FOUR players from Irvine Junior Badminton Club have received sponsorship deals in recognition of their success in gaining scholarships at Glasgow School of Sport.

The quartet - Angus Meldrum, Leo McMillan, Imogen Meldrum and Eva Tremble, each received custom training shirts with their names printed on reverse and two badminton rackets from top manufacturer Yonex.

The deal worth £300 per player was part sponsored by Gannon Sports, Glasgow.

In a typical week, the players spend over 20 hours per week, training and playing at school, development squads and competitions.

Scotland's first school dedicated to sporting excellence has been developed at Bellahouston Academy and is a first for Glasgow and a first for Sport. A recognised National Centre of Excellence, supported by the Scottish Government. Glasgow School of Sport is leading the way in providing opportunities for young people in Scotland to develop their sporting talents as part of their school education.

Bellahouston Academy is located in Glasgow, however, pupils at the School of Sport travel from across Scotland to attend. There are almost 900 pupils at the school, of whom 120 are sports pupils specialising in one of five key sports.

The School of Sport was set up in 1999 and is run as a partnership between Glasgow City Council Education Services and Glasgow Life. Specialist sports pupils are fully integrated with the school and follow a balanced curriculum of academic studies together with their sports specialism. Sports pupils receive coaching within the school day, which is carefully timetabled around their academic subjects such as Mathematics and English.

Specialist provision is intended to ensure that such pupils are given the best opportunity to develop their sporting talents as part of their School Education. Great care is taken to provide pupils with every opportunity to maximise not only their sporting but also their academic potential.