OKEHAMPTON College has been awarded the prestigious Sportsmark Award by Sport England.

Sportsmark is a national accreditation programme, which sets a range of challenging targets. Particular areas of focus include the provision of a well-balanced physical education programme; an out-of-school-hours programme that offers all students access to a range of opportunities, and sporting links with the local community to help students make links from school sport to sporting opportunities in their community.

Jon Farr, head of PE at the college, said: ?We strive to ensure that our students have access to appropriate opportunities in all these areas and achievement of the Sportsmark award acknowledges the high level of provision we are achieving.

?Achievement of the award has required the school to complete a thorough application process. We have welcomed this opportunity to review our PE and sporting provision and are delighted to receive recognition for the wide range of opportunities we provide for all our students.

?We aim to provide all our students with the opportunity to be active and involved in sport and have an enjoyable and satisfying experience in doing so, whatever their level of ability. In this way, we hope to foster a positive attitude towards sport so that students continue to participate in, and reap the benefits of, a physically active lifestyle.

?We would like to thank all those who have helped to make the achievement of this award possible.?