Compulsory participation in activities such as rugby may soon be a thing of the past at Britain’s private schools, as complaints from parents and legal difficulties may lead to competitive team sports replaced by the likes of zumba.
A report into the future of school sports, presented to the Headmasters and Mistresses Conference annual meeting in St Andrews on Wednesday, casts doubt on the role of team sports in building character, and suggests activities such as yoga and zumba – a popular Brazilian fitness regime based on dance – should be adopted instead.
In a turnaround from the traditional image of building competitiveness, tomorrow’s private schools will include “a recognition that winning is not the only criterion for success”, the report claims.
“More people of my generation learned to hate team games at school than learned to love them. But there was an acceptance that sport was as democratic as North Korea,” said Neil Rollings, the report’s author and the chair of an organisation representing coaches and sports teachers at independent schools.
Parents are increasingly likely to object to their children taking parts in compulsory sports such as rugby and hockey, HMC members were told. “The days of compulsory team games are numbered, especially in sports with a significant degree of danger of injury such as rugby, football or hockey,” the report notes.
“It is likely however that the ‘assumed consent’ which makes such compulsion legal will be more frequently withdrawn, both by parents and pupils.”
The change in course by independent schools comes as the Department for Education moves in the opposite direction, with the secretary of state, Nicky Morgan, recently launching a £5m programme to pay rugby clubs to help state schools build grit and resilience.
“All young people can learn from rugby – it teaches you how to bounce back from defeat, how to respect others and how to work together,” Morgan said at the launch.
But now private schools have toned down their enthusiasm forteam sports. The report presented to independent school heads said that while sports can nurture characteristics such as grit and courage, “none is inevitable”.
“It will not be enough to make bland and unsubstantiated claims,” the report added.
