News

Winning Students 100 announces 2024/25 supported athletes

More than a hundred talented student athletes are being backed for success in 2024/25 by Winning Students 100, Scotland’s national sports scholarship programme. 

Thanks to funding partners sportscotland and the Scottish Funding Council, and in partnership with Scotland’s higher education and further education sector, some 111 individuals will be supported by Winning Students 100 this academic year.

Helping student athletes balance their studies with high performance training and competition, Winning Students 100 provides athletes with grants of up to £3000 and works with colleges and universities to offer additional support such as academic flexibility.

This academic year’s 111 student athletes being supported represents the widest ranging cohort to date in a number of categories, covering 32 different sports and 19 unique universities and colleges across Scotland. The 111 student athletes break down to 45 male and 66 female, with seven para-athletes supported and eight individuals benefiting from Winning Students 100’s hardship fund.

One student athlete being supported by Winning Students 100 in 2024/25, as she was in the previous academic year, is Scottish diver Grace Reid, the two-time Commonwealth Champion who competed in her third Olympics at Paris 2024.

Now in her fourth year studying Applied Sport Science at the University of Edinburgh, Grace said: “I’m so excited to be part of the Winning Students 100 programme again and feel really lucky to get such amazing support while a dual career athlete.”

See the full list of 2024/25 Winning Students 100 student athletes

Forbes Dunlop, Chief Executive of sportscotland, said: “It is very welcome news that Winning Students 100 will be supporting more student athletes than ever before. We are committed to helping young athletes achieve their goals. Being able to find the right balance between training, their studies and other commitments is critical to the wellbeing of student athletes. This programme will help these athletes to do that.”

Martin Boyle, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Funding Council, said: "We’re incredibly proud to have funded Winning Students 100 from the start. Winning Students has helped so many people succeed at college or university alongside developing a career in sport. It's great to see the programme supporting a record number of students this year. I wish all 111 student athletes every success in their future education and sporting careers.”

Established in 2008, the original Winning Students programme saw more than 1,700 scholarships awarded during its first phase of funding with noteworthy alumni including Olympic medallists Laura Muir (athletics), Duncan Scott (swimming), Vicky Wright and Bruce Mouat (both curling).

Following the rebrand to Winning Students 100 earlier this year, bringing with it funding secured until 2028, it is expected a further 500+ scholarships will be awarded over the period with the programme also having added the hardship fund to offer additional support to eligible student athletes from the start of the 2023/24 cohort. The hardship fund was established to promote diversity and inclusivity by supporting student athletes from underrepresented or disadvantaged backgrounds, making athletic opportunities more accessible to more people.

Jim Aitken MBE, former Director of Sport and Exercise at the University of Edinburgh and Interim Chair of the Winning Students 100 Advisory Board, said: “Today’s announcement showcases a truly outstanding list of talented student athletes we have across Scotland’s Universities and Colleges, which our unique and world-renowned Winning Students 100 programme is now proud, thrilled and excited to support. 

“This will make a transformational difference to them and their quest to achieve sporting success on the highest international stage.  WS100’s unique proposition of direct funding and service support is the perfect complement to their individual talent and the backing they receive from their host institutions.

“None of this of course is possible without the support of our key funding partners sportscotland, Scottish Funding Council and our tertiary education sector - who share our belief in the power of sport and the demonstrable impact focused partnership working can bring”. 

Winning Students 100 is managed by University of Stirling, Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence, and supported by an advisory board and management group made up of professionals from across the tertiary education and sport sectors.