Recent reports show why colleges must be central to the future of sport and physical activity

Colleges as anchor institutions in place-based sport and physical activity

A central theme running through these reports is the need for a more joined-up, place-based approach to sport and physical activity. This is where colleges have a particularly important role to play.

Colleges are not simply places where young people happen to study. They are anchor institutions in their communities: locally rooted, nationally connected and deeply engaged with the people and places that sport, health and education partners most want to reach. Across England, colleges educate and train more than 1.6 million people, including adult learners, apprentices, students from lower-income households, disabled learners and learners from ethnically diverse communities. Their local footprint also matters, with learners travelling an average of 17 miles to college compared with 55 miles to university.

For sport and physical activity, this makes colleges significant community assets. They bring together facilities, students, staff, employers, community organisations, clubs, local authorities, Active Partnerships and health partners. They can help partners understand local need and design opportunities that are relevant, inclusive and sustainable.

This is particularly important as national sport policy becomes more focused on tackling inequalities and working through place. Colleges are relevant not only to participation, but also to wellbeing, employability, volunteering, leadership, workforce development and community connection.

The opportunity is not simply to run more sport sessions in colleges. It is to see colleges as strategic community partners: places that can support local facilities, inclusive activity, student volunteering, workforce development and stronger links between education, health and community sport.

AoC Sport has an important role in unlocking this potential. It helps national, regional and local partners understand the FE landscape, build the right relationships and shape approaches that work in a college context. Working strategically with AoC Sport and the college network can help partners move from isolated projects to coordinated, scalable and place-based impact.

1. Game On: Community and school sport — summary and response

The Committee’s report sets out a powerful case for urgent action. It concludes that demand for sport and physical activity remains strong, but that the system is being held back by financial pressure, ageing and unevenly distributed facilities, inconsistent school provision and a lack of national coordination. It calls for a cross-government approach that brings together sport, education, health, local government, transport, planning and community policy. 

A key recommendation is that government spending on sport and recreation should increase from 0.3% of total expenditure to at least 0.6% over the next decade. The report also calls for simpler and more accessible funding processes, better use of private and charitable investment, a national audit of sports facilities, renewed support for opening education facilities to communities, and a stronger role for physical activity within health policy.

AoC Sport welcomes the Committee’s recognition that sport and physical activity deliver significant social, educational and health benefits. We particularly welcome the focus on facilities, funding, volunteers, inclusion and the need for a more joined-up system. These are themes we raised directly in our written evidence to the inquiry.

In our submission, we highlighted that FE colleges hold a significant stock of high-quality sports facilities, but are too often excluded from funding streams designed to open education facilities for community use. This is a missed opportunity. Colleges are located in towns, cities, rural areas and communities experiencing deprivation, and many are well placed to act as community sport hubs.

The report’s recommendation to reinstate support for opening school sports facilities to communities through a long-term, place-based model is therefore welcome. However, this must not be limited to schools. Colleges should be explicitly included in future funding and policy design. Without colleges, any national facilities strategy will miss a major part of the education estate and a major opportunity to support local participation.

There are also important workforce implications. Around 40,000 college students are studying sport qualifications and many are preparing for careers in coaching, fitness, leisure, teaching, community sport and health. By connecting college facilities, students and local clubs, we can create practical placements, volunteering routes and workforce pipelines that benefit both learners and communities.

The Committee also identifies the growing burden on volunteers and the need to make volunteering more flexible, inclusive and better supported. This aligns closely with our evidence. Colleges can help address this challenge by supporting student leaders, coaches and volunteers to gain real-world experience while strengthening local clubs and community programmes. Our Student Leadership programme shows what is possible: in 2024-25, 480 student leaders engaged more than 5,800 of their peers in physical activity, with the programme deliberately designed to involve young people from groups traditionally less active.

The report’s recommendations on PE, school sport and daily movement are also significant. It calls for a minimum of two hours of high-quality PE each week, every child to have the opportunity to achieve at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day, and PE to become a core subject within the national curriculum.

