Ambitious plans for youth sport

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The Government has marked the start of the UK School Games by assigning an extra £36 million in funding to non-traditional sports in Britain’s schools.

Go to the UK School Games website (new window)

Sports Secretary Andy Burnham announced the plans as he attended the games in Bath along with sporting stars such as Olympic swimming gold medalist Rebecca Adlington. The Government’s ambition is to offer coaching and competition for all by 2012 as part of plans to get young people engaging in five hours of sport a week.

Mr Burnham said:

“The UK School Games are the pinnacle of the school sport system and shows how a culture of competition and excellence has been reintroduced to our schools.

“Today’s announcement by Sport England is further proof of that and builds on our Olympic medal success. School sport has undergone a radical overhaul since 2002″.

By 2012 high quality coaching and competition will be on offer to all school children in mainstream sports such as cricket, tennis and athletics. Pupils will also benefit from the provision of 4,000 taster sessions across England in lower profile sports including cycling, sailing, kayaking, american football and dodgeball.

The £36 million allocation is part of £100 million extra investment in young people’s sport announced by Prime Minister Gordon Brown last year, bringing total investment into school sport over the next three years to £780 million.

The cash injection will enable all five to 16-year-olds to access five hours of government funded sport a week, two in school and three out, and all 16 to 19-year-olds will be offered three hours of out of school sport a week.

Speaking at a conference for educators in February the PM said:

“In the run up to the 2012 Olympics, I want not just to continue to nurture specialist sports colleges but also to restore sport to its proper place in all our schools - not as an after-school option for the able and enthusiastic few but as a central part of the experience of every child”.