HomeFundingProjectsGet Set

Get Set

British Olympic Foundation
Grantholder

An extension of London 2012’s education programme to inspire young people to get active and live the Olympic and Paralympic values

Project information

£1,026,098

Grant amount

October 2013

Date awarded

August 2014 – March 2025

Project dates

Nationwide

Location

Download: Path To Paris Final Evaluation Report Download: Road To Rio Final Evaluation Report Download: Travel To Tokyo Final Evaluation Report Download: Bound For Beijing Final Evaluation Report Download: A Blueprint For Driving Effective Youth Engagement Through Major Events – learning resource Download: Establishing Strong Partnerships For Major Event Education Programmes – learning resource Download: Establishing Strong Partnerships For Major Event Education Programmes – summary Download: A Blueprint For Driving Effective Youth Engagement Through Major Events – summary

Project Detail

Get Set is the official youth engagement programme of the British Olympic Association and the British Paralympic Association. The aim of the programme is to inspire young people and their families to get active, wherever they are, and live the Olympic and Paralympic Values. Spirit of 2012 supported Get Set across a decade, beginning with Road to Rio, in 2014. After Road to Rio came grants for Travel to Tokyo and Bound for Beijing. Path to Paris was the final round of the programme to be supported by Spirit, concluding at the end of 2024.

Get Set was delivered by the British Olympic Foundation (BOF), the British Paralympic Association (BPA), and Hark. Young people, age 5-19, were encouraged to build confidence and learn through Get Set, maintaining healthy, active lifestyles while building excitement around the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Road to Rio (£600,000 from Spirit of 2012)

Road to Rio launched with a mobile app that enabled young people to work in teams and convert their own physical activity into kilometres. These teams virtually travelled 9,289 km from London to Rio, with each activity logged progressing them further along their journey. Inclusive sports were a big focus, encouraging disability awareness. Alongside this, school pupils completed challenges to earn Values Awards. These were interactive, online courses encouraging young people to develop key life skills, character and resilience through exploring the Olympic and Paralympic Values. Classroom resources were themed around these values, such as respect, courage, determination and equality. Schools ran Road to Rio weeks, sports days and mini-Olympics, and some invited local athletes to visit and hosted talks from Olympians and Paralympians. The Road to Rio grant of £600,000 supported activities over two years. Over 1,500 schools participated, and more than 25,000 participants travelled the full distance.

Travel to Tokyo and Bound for Beijing (£294,244 from Spirit of 2012)

BOF and the BPA received funding from Sport England for Travel to Tokyo and Bound for Beijing at the summer and winter Olympic and Paralympic Games of 2020 and 2022. Spirit provided match-funding of £294,244 across 3 years to support the expansion of activities into Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Using the inspiration of Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022, these programmes helped families across the UK to get active in the run up to the Games, with the aim to change attitudes and break down barriers that prevent people from getting active. There was a specific focus on engaging inactive families from lower socio-economic groups (LSEG). Families logged physical activity to meet weekly goals and win prizes, enjoying fun and flexible activity ideas. There was also the opportunity to learn about different cultures along the way.

To support families to stay active at home during lockdown, Travel to Tokyo created a Home Learning Pack filled with fun, quick and easy activities that encouraged young people to get active using simple household items as equipment. Bound for Beijing tasked participants with the virtual challenge of hiking to the top of fictional ‘Mount Spirit.’ 951,445 pupils from 5,000 schools participated in Travel to Tokyo and Bound for Beijing, including 239,082 pupils from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Path to Paris (£108,454 from Spirit of 2012)

Path to Paris further built on the success of Get Set, encouraging 5–11-year-olds to get active with their families and communities in the run-up to Paris 2024, with the aim to form long lasting habits towards physical activity. Spirit’s funding once again supported reach into Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with a grant of £180,458 over 2 years. This took our total investment in Get Set up to £1,074,702. 360,000 young people engaged with Path to Paris, with 98,000 family members. They logged over 3.8 million minutes (or 7 days) worth of activity.

There was a small underspend on the grant awarded for Travel to Tokyo/Bound for Beijing. BOF proposed to use these funds for research reflecting on Get Set and other programmes to understand how major events can be used to drive youth engagement through education. Spirit agreed to support this with a grant of £18,785, which BOF used to commission Hark to undertake research, consultation and publication of four outputs. The work concluded on 31 March 2025, and the outputs produced (available to download on this page) can be used by BOF, the BPA and any other major events reviewing their youth engagement and education strategies. These include a blueprint and a framework for partnership working.

Impact & Learning

Key achievements

Road to Rio

  • More than 1,045,284 young people engaged through the programme. 1,130 schools and youth groups recorded activity, and over 1 million activities were recorded.
  • 88% of young people felt that the programme raised their aspirations.
  • 82% of young people reported increased participation in physical activity.
  • 83% of young people agreed that there had been a positive change in the perceptions of disabled people.


Travel to Tokyo

  • 951,445 pupils from 5,000 schools participated, with 191,280 pupils from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
  • 92% of activities logged by families were categorised as either ‘enjoyable’ or ‘very enjoyable’.

Bound for Beijing

  • 281,919 pupils from 1,643 schools participating in Bound for Beijing, including 47,802 pupils from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
  • Teachers reported that the programme helped make physical activity mor exciting for pupils and planning these activities enhanced their creativity. Teachers and parents also found the young people were more active overall, especially outside of school, with increased uptake in after school clubs.

Path to Paris:

  • 8 million minutes (or 7 years) of activity were logged in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland alone. 83% of the activities logged made participants feel ‘good’ after taking part.
  • Positive changes in attitudes towards disability: disabled and non-disabled young people were able to try out para-sports and the resources gave teachers the tools to facilitate discussions around disability and inclusivity.
  • Over 172,000 girls in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland got active. Feedback showed that girls enjoyed participating and this helped maintain their activity beyond Path to Paris. Interviews conducted indicated that the change in behaviour of girls generated something more long-lasting.

 

Key learning

  • Accessible, inclusive, engaging: Schools reported that Get Set was highly effective in getting young people active and excited about physical activity. Simple, inclusive design – with low- or no-cost activities – removed barriers to participation and reduced pressure on teachers, making it easy for everyone to get involved.
  • Motivated by teamwork and challenge: Teamwork, self-direction, and a competitive element – whether competing against others or personal bests – were key to motivating even the least active participants. The chance to win prizes added extra incentive.
  • Learning beyond sport: Linking activities to the curriculum expanded the impact beyond physical activity. Cultural learning was a highlight, sparking interest in other countries and traditions. Teachers valued the ready-made resources for introducing pupils to different cultures and perspectives.
  • Finding opportunities to discuss disability and inclusion: Teachers said there are limited opportunities within the curriculum to talk explicitly about disability and inclusion. The Paralympic content helped them open up these conversations with both disabled and non-disabled children, deepening understanding and challenging stereotypes. Learning from this project was integrated into our Legacy Learning Partnership with Loughborough University.
  • Inspiring role models: The Olympic and Paralympic connection, including athlete ambassadors, introduced young people to new sports and inspiring role models – particularly disabled athletes. Local athlete visits were especially impactful, as pupils could relate to and be inspired by someone from their own community.

Related articles