Dunkeld Sparks Bringing Free Tennis to Local Dunkeld Primary School Children

Dunkeld Sparks is an exciting new community project providing free tennis lessons, equipment, and club membership to pupils at the Royal School of Dunkeld.

Developed in partnership with the school’s PE teacher, over 30 children aged 6–11 are given the opportunity to take part in a free block of coaching sessions, delivered by Club Coach A J Herd. As part of the project, each participating child is being presented with their own free tennis racket by members of the Tennis Club.

Dunkeld Sparks was made possible thanks to the generosity of local businesses in Dunkeld and Birnam, who donated prizes to the Club’s Promise Auction fundraiser in March 2025. This event sparked off the project – with the first phase delivering free lessons and rackets to P7 and P1/2 children.  Then a generous grant from the Dunkeld and Birnam Community Council, together with funds from the Tennis Club secured free lessons and rackets for 20 children from P3 to P6, and more free lessons for the initial group until Easter.  The funds raised are helping remove barriers and ensuring more children can experience the joy of tennis.

“Our aim with Dunkeld Sparks is simple — to make tennis accessible to children who might not otherwise get the chance to play,” said Nick Riley, committee member at Dunkeld & Birnam Tennis Club. “The support from our local community has been incredible, and it’s wonderful to see the children getting active, confident, and excited about the sport.”

Through the project, every child will receive:

• A free block of coaching sessions
• A free tennis racket
• Free junior membership of Dunkeld & Birnam Tennis Club

The latest great news is that a successful application to the SSE Griffin and Calliachar Community Fund has secured sufficient money to cover free coaching for over 50 children until they finish Primary School (or until the end of June 2029). 

We want to extend the Programme so that those children finishing Primary School this June can continue to get free coaching after the summer. If you would like to support this we have a donation facility set up with CAF Donate - DONATE follow this link to donate!