E D U C AT I O N
Two schools consider whether sport could be more important than academic study
Giles Entwisle, DURSTON HOUSE
SPORT vs ACADEMICS Vinehall School, East Sussex
TWO SCHOOLS CONSIDER WHETHER SPORT COULD BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN ACADEMIC STUDY
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f the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that being active is crucial to maintaining good mental health and reducing obesity. It’s not a new concept, but probably the first time we’ve all seen the benefits, personally. The repeated message to exercise for mental health has been loud and clear and we (and our children) have walked, cycled and circuit trained ourselves through three lockdowns. We also know that instilling a love of sport in childhood, leads to healthier attitudes and habits for life, as well as being crucial to child development. Teamwork, self-confidence, responsibility, experiencing failure and self-discipline are all life skills that sport promotes. Evidence backed reports also link the relationship between sports participation and increased academic achievement. Notwithstanding the difficulties implementing P.E. and sport into remote learning in the last year, the trend
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over recent years has been children doing less than the recommended 6o minutes of daily exercise. And experts are ‘deeply concerned’. The Active Lives survey, published by Sport England, showed that almost a third of children (2.3 million) were classed as ‘inactive’ as a result of lockdown restrictions. Inactive meaning doing less than 30 minutes of activity a day. This doesn’t seem that surprising considering children haven’t been at school but it’s only a 2.5% change on the figures pre-Covid-19. Tim Hollingsworth, Sport England CEO said: “Schools play a vital role in keeping young people active – and it’s imperative they’re in a position to facilitate physical activity the moment they can.” So, what part can schools play in lifting children’s participation in sport, and perhaps rewiring all our brains to consider sport just as important as academic study? We asked two schools for their view. CITYKIDSMAGAZINE.CO.UK 29
