Empowering Girls Through Physical Activity

In this podcast we hear from Beky Williams, Managing Director of Stride Active, Dan Thomas, Head of PE and Business at Kingstone High School and Lucy Finch, Teacher of PE at Kingstone High School.  

The group discusses projects which have been involved in, that have proved instrumental in gaining feedback from girls within the Herefordshire region, taking action to create space for open conversations to hear from girls on how to reduce barriers to physical activity.  

The activities and collaborative events are underpinned by key design principles; aimed at empowering girls to gain knowledge and confidence to increase girls' participation in sport and physical activity within Herefordshire.  

The ‘Here Girls Can’ project is the locally adapted offer of the national This Girl Can campaign, commissioned through Sport England and funded by the National Lottery. In 2025, This Girl Can celebrated its 10 year-anniversary. 

Insight and data: If you are interested in this work, some impact reports for consideration: PE & School Sport: The Annual Report 2024 - Youth Sport Trust  which highlights some national challenges in youths accessing physical activity.  

Earlier this year, Stride Active released the 'Here Girls Can 2024 Impact Report'. The report quotes 85% of girls recording an increase in confidence after attending an event. You can access the full report via the links below.  

Kingstone High School received the Youth Sport Trust ‘Girls Active Report’ for 2024, exploring girls' motivations, barriers and overall engagement in physical activity. The responses given for key barriers to engaging in sport, physical activity and PE at school were on average more positive for girls at Kingstone High School compared to the national average.  In the report, 79% of girls at Kingstone High School enjoyed taking part in physical activity.

This was reflected in many areas, relating to some of the issues and actions referenced in this podcast.  

Links related to this episode:  
Home | Active Herefordshire & Worcestershire  
Kingstone Academy Trust - Achieving Success Together  

Here Girls Can - Stride Active  

This Girl Can | Active Herefordshire & Worcestershire  
This Girl Can | This Girl Can | This girl can  

Youth Sport Trust - Youth Sport Trust