NA Active Schools host Young Ambassadors Conference

S1 to S6 pupils from across North Ayrshire attended an energising conference at The Portal in Irvine earlier this month.

Hosted by North Ayrshire Active Schools – part of the council’s Community Learning and Development service – the Young Ambassadors Conference welcomed 175 pupils overall.

Arran High School, Ardrossan, St Matthew’s, Auchenharvie, Kilwinning, Irvine Royal, Largs, Garnock and Greenwood academies were all in attendance.

Pupils had the chance to collaborate with Active Schools Coordinators from all six localities, exploring the wide range of opportunities available through participation in sport to begin the academic year.

The event had a host of impactful youth voice activities and workshops too, providing young pupils with an interest in sport with a platform to:

• Shape sport opportunities in their schools
• Develop communication, leadership and influencing skills
• Learn how to run their own Active Schools sport and physical activities
• Make plans for the upcoming academic year to improve access to sport
• Think about setting realistic goals and how to achieve them

The first of many events scheduled for the coming months, it also welcomed much-loved Active Schools mascots – Moving Max and Improving Izzy, alongside special guests, former Team Scotland Gymnast, Shannon Archer and Team Scotland Badminton player, Eleanor O’Donnell.

Special guest Shannon Archer, a Team Scotland Commonwealth medallist, used the opening of the Young Ambassadors Conference to share her words of wisdom with the pupils in attendance.

She shared: “The best advice that I can give you all as you start the new school year, is that it is never too late to start a new sport. People think that you’ve got to start super-early to get to a certain level but that’s not true. You can begin something new at any age.

“Also, with the pressures of life, at times things may get really hard, but if you’ve got a goal that you want to achieve, and you work hard, then it can happen. So set your goals everyone and give them your all this year!”

The Young Ambassadors programme is just one of several programmes operated by North Ayrshire Active Schools within North Ayrshire schools.

This initiative exemplifies sportscotland’s commitment to Leadership in Sport by providing young people with an inclusive platform that promotes and inspires participation in sport across schools and the wider community.

Working alongside North Ayrshire Active Schools Coordinators, school PE departments and young people involved in the Active Schools leadership pathway, the Young Ambassadors recruits are at the start of an exciting journey to gain leadership experience.

They will achieve this through practical activities such as running events, providing peer support, helping with school transitions, delivering coaching sessions and developing their own youth participation projects in schools.

Councillor Shaun Macaulay, Cabinet Member for Education and Young People shared: "It is fantastic to see so many pupils from across our secondary schools getting involved in the Young Ambassadors programme. Thank you to the special guests Shannon and Eleanor who are shining examples of young sports professionals who have used their focus and passion to overcome obstacles and smash their goals!"

The action-packed Young Ambassadors event also saw the launch of North Ayrshire’s Playground to Podium campaign – the official countdown to the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2026.

#PlaygroundToPodium is a new campaign run by North Ayrshire Active Schools to inspire and connect young people through sport.

Aligned with the ten sports of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, it will bring together schools and community groups to create opportunities that encourage participation, growth, and progression at every sporting level – stay tuned to North Ayrshire Active Schools on Facebook for updates.

Published: 26 September 2025