Loughborough University Honoured for Transforming Disability Sport and Social Inclusion

Loughborough University has successfully secured the highest national honour of the United Kingdom, the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Higher and Further Education 2025, which reflects the university's world-renowned contribution to research in Para and disability sport and its far-reaching ramifications in social inclusion through sport.

Loughborough is now an eighth-time winner of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Higher and Further Education, a rare honour enjoyed by only a select few in the UK, standing in contention just after Oxford. This year’s umbrella award celebrates the pioneering work undertaken by the university in the area of Para and disability sport research, wherein Loughborough has established itself over the years as a centre of excellence and global leadership.

It honours decades of research and innovation that have opened doors of disability equality in sport. The partnership of Loughborough with ParalympicsGB has been pivotal to these achievements; it has contributed to Britain retaining its top-two global position for three consecutive Summer Paralympic Games. The projects currently undertaken by the university include not just the elite sport component, but inclusive physical activity education and community health programs that work towards upgrading the quality of life worldwide.

World accomplishments in Para and disability sport research

Noting some of the international collaborations, Loughborough retains a worldwide perspective. A prime example is the collaboration with the University of British Columbia to produce exercise guidelines for adults with spinal cord injury, now available in ten languages. Programs such as these demonstrate how academic institutions recognised for equality and diversity may be able to promote sport-driven community health initiatives across borders.

Social inclusion and equity through sport

The Queen Elizabeth Prize underlines the role of universities in the promotion of accessibility and equity. The inclusive sport programs at Loughborough broke down barriers and allowed disabled people to choose to engage in activity. This award places the university amongst the front-runner UK higher education institutions in the inclusion sector, solidifying its place in the sporting world for its social impact reputation.

Voices from the sector

Professor Vicky Tolfrey, research lead, described the award as a “turning point” that elevates Loughborough’s work internationally.

Professor Nick Jennings, Vice-Chancellor, reaffirmed the university’s commitment to “real-world benefits for all.”

Jo Maher, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Sport, highlighted the translation of high-performance innovations into grassroots sport.

Paralympians such as Emma Wiggs MBE credited Loughborough’s research with shaping classification systems and enabling medal success.

The prize that is embedded in the UK honours system is given to institutions every other year for the contributions that have been shown to have a significant societal benefit. For universities focused on social inclusion and sport, it becomes the highest level of recognition for excellence in disability sport research and inclusive sport programmes in UK universities.

Looking Ahead

Loughborough’s success shows that investments in accessible sports programmes, coupled with collaboration on para sport research, can offer rewards in terms of elite performance and social benefits on a larger scale. Loughborough maintains its call to potential partners to support inclusive sport research at Loughborough University, thus ensuring that its agenda remains front and centre in disability equality and health worldwide.

The Loughborough University UK award 2025 is not merely a celebration of elite sport but stands to highlight how higher-education excellence awards in the UK can spotlight universities that transform lives through inclusive physical activity education and sport-driven community health initiatives.

Editor’s Note:

Loughborough University's receipt of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Higher and Further Education 2025 marks a substantive moment for UK higher education, not merely in prestige but in demonstrable public value. As an eighth-time recipient-next only to Oxford institution has converted its long-term investment in Para and disability sport research into measurable equity, health, and participation outcomes. Its partnership with ParalympicsGB and the translation of elite sport innovations into community and pathway programs are critical to illustrate a coherent research-to-impact model as opposed to isolated excellence. Global collaborations, within which, for instance, exercise guidelines for adults with spinal cord injury are available in ten languages, bolster the university's international claims to leadership in practical access. Thus, this award underlines the core purpose of the Prize: to recognise institutions that, through sustained evidence-led work, have delivered real societal benefit. It repositioned sport research within higher education as a vehicle for disability equality and inclusion and improved quality of life to go beyond medals and ranking. The centrality of replication and scale within the sector becomes an issue of relevance. Universities credibly aiming for that level of impact have, and should have, clearly mapped pathways from research through adoption, co-creation with national stakeholders, and secure funding partnerships of the type developed by Loughborough with the Peter Harrison Foundation. These partnerships should also be coupled with some targeted support from policymakers and funders aimed at including sport infrastructures that link elite and grassroots settings, thereby ensuring benefits reach heterogeneous communities.

Skoobuzz mentions that the recognition is a testimony to Loughborough's distinct approach in the sector in prompting other sectors to consider linking research excellence to accessible practice, measuring social outcomes with rigorous tools, and sustaining partnerships that turn innovation into mainstream inclusion.

FAQs

1.Why did Loughborough University win the Queen Elizabeth Prize in 2025?

Loughborough University won the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Higher and Further Education 2025 in recognition of its pioneering research and leadership in Para and disability sport. The award honours decades of innovation that have advanced disability equality, improved access to sport, and delivered measurable societal benefits both in the UK and internationally.

2.What contributions to para sport led to Loughborough’s prestigious award?

The university’s contributions include:

• A long-standing partnership with ParalympicsGB, which helped Britain secure a top-two global ranking at three consecutive Summer Paralympic Games.

• Development of exercise guidelines for adults with spinal cord injury, in collaboration with the University of British Columbia, is now available in ten languages worldwide.

• Research that shaped classification systems in Para canoe directly influenced medal success at the Tokyo Paralympic Games.

• Translation of elite sport innovations into grassroots and pathway programmes, ensuring benefits reach wider communities.

3.How does Loughborough support disability sport and inclusion?

Loughborough supports disability sport and inclusion by:

• Running inclusive physical activity education programmes that remove barriers to participation.

• Advancing community health initiatives that enable disabled people to choose to be active and improve their quality of life.

• Partnering with organisations such as UK Sport, ParalympicsGB, and the Peter Harrison Foundation to sustain long-term investment in disability sport research.

• Embedding accessibility and equity into its academic outputs, ensuring research translates into practice across elite and community levels.

4.Which UK universities have multiple Queen Elizabeth Prizes for Higher and Further Education?

The University of Oxford holds the highest number of awards, followed closely by Loughborough University, which has now won eight. Other UK universities, including Cambridge, Newcastle, and Nottingham, have also received multiple prizes, but Loughborough’s achievement places it among the most highly acclaimed institutions recognised for excellence and societal impact.

5.What does winning the Queen Elizabeth Prize mean for Loughborough’s future in sports research?

Winning the Prize provides Loughborough with a national platform to elevate its work further, reinforcing its position as a global leader in Para and disability sport research. It strengthens the university’s ability to attract new partnerships, funding, and collaborations, while validating its strategy of combining elite sport innovation with community health outcomes. For the future, it signals a commitment to expanding inclusive sport initiatives worldwide, ensuring that research continues to deliver both performance success and broader social equity.