While these recommendations focus primarily on schools, the transition into post-16 education must not be overlooked. Habits can be lost quickly when young people move from school into college, apprenticeships or work. Our evidence highlighted that the current community sport offer does not always meet the needs of 16–18-year-olds, who often want flexible, age-appropriate, informal opportunities rather than long-term commitments or programmes designed for younger children.

For colleges, the implications are clear. We need sustained investment in facilities, inclusive programmes, student leadership, workforce development and partnerships with local clubs, health bodies and local authorities. Colleges should be part of any national strategy for sport, health and physical activity, not an afterthought.

2. Youth Sport Trust Class of 2035 and the healthcare Commission — summary and response

The Youth Sport Trust’s Class of 2035 work has developed over more than a decade. The original report was launched in 2015 to look 20 years ahead at the future challenges facing children and young people. A second edition, released in 2021 to mark the charity’s 25th anniversary, reflected on the impact of the pandemic. The latest edition was published on 25 November 2025, using AI modelling to project inactivity trends through to 2035.

The reason this work has renewed urgency now is that the Class of 2035 Commission’s final report, containing specific recommendations and calls to action, was officially launched on 28 April 2026 at the UK Parliament. Convened by Youth Sport Trust and made up of healthcare experts, the Commission calls for bold national action to tackle children’s inactivity.

The 2025 Class of 2035 report found that many young people like being active and understand why physical activity is good for them. This shows that the challenge is not a lack of interest among young people; it is whether the system gives them the right opportunities, environments and support.

The warning was stark. Without change, the report projected a decade of decline, including low activity levels, high screen time and growing consequences for health, wellbeing, education and life chances.

The Commission’s 2026 report adds further urgency by highlighting how children’s inactivity is increasingly visible in healthcare settings. It points to concerns including anxiety, poor physical development, musculoskeletal issues and chronic conditions among children and young people.

The Commission sets out six recommendations for government, education and healthcare leaders: raise awareness of the UK Chief Medical Officers’ physical activity guidance for children among healthcare professionals; strengthen social prescribing pathways for children and young people; deliver a minimum amount of physical activity in every school and early years setting; increase skills and competence across the PE and school sport network; implement a national wellbeing measurement programme; and create a national, cross-government Children and Young People’s Physical Activity Strategy.

For AoC Sport, this is highly relevant. Although the Commission’s recommendations focus strongly on children, schools and early years, the post-16 transition must not be missed. Colleges work with young people at a crucial stage of life, when independence increases, routines change, pressures grow and participation habits can either be strengthened or lost.

The YST report and the Commission’s call to action also highlight inequalities that are highly relevant to colleges. Girls, young people with SEND, disabled young people and those in deprived areas are among those at greatest risk of missing out. This strongly reflects AoC Sport’s own research and experience. Many underrepresented college students enjoy sport and physical activity but do not always feel included or supported to take part. Barriers include social anxiety, lack of previous experience, fear of judgement, cost, accessibility and programmes that do not reflect their needs or identities.

For colleges, this means the answer cannot simply be “more sport” in a traditional sense. It must be the right sport and physical activity offer: flexible, welcoming, inclusive, affordable and shaped with students. This includes female-only sessions where appropriate, beginner-friendly activity, social and recreational sport, accessible facilities, equipment support, inclusive marketing, diverse role models and staff and volunteer training.

The Commission’s emphasis on aligning health, education and community systems is particularly important. Colleges sit at the intersection of those systems. They support young people’s education and progression, provide trusted spaces in communities, and can connect sport and physical activity to wellbeing, confidence, employability and belonging.

The implications for place-based work are equally important. If the children and young people of 2035 are to be healthier, more confident and more connected, they will need more than national campaigns or isolated interventions. They will need trusted local institutions that can provide regular, affordable and inclusive opportunities. Colleges can play that role, especially for young people who may not see traditional club sport as being for them.

3. Sport England Active Lives Adult Survey — summary and response

Sport England’s latest Active Lives Adult Survey provides a broader picture of activity levels among adults aged 16 and over in England. The headline is positive: between mid-November 2024 and mid-November 2025, 64.6% of adults, equivalent to 30.9 million people, achieved 150 minutes or more of activity a week. The report also shows that 24.7% of adults, or 11.8 million people, were inactive, doing less than 30 minutes a week. 

