Elite Sport at Loughborough College

A huddle of female elite sports athletes.

Loughborough College students past and present brought home 36 medals, including 9 golds, during the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Our athletes and alumni secured 9 gold, 23 silver, and 4 bronze medals during the incredible festival of sport held between 23rd July and 2nd August 2026.

Loughborough College is a national leader in sport and elite sport education programmes. In particular the College provides a variety of education programmes working with a range of partners, including:

18 National Governing Bodies to deliver the Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE) programme nationally
Education programmes delivered to scholars at Coventry and Chesterfield football clubs
Bespoke education programmes provided to Motorsport UK, Leicester Tigers and the FCV International Football Academy
Elite sport/academy programmes, working with partners such as Loughborough University, Loughborough Lightning, Leicester Riders, England Handball, and Volleyball England. For more information on our academies - visit our academies page.

Rebecca McGowan (Taekwondo)
Lauren Williams (Taekwondo)
Sarah Stephenson (Taekwondo)
Katie Summerhayes (Freestyle Skiing)
Katie Boulter (Tennis)
Harriet Dart (Tennis)
Molly Renshaw (Swimming)
Siobhan Marie O'Connor (Swimming)
Fran Halsall (Swimming)
Lizzie Simmonds (Swimming)

Abbie Wood (Swimming)
Sophie Thornhill (Cycling)
Elise Christie (Short Track Skating)
Jon Eley (Short Track Skating)
Sophie Hahn (Athletics)
Hope Warner (Badminton)
Noah Dembele (Canoeing)
David Philipson (Tennis/Canoeing)
Georgia Hennessey (Cricket)

Jude Bellingham (Football team)
Tom Huddlestone (Football)
Ben Chilwell (Football)
Jordan Nobbs (Football)
Izzy Christiansen (Football)
Toni Duggan (Football)
Ross Wilson (Table Tennis)
Aaron McKibbin (Table Tennis)
Zoe Smith (Weightlifting)

Who is it designed for?

Loughborough College offers a diverse range of elite sport education programmes to provide opportunities for performers who are on a dual career pathway.

Our aim is to provide elite performers with bespoke, personalised education programmes that support progression as a performer and development as an individual.

Elite performers who are on a dual career pathway can include those who:

Are on an approved National Governing Body (NGB) performance programme
Are required to balance education and training/competition commitments on an ongoing basis
Need additional flexibility to enable weekly training and education to be completed, usually due to a high volume of training required
Are frequently required to travel and be away from home, that impacts on being able to attend/access education

Learners are assessed on an individual basis to review the correct education programme to suit their needs, and these are reviewed on an ongoing basis to enable changes to be made when required.

Olympic Success

Loughborough College athletes competed at the Tokyo Olympics and Para-Olympic games in 2021.

Athletes competed in Olympics and Paralympics

Olympic Medals at Tokyo 2021

Paralympic Medals at Tokyo 2021

British records broken

Commonwealth Success

Loughborough Sport athletes competed at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2026

Total medals earnt

Gold medals earnt

9th

Ranked in the final medal table

Key Benefits

Across the elite sport programmes there are a range of benefits that support elite sport performers and enable a unique and bespoke learning programme, these can include:

Study Anywhere, Anytime

A mix of online, small group and face to face learning options. The online learning option can allow portable study opportunities, enabling the performer to continue to study anywhere/anytime.

Bespoke Study Durations

Bespoke study duration and periods, including providing year-round learning and allowing study breaks to fit around intensive training/competition periods

Experienced Tutors

Working with tutors who have experience of working/competing in elite sport

Dual career pathways

Programmes developed with partners/employers to develop the skills, knowledge and behaviours required on a dual career pathway

Employability Skills

Develop a range of employability skills and careers routes, both in and out of sport

Specialist Experts

Use a range of specialist experts and industry experienced staff, including NGB staff

On-Site accommodation

Ofsted Outstanding graded on-site accommodation is available, including the Elite Athlete Performance Centre.

Elite sport pathway

Loughborough College provides 3 main pathway models that enable learners to progress through the academic levels, starting from Level 2 up to Level 6:

On site delivered programmes, that include access to elite academy programmes. These are offered at Further Education and Higher Education and so are a longer-term development programme.
Off site/remote learning pathway. This enables bespoke learning opportunities from 16-18yr old programmes through to degree level using a mix of online/blended learning models. These can be developed to wrap around elite training and competition programmes.
Partner programmes. We work with a range of partners to develop programmes that meet the needs of the partners and performers. The college and the partner work together on the curriculum and delivery to aid the development of appropriate knowledge, skills and behaviours.

During their programme of learning performers can change models at appropriate points, and therefore continue to ensure the best pathway is available for individual circumstances.

Designed for performers on a dual career pathway who need flexible and bespoke education options to support their progression in and out of sport.

	Further Education	Higher Education	Key Features	Designed For
Off-site / Home-based	L2 Sport L3 Sport	Range of L4 HNC, L5 HNC and Degree Programmes in Sport, Exercise Therapy, Management and Leadership.	Individual Online Portable Flexible Blended Full Time / Part Time Year Round Study (L2/L3) Study Breaks	Elite performers based anywhere in the country with high level training and competition programmes that impact on accessing conventional education.
On-site	L2 Sport L3 Sport Other academic programmes (for example A-Levels)	Range of L4 HNC, L5 HNC and Degree Programmes in Sport, Exercise Therapy, Management and Leadership.	Face to face Bespoke timestables and study modules Full time / Part time Elite Athlete Welfare Support Loughborough University validation (degree programmes) Eligible for BUCS competitions (degree programmes) Accommodation inc. Elite Athlete Performance Centre May include an elite sports academy programme	Elite performers based in Loughborough with high level training and competition programmes that impact on accessing conventional education.

Model	Full-time Education	Blended full-time Education	Flexible/Remote learning education
Location	Loughborough College / Partners locations	Loughborough College	Can be based anywhere
Main Programme
Level 2 OCR Technical in Sport
Pearson BTEC Level 3 in Sporting Excellence and Performance
Pearson BTEC Level 3 in Sports Coaching and Development
Maths and English GCSE or Equivalent	Yes	Yes	Yes
Timescale	Approx. 15hrs (3 -4 days per week)	Approx. 6-12 hrs per week	Varies
Delivery type	Predominantly classroom based taught programme - academic term time	Mix of classroom based taught sessions and online learning to allow flexibility. May include year-round learning to allow reduced hours/greater flexibility	Mix of live online taught sessions and online learning to allow flexibility. May include year-round learning to allow reduced hours/greater flexibility
Suitability	Individuals based in Loughborough / at partners with regular training programmes and limited periods away for training and competition. Accommodation is available for onsite learners and there is flexibility with timetables	Individuals based in Loughborough with high training and competition demands. Accommodation is available and there is flexibility with timetables	Individuals based anywhere in UK. Small group/1:1 tuition and so flexibility on when lessons can take place
Progression routes	Level 2 progression routes are to Level 3 study, as per above Level 3 progression routes included blended degree/Higher Education programmes, as per Elite Sport Dual Career Pathway