Vitality and SOCS partner to showcase school sport and keep schoolkids active

August 25th, 2026

Megan Balmont

Marketing and Events Manager

Vitality and SOCS strengthen partnership with major new sponsorship to support school sport and active lives

SOCS, the UK’s leading sport and co-curricular management platform has today announced a major partnership with health and life insurer Vitality, focused on further promoting school sport and helping more school children develop a lifelong positive relationship with physical activity.

The announcement will directly support SOCS with its ambition to use technology to engage millions of parents, students, teachers and supporters with school sport every week for the 1,250 schools already registered with SOCS and further expand its reach, aligning with Vitality’s core purpose to help more people live healthier lives

The partnership will support and expand a number of key initiatives, including:

Safeguarded live streaming at scale for children’s sport: schoolssports.tv, SOCS’s dedicated broadcast platform for School Sport, will significantly expand its reach. Already home to many of the landmark annual School Sports events – and watched by over 150,000 registered viewers – the platform will bring more fixtures, finals and competitions to families everywhere, further raising the profile of school support.

A centralised national schools results hub: A new single destination for school sport fixtures, results and league tables, with competitions where appropriate. As an example, SOCS launched the Schools Lacrosse League powered by SOCS, for which Vitality is the official presenting partner for the 2025/26 season, providing structure and purpose to a sport where, without a national competition, girls were often pulled away to other perceived priorities. Berkhamsted School were inaugural champions, with St Albans High School for Girls runners-up and Moreton Hall third.

Driving performance and participation in school sport for girls: A dedicated initiative to tackle one of the most urgent issues in youth sport, keeping girls playing and engaged in sport. Research shows a 64% drop out of sport by the end of puberty for girls,¹ and only 4% of women participating in team sport later in life.² SOCS will provide support to break down some of the practical barriers to activity, providing insight and solutions to challenges reported by girls, such as fitting sports bras, with 46% of girls saying breast development affects their participation and more than half never wear a sports bra during exercise³ - and leakproof knickers and swimwear, given that 78% of girls say they avoid sport when they have their period.⁴ SOCS’ aim is to ensure that practical barriers never become the reason a girl steps away from sport.

The work SOCS are doing to break down barriers to sport and showcase it at scale for all children, is something truly remarkable and a big part of why we're so pleased to be announcing this partnership today. We know that the habits people build in their school years shape their health for life, and at the same time many girls, in particular, are dropping out of sport before they've even finished school. In supporting and collaborating with SOCS, we hope to inspire all children to live more active lives and provide a platform for girls' sport to be spotlighted and celebrated.

Nick Read — Chief Vitality Officer for Vitality

About SOCS

SOCS is the unified platform at the heart of more than 1,200 leading schools worldwide, connecting every aspect of school life through one integrated ecosystem. Beyond helping schools manage their co-curricular programmes, communications and operations, SOCS is committed to strengthening grassroots school sport and widening access for pupils, families and school communities.

Through partnerships and sponsorships, SOCS supports some of the UK's largest school sporting events, including the Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens, Daily Mail Trophy and Sisters n Sport competitions, making school sport more accessible through high-quality, safeguarding-first live streaming on schoolssports.tv. The company also brings together school leaders, coaches and sector experts to champion initiatives that keep more young people—particularly girls—engaged in sport through puberty and beyond.

Alongside its investment in school sport, SOCS continues to help schools embrace innovation responsibly through SOCS AI Standard, providing practical AI governance, training and accreditation to support the safe, ethical and effective adoption of artificial intelligence across school communities.

By combining technology, community partnerships and sector leadership, SOCS is helping schools create more connected, inclusive and future-ready environments for every pupil.

About Vitality

Vitality is part of Discovery Limited, a worldwide insurer and investment manager impacting more than 52 million members in over 36 markets worldwide, across Europe, the United States, Australia, South Africa, Canada and China.

Vitality pioneered the ‘shared-value’ insurance model, a unique approach based on the scientifically proven principles of behavioural economics. Through this model, Vitality helps members take a more active role in managing their own wellness, encouraging them to develop healthy long-term habits that are good for them, good for the company and good for society. The effect is positive for all stakeholders – members benefit from better health, financial rewards and additional incentives;

employers benefit from healthier, more productive, and more engaged employees; and Vitality benefits from a healthier membership base.

Vitality Ambassadors Jessica Ennis-Hill, Heather Knight, Tracey Neville, Ellie Simmonds, Jos Buttler, Maro Itoje, Joe Root, Jonny Wilkinson, Isa Guha, Luke Donald and Iona Stephen are role models who embody the company’s values. They use their passion for living a healthy, active lifestyle to motivate others to make positive changes, promoting the message that taking small steps today can dramatically improve wellbeing over the long-term.

In the UK, Vitality operates as two distinct businesses: VitalityHealth and VitalityLife employing more than 2000 people in London, Bournemouth and Stockport. For more information, visit: vitality.co.u

References

1 Women in Sport, cited in UK Parliament Women and Equalities Committee report: ‘Health barriers for girls and women in sport’ (2024).

2 Vitality Active Women, Healthy Lives report (November 2024).

3 Scurr, J. et al. (2016). ‘The Influence of the Breast on Sport and Exercise Participation in School Girls in the United Kingdom.’ Journal of Adolescent Health, 58(2), pp.167–173. DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.10.005

4 Women in Sport (2022). ‘Teenage Girl Engagement in Sport.’