This national award acknowledges schools that place young people at the forefront of physical activities and school health initiatives. To mark the occasion, pupils and staff at the school held a celebration event featuring a whole-school assembly, sports showcase, and a flag presentation led by the school’s dedicated sports committee.

Kilsyth Primary has made huge strides in recent years to enhancing physical health through pupil-led committees, extracurricular sports clubs, and annual health and sports weeks in partnership with Titans Basketball, Cumbernauld Rugby Club, and Cumbernauld College.

Councillor Michael McBride, Convener of Education, Children and Families said: “To achieve the gold award is a testament to the exceptional dedication of the head teacher and all the staff at Kilsyth PS to fostering health and wellbeing amongst the pupils. This award reflects a school culture that encourages children to lead healthy, active lives. I’d like to congratulate the full school community on this outstanding award.”

Louise Duncan, Head Teacher at Kilsyth PS explained: "Achieving the gold status award became a focus for us to build the activities, skills and ethos throughout the school and community to enable our pupils to recognise the importance of their health and wellbeing, and being supportive of one another.

“I’d like to say a huge thank you to all our staff including Miss McKeown and Miss Kemp who led on our journey towards this award, to our really supportive parents and carers, and to our brilliant Active Schools coordinator Julie Brennan who planned exciting and innovative events and activities for our pupils to enjoy. 

This award is the latest in a series of achievements at the primary school after earning the Reading Schools Core Award, the Green Leaf Award from Beautiful Scotland for their Forest School work, and the Digital Schools Award for their digital education advancements over the past three years.