1 February 2008
Gordon Brown has today launched a new drive to encourage children to do more sport.
The Prime Minister called for a national team effort by parents, teachers, sporting talents and volunteers to help make sport a central part of every child’s life and unlock their talent.
In a speech to the Specialist Schools Colleges Conference, in Telford, Mr Brown announced a number of initiatives, including a National School Sports Week, starting on the 30 June 2008, to encourage more young people to compete in a fun environment and showcase their sporting talent.
The PM, who was joined by Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Andy Burnham, and School Sports Champion Dame Kelly Holmes, praised the success of sports colleges and teachers who "motivate and inspire" young people across the country. He said he believed that sport can "do more to raise the level of aspiration among not just some pupils but all pupils in our schools". He also said that involving parents was key.
The PM said:
"Competition is the spice of life and it finds its purest expression in sport. It does not matter if you are not the best just as long as you are always striving to be better. It does not matter if you do not win, just as long as you are always giving everything to be the winner.
"I know that we can tap into that spirit of competition in school sport. In fact, we are already tapping into it and it is not only improving the health and the attitude of our nation’s children, but lifting their self-esteem and their educational achievement too.
"So, 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."
Mr Brown’s speech follows the unveiling yesterday by Children’s Secretary Ed Balls of the Government’s £755 million three-year strategy document for sport and PE.
As well as a national School Sports Week, other plans outlined today include the introduction of five hours of sport a week for school pupils, a national school league table website and access to better sporting facilities outside school hours.
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Image copyright Reuters.
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