Fuelled by a passion for sport and knowledge gained from her Sport Science degree, Claire has built a dynamic career in sports development, now leading programmes at the Youth Sport Trust.
Claire Smith had always been passionate about sport and had dreamt of a career in the sector. She wanted to learn more about the psychology and biology behind sport and the human body and our Sport Science degree allowed her to do that.
Following graduation, Claire moved to London and held various roles in sports development and education with organisations such as Redbridge School Sports Partnership, University of East London, Pro-Active East London and London Sport.
"Studying at UCLan gave me invaluable experience of managing my workload, being organised and able to manage my time effectively. It was a great way to meet new people and broaden my horizons."
— Claire Smith, Sport Science graduate
After taking voluntary redundancy, in 2016, Claire became a self-employed Sports’ Consultant as she felt that she could use the contacts, skills and experience gained over the years to work on different projects. This period saw her completing projects for Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, Sporting Memories Foundation, British Fencing and Essex Cricket in the Community, which involved working as an Active Families Coordinator for East London boroughs. This role entailed coordinating delivery of All Stars and Dynamos Cricket and supporting over 30 centres to run these programmes.
In 2023, Claire relocated back to Leicester and now works as a Programme Manager for the national charity Youth Sport Trust.
Looking back on her time at the University, Claire enjoyed being a part of the University’s netball team. “It was a great group of girls from all courses and all years of study. We had such a great time at training and matches and it really made my time at UCLan.” Claire said.
