The Sporting Excellence Scholarship

The Sporting Excellence Scholarship programme (SES) aims to offer the very best support for up to 30 student athletes throughout the academic year. Our professional and collaborative approach will help benefit the student’s athletic, academic and personal development.

To be eligible to apply for the Sporting Excellence Scholarship, you must be a student with a confirmed place at the University of Reading- you can be undergraduate or postgraduate, part-time or full-time. Home, EU, and international students are all welcome to apply. The national team you represent does not need to be England or Great Britain.

Our improved scholarship package is relaunching in October 2024 and will be split between Performance and Development athletes. The two categories both include valuable support services at varying levels. 

The Performance package is for up to 15 of our highest performing students and will include a comprehensive package of 1-2-1 support covering areas such as athlete assessment and lifestyle support. This scholarship is available for students currently competing at national or international level in any age category.

The Development package supports students that we see potential in their application, and we feel will benefit from exposure to professional services such as our performance and lifestyle seminars and a Sport & Active Wellbeing membership. This scholarship is available to those students on a NGB-recognised talent pathway within their sport.

This improvement allows our programme to reach more students and establish our Sporting Excellence Scholarship as a key service within our sport and active wellbeing offer.

Please note- financial support must be applied for separately if needed via the SES Financial Sport Fund by successful SES applicants. This will be means-evaluated to a maximum award of £1000 per student per academic year.

The SES Financial Sport Fund is made possible thanks to the generous support of University of Reading donors, many of whom were once students at Reading themselves.

SES Services

SES Services	Performance	Development
1-2-1 Lifestyle Support
1-2-1 Nutritional support and planning
Discounted GoPerform Athlete services
GoPerform 1-2-1 Athlete assessment
Performance and Lifestyle seminars/workshops
Free SportsPark Sport & Active Wellbeing memberships
Anti-Doping advice and sign posting
Eligibility for free on campus parking permit
Free SES branded Kit
Access to the SES Financial Support Fund application
Total service equivalent value	£1000	£500

1-2-1 Lifestyle Support – We understand that being a dual career athlete requires significant organisational and lifestyle skills. Our practitioners will work closely with all Performance Scholars to ensure they are equipped with the correct skills and tools to help achieve both sporting and academic goals.

Areas of support include –

• Time management
• Academic organisation
• Financial Management
• Dual Career support
• Career advice
• Athlete wellbeing
• Transition management

121 Nutritional Support and Planning –

Qualified Sports Nutritionists will help you understand the nutritional demands of your training, performance and recovery. They will offer relevant cost effective nutritional and dietary advice to help you maximise your performance.

GoPerform support-

GoPerform is a leading Sports Injury and Human Performance Centre based in Reading and now on campus at the SportsPark Pavilion. This fantastic new partnership allows us to support all scholars with elite athlete-focussed services. In addition to the Athlete Assessment service above, GoPerform will also provide the services below at discounted rates:

Performance & Lifestyle Seminars/Workshops-

Working closely with our Partners at GoPerform and the School of Human Nutrition we will be running a varied program of supportive and informative seminars to all our Scholarship Athletes.

Eligibility for free on-campus parking permit-

All Performance Scholars will have access to free on campus parking.

Sports and Active well being membership –

All SES Athletes will be awarded a free 9 month Sports and Active Wellbeing membership allowing unlimited access to Fitness Studio (Gym), Unlimited Group Exercise (Classes), Free racket sports, including squash, badminton, table tennis and tennis.

Free SES Branded Kit –

All SES Athletes will receive a range of SES Branded Sports and Leisure wear

Application Process

If you are a high-performing athlete studying at the University of Reading and feel the SES programme will benefit both your sporting and academic career, please apply for the Sporting Excellence Scholarship via the link. 

SES staff will notify all successful applicants by 17:00 on Monday 25^th October. Applicants will receive information on their scholarship category, the financial support application process, and all other key information.

*Closing date for applications is 17:00 on Sunday 18^th October 2024.

For more information contact David Givens – Sport & Active Wellbeing Manager