Thursday, 28 March 2024 - 5.51 pm

The Olympic Legacy?

London 2012 – Three Years On….

The opportunity for the London Olympics to inspire children to play more sport has been squandered by ‘wicked and negligent’ politicians, says Tessa Jowell, the former Olympics Minister and a prospective candidate for London Mayor.

Recent research from the Youth Sport Trust highlights the average time spent on PE lessons by primary school children in a week, comparing 2009-10 with 2013-2014.  The figures make somewhat depressing reading.

For Key Stage One children (primary school years 1 and 2), the average time spent in PE lessons each week in 2009-10 was 126 minutes.  Following the London Olympics, this figure had reduced to an average of 102 minutes per week by 2013-14.

A similar pattern was noted for Key Stage Two children (primary school years 3-6).  In 2009-10, the average time spent per week on PE was 127 minutes.  This had reduced to an average of 114 minutes by 2013-14.  Some legacy….

On a more positive note, the research went on to look at the most popular extra-curricular sports activities for children at both primary and secondary level.  The number one sport in both categories?  No need to ask!

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