To help student-athletes balance their studies with high performance training and competition, the newly branded "Winning Students 100" will provide them with grants of up to £3,000 (€3,514) and work with their respective colleges and universities to offer additional support such as academic flexibility. 

With funding secured until 2028, it is expected that 500 scholarships will be awarded over this period, with the programme also introducing a hardship fund to provide additional support to eligible student athletes. 

For 2023/24, 106 scholarships have been awarded across 28 different sports and 21 universities and colleges. New recipients under the revamped programme include reigning Olympic champion Hailey Duff (curling), Paralympic medallist, Lewis Stewart (cycling), Commonwealth gold medallist, Grace Reid (diving), Britain's first ever Para Nordic World medallist, Scott Meenagh (biathlon) and U23 European 10,000m record holder, Megan Keith (athletics). 

Keith, who won the U23 European Cross Country Championships by a record margin before her record-breaking performance at the Valencia 10K in January, is one of Scotland's leading athletics prospects and a prime example of a world-class student-athlete who strives for excellence in and out of the classroom. 

Commenting on the impact of "Winning Students 100" on her sporting and academic endeavours, the University of Edinburgh, Applied Sport Science student, said: "I really appreciate the generous support from "Winning Students 100 for" the coming year. In what promises to be an exciting year of competition, the scholarship will help fund the travel required to train and compete to the best of my ability." 

Launched in 2008, the original Winning Students programme awarded over 1,700 scholarships in its first phase of funding with notable alumni including Olympic medallists Laura Muir (a great star in athletics), Duncan Scott (swimming), Vicky Wright and Bruce Mouat (both curling). 

As the latest funding partner, the involvement of sportscotland brings true cross-sector collaboration to the programme, with Scotland's sporting and higher education bodies both committed to supporting a dual career pathway for the country's leading student athletes. 

Forbes Dunlop, Chief Executive of sportscotland, emphasised: "We are committed to helping young athletes achieve their goals. Finding the right balance between training, their studies and other commitments is vital to the wellbeing of student athletes. We're delighted that this programme will help these athletes to do just that."

Karen Watt, Chief Executive of the Scottish Funding Council, said: "Having funded the Winning Students programme since its inception, we're incredibly proud that it has helped so many people become successful students and develop careers in sport. The achievements of past Winning Students in life and in sport speak volumes about the benefits of the programme, and I wish the new scholars every success." 

Cathy Gallagher, Executive Director of Sport at the University of Stirling and Chair of the Winning Students 100 Advisory Board, commented: "The importance of this dual career programme for talented student athletes, cannot be understated. The coming together of the Scottish Funding Council, sportscotland and the HE/FE sector forms a significant collaboration within which to create an even greater impact for the current and future cohort of students". 

"Winning Students 100" will be led by the University of Stirling, Scotland's University of Sporting Excellence, and supported by an Advisory Board and Management Group made up of experts from across the higher education and sport sectors.

"Winning Students 100" supported athletes 2023/24: