Through the innovative Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) Dual Career initiative, Bishop Burton College is leading the way in supporting talented athletes in education.
TASS Dual Career Accreditation Scheme is officially recognised by Sport England as a means of enabling young athletes to pursue other interests along with their sporting pursuits while gaining qualifications at the same time.
The college offers top-class training and coaching to talented athletes alongside academic studies through its highly successful performance sport academies. For players to achieve their full potential, they must maintain high academic standards and work closely with professional performance coaches. Both academic and sporting performance are monitored regularly, with time to train and play included in academic timetables.
Duel Career Coordinator and Sport Development Manager, Kim Meadows said:
“As a college, we have a duty of care to prepare our students for the world beyond and so having a balance of academic achievement alongside sporting success is hugely important as it provides them with choices.”
“The vast majority of athletes inevitably pursue alternative careers once their sporting days are over, therefore having skills and qualifications means they are prepared for the future; with the option to progress into employment or onto higher education. The college’s sports academies were created with this in mind and to now also offer this level of support to individual athletes and to be recognised with national accreditation is fantastic.”
TASS partners with Bishop Burton to deliver core support services to more than 600 student-athletes each year as a Dual Career Accredited Site. A variety of support services are available, including physiotherapy, nutrition, lifestyle support, psychology, strength and conditioning, and private medical insurance. Dual career support and academic flexibility policies are central to the college’s assistance to athletes.
Sites that are Dual Career Accredited receive training and a toolkit of resources to provide athletes with practical dual career support. Students-athletes may benefit from academic flexibility policies if they are able to access online notes or resources, meet with teaching staff for catch-up sessions, or even reschedule deadlines or exams.
Sarah Milton, Director of Sport commented:
“This is an absolutely fantastic achievement for the team at Bishop Burton. The accreditation is a testament to the hard work our lecturers, coaches and mentors have put in with all of our student-athletes to enable them to be effective performers, alongside their academic studies. We are excited to be working as a TASS partner to provide even more young athletes with the opportunity to realise their ambitions for the future. ”
TASS National Director, Guy Taylor, said:
“We’re delighted to be awarding TASS Dual Career Accreditation to colleges and universities across England. Dual career support is at the forefront of what TASS does and that’s why the Accreditation Scheme is so important for us in recognising those institutions who place precedence on their athletes’ education too. Congratulations to the successful institutions and we look forward to working alongside many more outstanding colleges and universities in the near future.”
Bishop Burton is currently accepting applications for study in 2023. Check out the college’s sports academies, courses, and other offerings at https://www.bishopburton.ac.uk/
