Glasgow's School of Sport confirmed to close in 2029

Glasgow's school of sport for young athletes will close in 2029, it has been confirmed.

Initial plans were to shut down Glasgow School of Sport (GSOS), at Bellahouston Academy, in June this year. However they were shelved after backlash from parents.

Councillors have now approved a recommendation to keep the school open until June 2029 - a move that allows all 38 current pupils to complete their education and sporting development pathway.

Opened in 1998, students at the school specialise in athletics, badminton, gymnastics, hockey or swimming, with former pupils including Olympic swimmer Michael Jamieson and badminton player Kirsty Gilmour, who won a Commonwealth Games silver medal.

Councillors were told the model for the school is "very outdated", with a shift in sport development now favouring generalisation over specialisation.

Bailie Annette Christie, the chair of Glasgow Life and the city's convener for culture, sport and international relations, said the School of Sport had originally filled a gap as national governing bodies originally did not exist at that time or needed to be strengthened/

According to a report, there are currently 38 pupils in S3 to S6, down from 60 in April last year. A pause on new students was introduced in 2024 as the council and Glasgow Life looked for funding support.

They wanted financial help to reflect the school's "national catchment" but requests were "unsuccessful", the report added.

Currently, 13 students are from Glasgow and 25 from other council areas. Glasgow Life's costs for the School of Sport in 2025/26 were reported as £730,000.

The plan to close the school this year was met with anger from parents and pupils, who warned they were feeling abandoned by the proposal.

Glasgow Life – which runs culture, leisure and sport services for the council – appointed independent consultancy firm Kinharvie to gather views from students, families, sports clubs and national governing bodies (NGBs).

It found 82% of parents and pupils who took part in a survey believed the closure would have a "very negative impact" on students' sporting development.

The company also reported the "prolonged uncertainty" over the future of the school had "disrupted pupils' exams, competitions and subject choices, leaving many unable to plan for the future".

Bailie Christie said there have been positive talks with the Scottish government over future funding to support developing talented young sports performers, but nothing had been officially agreed yet.

Reporting by Local Democracy Reporting Service reporter Drew Sandelands.