April is shaping up to be a busy month for us at Oriam and for our communities, with celebrations, holidays and spring activities around Edinburgh. We have plenty of classes and activities available for you to enjoy with friends. April is also Stress Awareness Month; this time of year can be stressful with exam season fast approaching, work deadlines and Edinburgh school holidays. Remember to take time for yourself to breathe, relax and reset your goals. Read on for more details on our highlights for this month to help you make the most of your free time.
Easter Holiday Activities
New Easter Sports Camp and more
April School Holidays are fast approaching! Looking for something to keep the kids active? We have a few spaces left in our Easter Sports Camp. This is a 4-day camp from Monday 7th to Thursday 10th of April. Each day, sessions run from 9:30am - 12:30pm, packed with fun and engaging sports activities, tailored to children aged 5 - 13 years.
Call now to book your child's space! Full 4-day camp is £100 or £115 with early drop-off time from 9:00am.
Our regular weekly sports classes are also running as normal throughout the school Easter Break.
Transform in 8 Challenge: Your Journey to a Stronger, Healthier You
At Oriam, we’re always looking for ways to empower our members to reach their health and fitness goals. That’s why we’re thrilled to introduce the Transform in 8 challenge—a free, 8-week programme designed to inspire, motivate, and support our community, staff, and students in making meaningful progress toward their fitness aspirations.
Participants will be part of one of two groups, depending on their individual goals:
- Body Fat % Loss Group – Perfect for those aiming to shed fat and improve their overall health.
- Muscle Mass Gain Group – Designed for individuals looking to build strength and increase muscle.
The challenge is completely free and open exclusively to Oriam members. However, spaces are limited to ensure that each participant receives the support and guidance they need.
Clinic ACL Injury Support
Suffered an ACL injury recently? First of all, we hope you're OK and looking after yourself. ACL recovery is a long process but our Clinic team are here to help you every step of the way. Our Clinic team are now offering a comprehensive package for injury and post surgery rehabilitation tailored specifically for your ACL. This is a unique package which supports your full journey from initial assessment to full return-to-play testing across a 9-month period with all of the specialist facilities and expertise provided all under one roof! The package includes: clinic based physio treatments, 1-1 and group gym sessions, group hydrotherapy sessions in our onsite hydro-pool, full regular testing protocols including Biodex Isokinetic Testing so you can return to your favourite activities with confidence. Find out more about our Clinic services on our Clinic webpage.
Oriam Youth Development Programme
Applications open for aspiring young athletes
Our Youth Development Programme has been growing from strength to strength and applications are open, with a couple of spaces left in each of our two weekly sessions. This is a fantastic programme designed for young aspiring athletes aged 12 - 15, in each session participants will learn new strength and resistance training skills within the gym alongside theory and developing their own personal training programme all with expert guidance from our Sports Scientist, Vicky.
Heriot-Watt Round the Grounds - Run
Sunday 6th April
This year the Heriot-Watt University Athletics Club is hosting their annual Round the Grounds Race on Sunday the 6th of April 2025.
There will be two different events taking place:
- 5k - 13:30 start (13:15 declarations close)
- Kids Fun Run - 12:45 start (12:30 declarations close)
Both events are multi-terrain that will take you down the trail paths around the campus grounds.
Registration and number collection will be at the Oriam which is only a short walk from the start of the race. With registration open from 11:30am. (Oriam, Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS)
Back Onside Charity Football Match
Back Onside Select vs Hollyoaks
We're thrilled to host a new Charity Football Match in May, raising funds and awareness for Back Onside a brilliant mental health charity. Join us on the 11th May for a family-friendly match between Hollyoaks Celebrities and Back Onside Select. Find out more about the event and Back Onside in the link below.
Watt a Year!
Heriot-Watt Sports Union wrapping up another successful season of Student Sport.
As the end of semester approaches, the Sports Union competition season is wrapping up another successful year of student sport.
We wrapped up an action-packed calendar of matches and events with the annual Watt Cup yesterday. We witnessed each club go head to head in a one-day showdown of Blue vs Yellow. It was a hard-fought battle but Blue Team were victorious and lifted the trophy. Follow the Sports Union on Instagram for further match highlights and the upcoming Blues Awards!
Stress Awareness Month
Tips and support for your wellbeing
April marks the start of exam season for both school and university students, often a stressful time for them and their friends and families. This month is Stress Awareness Month so we have asked the Heriot-Watt Active Wellbeing team about their top tips to help manage stress. These are useful daily skills for both work and studies, read the full article here.
If you do need some extra support during a stressful time, there are many resources out there for mental health support. You can visit our charity partners at Back Onside with mental health resources and emergency support.
This Time Last Year...
Let's Play Pickleball
Pay as you Play Pickleball arrived at Oriam
In case you missed it, we have added Pickleball to our Pay as You Play options. This is a fun and accessible racquet sport which is rapidly growing in popularity across the world. At Oriam you will be able to play Pickleball on our badminton courts in Sports Hall One and racquets and balls are available to hire at Reception for a small fee.
Head to our Instagram page to get some top tips from Jack on how to get started on pickleball.
Heriot-Watt Men's Squash head to the Big BUCS Final
As the end of semester approaches, the Sports Union competition season is wrapping up another successful year of student sport.
The Heriot-Watt Squash team made it to the Big BUCS Final in Loughborough on 20th March, making history as the first team to ever make the BUCS National Finals for Heriot-Watt University. They missed out on the win but a massive achievement just to be there. Our Heriot-Watt Men's Football team are heading for the Semi-Finals in their league and several players have been called up to the Scottish Universities National Football Team.
Tennis Programme is Growing!
Our Tennis Programme is continuing throughout the Edinburgh and Lothians April Holidays and we have some exciting new developments arriving for the programme this month. Our Tennis Classes have been very popular since launching at the start of the year, so our class options are now expanding: introducing colour group levels one and two, with extra classes added too! This is so our coaches can ensure every class can continue to be tailored to the players age and ability and maintain the small class sizes, maximising coaching time for each participant.
Existing class participants will be informed of any movement between classes and there are spaces available for new starters too! Go to our Minis and Juniors Tennis page for more class details.
Summary
Here's a round-up of everything we have planned at Oriam for April. New Classes, activities and more coming for spring 2025.