Diploma in Sporting Excellence

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Diploma in Sporting Excellence

The Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE) is a two-year programme for 16-18 year-old student-athletes who exhibit the potential to achieve excellence in their sport and is undertaken alongside full-time education.

The programme, managed in partnership with Sport England and several National Governing Bodies (NGBs) allows student-athletes to combine sport and education so they have the skills, knowledge and qualifications to pursue a dual-career in high-level sport alongside separate paid employment in the future.

We are the chosen education partner for DiSE for the following National Governing Bodies:

British Rowing
Pentathlon GB
The RFU (through Gloucester Rugby and Gloucester-Hartpury Women’s Rugby)

Students wishing to study for the Diploma in Sporting Excellence must be selected by their sports National Governing Body (NGB) to join the pathway and cannot apply directly through Hartpury. For further information please contact your NGB’s Pathway Manager.

Given the differences between each NGB’s performance pathway, and the student-athletes within it, each DiSE sport is delivered using in differing, appropriate approaches. In some sports, student-athletes could complete the DiSE programme without attending Hartpury for a full-time study programme.

Each student student-athlete is assigned their own sport-specific DiSE mentor to support them through the programme and to help them in constructing a portfolio of evidence of their understanding and application of a number of topics to compete the qualification.

Topics covered include:

Technical & Tactical Performance
Strength & Conditioning
Sport Psychology
Nutrition
Lifestyle & Wellbeing
Career Planning & Communications

Most student-athletes who have completed DiSE will remain within their NGB performance pathway, and with the support provided by the DiSE programme will have made, or will soon make progress through this pathway.

The programme has also been designed to equip student-athletes with the necessary skills and knowledge to progress into higher education or move into paid employment. Completion of DiSE attracts 64 UCAS points to support those student-athletes who wish to progress to higher education.