, particularly valuable.

Cathy Gallagher continued: “Winning Students 100 helps create environments where student and athlete are seen as two equally important parts of the same person.”

This has proven to be an important distinction which helps people develop academically, personally and athletically, all at the same time.

It’s a philosophy that sits at the heart of Winning Students 100, which brings together universities, colleges, sporting organisations, governing bodies, performance staff and athletes, with the aim of creating a network of support around student athletes

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) sees that approach as an important part of Scotland’s wider education landscape.

The SFC team shared: “Universities and colleges actively support talented athletes to manage the demands of academic study and high performance sport. Doing so helps individuals achieve their full potential in both fields. Importantly, it also supports student outcomes and the wider student experience, and contributes to the life of the learning community.

“It also helps to ensure that society and the economy can benefit from all the talents these students possess.”

Positive contributions

For Cathy Gallagher, that wider definition of success is fundamental, she said: “The medals and performances are important, but they are only one measure of success. The lasting impact is about the person. A strong dual career programme helps student athletes develop the confidence, resilience, independence and leadership skills that will stay with them long after their competitive sporting careers have finished.

“For me, success is therefore not just seeing a Winning Students 100 athlete stand on a podium. It is seeing them leave university or college as a confident, capable individual who is equipped to make a positive contribution wherever their future takes them. That is the real legacy of dual career support.”

Forbes Dunlop, Chief Executive of sportscotland, agrees. He said: “The pressures on student athletes can be significant. While we are absolutely committed to helping young athletes make the most of their time in sport, it is important that the athletes, their families and their support teams appreciate that athlete careers are relatively short and can be cut even shorter due to something unforeseen, like an injury.

“At the sportscotland institute of sport we have a dedicated Performance Lifestyle team. That team work closely with many of our supported athletes, including student athletes. Their role is to provide tailored coaching, mentoring and counselling services that support athletes, coaches and key personnel in all aspects of an athlete’s life. That includes working with student athletes on time management and prioritising their workloads. The focus is not just to get everything they need to do for their sport done, but making sure university work and other commitments are given the appropriate priority.”

Visible ambassadors

As the SFC points out, there is also a wider benefit that can be harder to quantify.  Scotland’s elite athletes are often among its most visible ambassadors, representing Scotland on international stages. 

The confidence, communication and broader perspective developed through education can help equip them for that role – extending their influence beyond competition. 

As the team at the SFC notes: “Education will continue to have an important role in developing future elite athletes in Scotland to contribute both to sport and other areas of society. It will continue to provide the soft skills needed to cope with the demands of sporting success and to be ambassadors for their communities, and for Scotland.”

Achieving that requires more than financial assistance alone. The Winning Students 100 model is built around partnership: creating the flexibility, relationships and culture that allow athletes to balance the realities of training and competition with academic life.

Paul Devoy, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Funding Council, said: “Our funding for Winning Students 100 is valued by student athletes because it supports them to manage the demands of their studies alongside their training commitments. This means they have the very best chance of excelling in both their studies and in their sport, and that they will have the qualifications to pursue a career alongside or after their time in athletics.”

Best of both worlds

Winning Students 100 believes the ambition should be for the country to become internationally recognised as a place where student athletes can genuinely have the best of both worlds.

That means continuing to remove barriers which force talented young people to choose between education and sport, while developing flexible education, world-class performance environments, appropriate financial and wellbeing support and stronger connections across the sporting and education sectors.

It also means considering how the principles underpinning dual careers can become embedded more widely. To think bigger: what if Scotland became internationally recognised as a place where talented young people genuinely don’t have to choose?

sportscotland’s Forbes Dunlop added: “We are committed to helping young athletes achieve their goals. Being able to find the right balance between training, their studies and other commitments is critical to the wellbeing of student athletes.”

Cathy Gallagher concluded: “Our ambition should be to make dual career support part of the culture of Scottish sport, rather than something that is available only to a select number of athletes.

“If we get that right, Scotland can produce not only more successful athletes, but more rounded graduates, leaders, coaches, professionals and ambassadors for sport.”

It seems clear, Scotland should not have to choose between developing great athletes and developing educated, skilled and confident young people. With the right support, they can be one and the same.