Rushbrook Primary Academy recognised at Youth Sport Trust Awards

A school in Manchester has been recognised for making huge strides through its approach to PE, sport and physical activity by winning one of the prestigious prizes at the 2026 Youth Sport Trust Awards.

Rushbrook Primary Academy in Gorton was the proud winner of the Transformational Achievement Award at the ceremony, which was held at the Telford International Centre. Four years ago, the school was going through some significant challenges, including limited facilities, low engagement in sport, high exclusion rates, and attendance issues.

Since then, Rushbrook has made huge investments into its facilities and now has a multi-use sports pitch, Daily Mile track, Forest School and a pop-up swimming pool, and recently achieved the School Games Gold Mark, such was the improvement in their provisions.

Headteacher Matt Carroll said: “I think it’s a reward for four years of solid hard work and commitment towards PE and ensuring our children get every opportunity possible, because they deserve it. Our kids deserve this award because they’ve contributed everything.

“The statistics speak for themselves; to go from 157 fixed-term exclusions down to zero is a massive achievement. It’s taken a lot of hard work but it took a lot of commitment from the whole team at the school to rebuild our culture, our visions and our values to ensure that our children are getting the right provisions so they can access and achieve, and they have.”

The awards were a celebration of inclusivity and were attended by key figures from the sporting world, including former England women’s rugby captain Sarah Hunter and director of sport at the British Olympic Association Sarah Massey. The 2026 Youth Sport Trust Conference Awards spotlighted the dedicated and innovative approaches from schools, trusts, and individuals who have used the power of sport to make a positive impact on children’s health and wellbeing throughout the year.

Hosted by TV personality, Radzi Chinyanganya, the evening was filled with insightful discussions and inspiring stories that highlighted the power of sport and play to foster positive change and inclusivity in schools.

Hunter said: “It’s massively important to reward the grassroots level of sport. It’s recognition for all the hard work that they’ve done through the year, but for most of these teachers and sports co-ordinators it’s not just this year, it’s over multiple years that they’ve embedded sport into their community.

“Without grassroots sport – and I’m speaking now as an international coach – we don’t have a game, we don’t have that pipeline for our future sport stars, whether that be rugby, football or athletics. Having started rugby at school, I know how important it is to reward and recognise the hard work that quite often goes unseen.”

The Youth Sport Trust Annual Conference Awards, sponsored by Sports Directory and Outdoor Play and Learning, celebrate schools, settings, trusts, and individuals who, working alongside Youth Sport Trust, have made a real and impactful change to the lives of young people. Find out how the Youth Sport Trust is building brighter futures for children through sport and play: