Page 26
What legacy?
A renaissance for competitive sport in schools? Or a missed opportunity from which few will benefit? Elyssa Campbell-Barr looks at the likely legacy of the London 2012 Olympics for young people.
“Without a doubt, one of the most important parts of the Olympic and Paralympic Games has always been the legacy,” said Prime Minister David Cameron, congratulating the winners and participants in this May’s Schools Games.
The games, in which 1,600 English schoolchildren competed in four of the new Olympic venues, are the centrepiece of the Government’s strategy for school sport. Children compete at four levels – in school, between local schools and at county/area level, with the very best selected to participate in the national finals.
Around £153m of funding, from the Government, Sport England and sponsor Sainsbury’s, has been committed to support the games over the next four years – a fraction of the £162m a year for the School Sport Partnerships (SSPs) that Education Secretary Michael Gove announced was being scrapped in 2010. And though over 12,000 schools will take part, this represents just half of schools in England. In the host city of London, only 42 per cent have signed up.
With the support of SSPs, the proportion of schoolchildren engaged in two hours or more of sport each week rose from 25 per cent in 2002 to over 90 per cent in 2010. It seems unlikely the Schools Games will have such an impact.
Critics point out that the Schools Games and other competitions do little to motivate the majority who don’t excel at sport. SSPs were lampooned by some for introducing pupils to yoga, streetdance and trampolining
Continued on page 27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52