The ‘Units of support for high performance in schools’ (UAARE) project aims at an effective cooperation between schools, parents, sports federations and their agents, sports clubs, sports medical centres and local authorities. It aims to successfully reconcile school and sports success of athlete-students with high-performance status, playing in national teams or revealing potential sports talent. This follows the Conclusions of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States on dual careers for athletes (Official Journal of the European Union, 14.6.2013 2013/C 168/04). According to these conclusions, the term ‘dual career’ should mean that an athlete can combine, without unreasonable personal effort, their sporting career with education and work in a flexible way. This is achieved through high-quality training to protect their morale, health, educational and professional interests, without compromising both objectives.
The double life of a UAARE student means lack of time and high pressure to perform, both academically and in sports, with 10-hour ‘working’ days and intensive training (two to three times a day). In addition, there are competitions and internships (national and international), school absence (with increased frequency and duration) and demands in family and social life (due to relocation). However, there are several dual career benefits for athlete-students, such as the improvements in health, life skills in sport, relationships, post-career preparation and professional life.
To support athlete-students in dealing with these challenges and achieving these benefits, UAARE acts through a network of 16 schools across the country, with dedicated pedagogical teams in each. These provide pedagogical and psycho-pedagogical support for the students’ particular needs, including:
- personalised learning plans that improve conditions of equity and social justice;
- adaptations of curriculum and schedule to the sports demands;
- justification of absences and special assessment dates, combined with distance support and distance education in a virtual learning environment (VLE).
The VLE is integrated with a physical innovative learning environment (‘Study Room Learn More’), in which pedagogical teams work together within and among UAARE schools in developing personalised open educational resources.