School Games Mark

The School Games Mark for the 2023/24 academic year will be available from Wednesday 30 April to Friday 30 July 2025. You can access the criteria for the School Games Mark on the right-hand side of this page or alternatively, you can register your school and speak to your SGO for further information.

How can I apply?

School Games registered schools are eligible to apply once a year during an application window, which traditionally takes place during the summer term, and are graded against set criteria. The School Games Mark is a retrospective award and all answers submitted should only consider the current academic year (i.e. the current term and the two previous terms).

Applications are made via a short form available to all registered schools through their online dashboards. If you are already registered, please click the 'Log in' button at the top of the page to get started.

How is my award confirmed?

When an application is submitted to us, it is graded automatically against that year's criteria. This initially determines whether the application is likely to be at a bronze, silver, or gold level. The application is then either verified by that school's local School Games Organiser (SGO) or is picked for a validation visit by an external auditor. The auditors randomly select a small cohort of schools each year to ensure that the information being provided is correct.

The schools who consistently submit gold level applications will be given the opportunity to additionally apply for the platinum award, which is then valid for two years. A full set of guidance documents on the School Games Mark are available to all registered users via the resource library on their dashboard.

What are the key criteria?

The criteria of the School Games Mark aligns directly with the School Games outcomes. Schools will need to demonstrate how they are/have:

• Maintaining and growing your school’s engagement in the School Games and your delivery of the Chief Medical Officer’s (CMO) 60 active minutes for every child or 20 minutes for SEND young people
• Delivering and engaging in competitions that has clear intent and creates positive experiences based on the motivation, competence and confidence of your young people that need support most
• A clear focus on transition points (e.g. Yr.3 and Yr.6/7 as well as those in three tier systems) and how secondary schools are engaging in the School Games
• Supporting the personal development of targeted young people through youth engagement and leadership
• Advocating and engaging key stakeholders on the value of the School Games to support local provision and improve the experiences for your young people and their families
• Schools should be working to ensure there are equal opportunities for all young people regardless of their gender
• Schools should understand the concept of physical literacy working to develop their practice in this aspect

The criteria for this year's School Games Mark can be found on the right-hand side of this page.

What do I get if I am successful?

All successful schools receive a wooden award badge to be pinned onto their School Games pennant, and a downloadable digital celebration pack which contains the following assets:

• School Games Mark logo (for use on letterheads, school website, etc)
• Certificate for you to display proudly at your school
• Celebratory GIF which you can share on social media to further celebrate your success
• Draft press release which you can customise and share with the local media.