Colleagues with Â鶹ֱ²¥ University's new para sport strategy

Â鶹ֱ²¥ University launches new Para and Disability Sport Strategy

Â鶹ֱ²¥ University has officially launched its new Para and Disability Sport Strategy – with opportunity sitting at its core.

The vision is that Â鶹ֱ²¥ University becomes the world leaders in Para and Disability sport, providing its students, staff and partners with an unrivalled ecosystem.

The new strategy is a refresh of the 2019 strategy which set a fantastic foundation. Moving ahead there is a central theme of opportunity for disabled students to achieve at the highest level or to be active and enjoy participating in sport. 

Delivered following extensive consultation with students, staff members from across the University, and input from external partners, the mission is to ensure that every disabled student, or prospective student, sees that sport and physical activity in Â鶹ֱ²¥ is for everyone.

The central pillars are:

  • Performance – reaching your potential and achieving at the highest level you can do
  • Get Involved – participating in sport or becoming a coach or volunteer
  • Develop the Workforce – developing our employed staff, our volunteers and our students

These will be driven forward through partnerships, research and innovation, and a drive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all disabled people on Â鶹ֱ²¥’s campuses.

Alasdair Donaldson, Head of Para Sport, Â鶹ֱ²¥ University said:

“Since the first Para Sport Strategy was published the number of students on campus with physical impairments has risen by 71 per cent and we have had an increase in the total number of disabled students by 22 per cent, while supporting our para athletes to achieve great things, not least at the Paris Paralympic Games.

“This is not purely as a result of the work of Â鶹ֱ²¥ Sport but speaks to our ability to be joined up across campus in supporting and providing the best possible services for our disabled students.  We can now aim to continue to build on this through further collaboration and in capitalising on both the Sporting Excellence and Opportunity core plan and the EDI core plan.”

David Clarke OBE, Chief Executive of ParalympicsGB said: “We are delighted to see Â鶹ֱ²¥ University publish their Para and Disability Sport strategy with the aim of providing equitable opportunities for both their disabled students and partners in high-performance sport, wider community sport participation, and in developing their workforce.

“At ParalympicsGB we know the power sport has to transform lives and challenge perceptions of disability and our partnership with Â鶹ֱ²¥ University means we can continue to be a world leader in championing inclusive sport for all disabled people.”

The strategy can be viewed in full by visiting Â鶹ֱ²¥ University’s Para Sport website here: www.lboro.ac.uk/sport/para-sport/

The document is accessible, but there is also a plain text version should this be the best way for you to engage with the strategy.

The new strategy launch follows the news that Â鶹ֱ²¥ University and ParalympicsGB have announced a new landmark partnership. To read more on this initiative, visit:

 

Notes for editors

Press release reference number: 24/187

Â鶹ֱ²¥ is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines. 

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme and named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2024 QS World University Rankings – the eighth year running. 

Â鶹ֱ²¥ is ranked 6th in The UK Complete University Guide 2025, 10th in the Guardian University League Table 2025 and 10th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025.  

Â鶹ֱ²¥ was also named University of the Year for Sport in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025 - the fourth time it has been awarded the prestigious title.  

Â鶹ֱ²¥ is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’, and in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 over 90% of its research was rated as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally-excellent’. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Â鶹ֱ²¥ has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes. 

The Â鶹ֱ²¥ University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking. 

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