The longer-term trend is also encouraging. Sport England reports that there are 859,000 more active adults than 12 months earlier, and 3.3 million more active adults than when the survey began a decade ago.

However, the report also makes clear that inequalities remain. Activity levels continue to vary by gender, socio-economic group, age, disability and long-term health conditions, ethnicity and other demographic factors. Adults from lower socio-economic groups are less likely to be active, and adults with a disability or long-term health condition remain less active than those without.

This matters for colleges because the Active Lives survey includes adults aged 16 and over. Colleges sit directly within that landscape. They work not only with 16–19-year-olds, but also with adult learners, apprentices, people retraining for work, and communities facing health, economic and social barriers. The survey therefore reinforces the point that colleges are not just part of the youth sport system; they are part of the wider adult activity, health and community infrastructure.

The data on younger adults is particularly relevant. Sport England reports that activity levels among 16–34-year-olds have remained unchanged compared with the previous 12 months, and that the proportion who are active is down compared with nine years ago. For AoC Sport, this underlines the importance of the post-16 stage. The transition from school to college, apprenticeships or work is a crucial moment when activity habits can either be maintained or lost.

The report also strengthens the case for inclusive and welcoming environments. Participation is shaped not only by whether facilities or sessions exist, but by whether students feel confident, safe, represented and supported to take part. That reflects what we hear from colleges and what the wider evidence shows about barriers to participation.

There are also important messages around volunteering and wellbeing. Sport England reports that volunteering to support sport and physical activity has increased slightly compared with the previous 12 months, but remains below pre-pandemic and longer-term levels. This is a challenge for community sport, but also an opportunity for colleges. Through student leadership, volunteering, coaching placements and links with local clubs, colleges can help rebuild the volunteer workforce while giving students valuable experience and confidence.

The Active Lives report also shows a positive association between physical activity and mental wellbeing, and between volunteering and mental wellbeing. This is highly relevant to the college sector, where student wellbeing, belonging and confidence are major priorities.

For colleges, the implications are clear. Colleges can help more people become active by providing accessible facilities, inclusive programmes, student-led activity, volunteering routes and trusted local partnerships. They can also support adults as well as young people, connecting sport and physical activity to wider agendas around health, skills, employability and community connection.

What needs to happen next

Together, these reports and calls to action make a compelling case for national action. Government must move beyond short-term initiatives and recognise sport and physical activity as a core part of education, health and community policy.

For AoC Sport, five priorities stand out.

First, colleges must be included in any national facilities strategy and in future funding to open education facilities for community use. FE estates are an important public asset and can help address local facility shortages.

Second, post-16 students must be visible in policy. Too often, sport and physical activity policy focuses on schools or adults, with 16–19-year-olds falling between systems. This is a critical life stage and should be treated as such.

Third, investment should support inclusive, student-led and flexible participation. Young people are telling us they want opportunities that fit their lives, interests and identities.

Fourth, colleges should be recognised as workforce, volunteering and community sport partners. Through students studying sport qualifications, leadership programmes, volunteering, facilities and local partnerships, colleges can help strengthen the grassroots workforce while improving outcomes for learners and communities.

Finally, colleges must be part of place-based approaches to tackling inactivity and inequality. The Active Lives data shows that activity levels are improving overall, but inequalities remain. The Youth Sport Trust Commission’s call to action shows that inactivity among children and young people is also a growing public health concern. Colleges are already embedded in many of the communities where the need is greatest and can help partners design approaches that are local, trusted and sustainable.

The evidence is clear. Young people want to be active. Adults benefit from being active. Communities need accessible facilities, supported volunteers and inclusive spaces. The health, wellbeing and education benefits are well understood. The task now is to build a system that enables colleges, schools, clubs, local authorities, health partners and national bodies to work together with sustained investment and shared purpose.

AoC Sport will continue to champion the role of colleges in creating a more active, healthier and more inclusive nation.