Source: https://bridgemindsport.org/ Recently there have been marked efforts to expand the offering for youth bridge in Scotland, England, Norway and the USA. Initiatives have increased both in scale and variety. These four countries are part of BAMSA’s Bridging Schools research.

Aims and key outcomes

  • Contribute to the development of youth bridge through the generation of sociological research evidence
  • Understand the views and practices of young people, parents, bridge teachers, and schoolteachers
  • Compare and contrast the approaches in Scotland, England, Norway, and the USA
  • Develop a comprehensive and diverse knowledge base of youth bridge in both primary and secondary schools, as well as public and independent schools
  • Map the landscape of youth bridge education in schools: record and analyse the extent and types of current provision
  • Identify the benefits and challenges associated with youth bridge development in schools
  • Identify opportunities for growth, building on the vision of the bridge community and existing successes

Work with key bridge organisations and stakeholders to:

  • Disseminate the research evidence to the bridge community and reach new audiences (policy; academic; members of the general public)
  • Co-develop toolkits, promotional materials, and accessible resources tailored to young people, parents, bridge teachers, and schoolteachers
  • Adapt and improve existing resources, facilitate knowledge exchange, and attain an increased degree of international partnership working
  • Engage in outreach to schools and deliver practical impact

Current stage of the research

The research is in its data collection phase, and comprehensive evidence is being collected internationally. In Scotland – research has been conducted in five schools (working with the SBU); In Norway – research is being conducted in collaboration with three community researchers (working with the NBF); In England – access is being granted to a multitude of schools, and research visits will shortly follow (working with the EBU and EBED); In the USA – there will be two overseas visits for the purposes of the research over spring-summer 2025, one of which will be to attend the YNABC (the youth national event – working with ACBLEF). Most recently, the researchers delivered bridge demos to trainee teachers at the University of Stirling, which were met with a positive reception. A new ‘teach the teachers’ initiative is being piloted in partnership with a secondary school in Stirling (also received with keen enthusiasm). A new webpage is in development to host translated teaching resources for children (examples of best practice for school bridge), for example see Lesson 1 – Tricks