Physical Education Should Be a Priority for Every School

School sport is so often considered a contradiction in terms these days that it is heartening to learn of any physical education strategies that appear to be producing a positive outcome. That kind of boost came last week from a conference staged by the Youth Sports Trust to assess the effectiveness of the country's growing band of specialist sports colleges.

Not only are these schools achieving higher standards of physical education but, claim the findings of an independent review, they are raising academic grades, too. In the wake of the government's recent announcement that another 30 secondary schools have been awarded sports college status, bringing the current total to 328, a report compiled by the Centre for the Economics of Education at the London School of Economics revealed that boys who attend them achieve, on average, one grade higher, and girls half a grade higher, in their studies.

As part of the government's specialist schools programme, a policy inherited from its predecessor, sports colleges seem to be flourishing. To gain specialism in a subject such as sport, schools must initially raise £50,000 in sponsorship, produce a detailed plan to show how they propose to improve standards in their area of expertise and must promise to share their knowledge with the community. In return they get a one-off grant of £100,000 plus a minimum of £123 extra per pupil for at least four years.

Critics have slammed the approach for encouraging a two-tier state education system and for allowing back-door selection of pupils - schools are permitted to cherry pick up to 10% of their annual intake according to their aptitude for, say, sport. Yet the government insists all comprehensives that meet the standards can apply to become specialist schools, provided they have demonstrated a particular strength.

Eight years ago, when sport was added to the specialist programme, only 11 schools were designated sports colleges. By September 2006, the government aims to bring that figure to 400 and to incorporate every English school into a partnership scheme that sees them work ing closely with sports colleges to raise standards in physical education. Coupled with other government-led initiatives such as further investment in school sports coordinators, who help link sports colleges and the community to implement after-school activities, and the launch today by the sports minister Richard Caborn of 800 "multi-skills sports clubs" to enhance participation at primary and secondary level, the future of school sport looks promising.

Still, questions need to be asked about whether the right sort of progress is being made. Beyond the impressive statistics of the sports schools, how well are other schools doing when it comes to increasing activity levels and standards of PE?

Just prior to the trust's optimistic conference, the Central Council for Physical Recreation, the umbrella organisation for sports governing bodies in the UK, held its own summit to discuss such issues. Sadly, what emerged was not so encouraging. Delegates were told the harsh reality.

According to a recent Sport England survey, they were reminded, 16% of six to 16-year-olds are clinically obese. This generation of schoolchildren will be the first to have a life expectancy shorter than that of their parents. While recognising that investment in sports colleges and community partnerships means things have improved, the council showed that much more remains to be done.

In a statement to the government, the council's recommendations for PE and sport far exceed existing policy. More investment should be made in training teachers across the board - not just at sports colleges - to deliver "physical literacy and competence" that will help children to develop the skills and confidence to lead healthy lifestyles, the council says. And it urged the government to get a move on.

Sport, it concluded, provides a solution to weight control and much more. It offers youngsters an unrivalled means of social inclusion and teaches them to be leaders, team-players and strategic planners. Until sport is prioritised in all schools and the results are clear, politicians should not be patting themselves on the back.