The Rugby World Cup should be an opportunity for UK schools to get more young people involved in the sport at grassroots level. But for state school students dreaming of playing for their country, a glance at the England squad may be disheartening.
Of the team’s 31 players, 20 were at least partly educated in the independent sector. The gap appears to be widening – just 11 of the 2003 squad were educated in private schools. And it’s not just rugby. Team GB was equally lopsided in 2012, with about 37% of medal-winners privately educated.
Why are state school students so woefully underrepresented in many elite sports? Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of social mobility charity the Sutton Trust, joined voices in the teaching community in blaming insufficient finances, noting that wealthy private schools can invest in specialist coaches, facilities and equipment.
But the chief schools inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, claims it is as much about attitude as facilities. In an Ofsted inquiry into school sports, he attacked many headteachers for treating physical education as an “optional extra” – but added that some schools were getting it right.
The Campion school in Essex is proof that lack of resources needn’t be a barrier. Since its foundation in 1962, the school has been a trailblazer for youth rugby: its students have competed locally and nationally, and it became the first comprehensive school to win the English schools under-18s cup in 2001. That achievement was despite having to use the indoor sports hall for training when the school playing field was flooded. Former students have gone on to play for professional clubs such as Saracens and the Harlequins.
Chris Jones, head of rugby at the school, believes a culture that puts physical education (PE) and sport on an equal footing with academic subjects is key to overcoming funding limitations. Rugby is compulsory at the all-boys school and all students give up their Saturday mornings for training.
“If we made it optional, people would vote with their feet and say they are not interested,” he explains. “But if you make it compulsory then everyone is involved. Little by little we see firstly that they have potential, and secondly that they are getting regular enjoyment from it. If you allow people the freedom to opt out then perhaps we wouldn’t achieve the standard that we aim for.”
The teachers keep the students motivated by entering school teams into county cup tournaments and organising tours to countries which love rugby, such as South Africa. Jones says using the “carrot” of trips gives students a reason to train hard – the players who return from these excursions become positive role models for others.
Although being made to get up on a wet, windy Saturday morning to play rugby isn’t every teenager’s idea of fun, feedback from students has been resoundingly positive. A survey of year 7 students, conducted by headteacher Keith Williams, found that 75% of pupils enjoyed the Saturday sessions. The majority of the students (71%) questioned had never played rugby before joining the school but claimed they now enjoy it so much that they would still play the sport if it was optional.
Williams adds that while the most important thing is to keep the students engaged in sport, teachers must be just as passionate and motivated. The school does this by showing staff why sport is vital in education. Not only does it instil discipline, it improves behaviour and boosts students’ confidence. He admits it hasn’t always been easy getting the less sporty teachers on board, but the Rugby World Cup has been the perfect opportunity to bring staff, parents and students together by screening the matches at the school.
But even if you have the whole school singing from the same hymn sheet, the pressure to meet academic targets can mean teachers miss opportunities to develop potential sporting talent.
Mo Farah’s former PE teacher, Alan Watkinson, claims that PE is being squeezed by other priorities – and there is only so much that subject teachers can achieve with limited time and resources.
The man who taught the double Olympic gold medallist bemoans the fact that children in state schools are only judged on academic attainment. This means there’s often less funding and support – such as specialist teaching staff – for children who have a sporting ability. “The difficulty is that you have a particularly talented individual who needs time out to train and support around managing their academic demands with their sporting commitments. If they are in the early stage of speciality sports such as gymnastics, for example, they are training ridiculous hours while trying to manage their exam subjects alongside that.”
Having national sporting heroes to whom students can relate has an incredible effect on young people growing up in less privileged environments, according to Watkinson.
“I have seen the impact of Mo in Hounslow [where Mo grew up and went to school] and the number of assemblies that have been done on Mo and his humble beginnings. That really does inspire,” he says.
“Mo himself was inspired because he went to a local athletics club which had a string of international athletes that he could look up to. He recognised that this wasn’t something completely out of reach or irrelevant, there are people who are doing this and he wanted a piece of it.”
Will Roberts, director of sport at the Youth Sport Trust, insists schools shouldn’t be judged on provision of competitive sport alone. High quality PE and the opportunity to participate in a number of different sports is also important. The broad range of sports on offer in state schools – an area in which private schools lag behind – is something to be proud of, he says.
Roberts admits that while it is impossible to predict the future, there is little indication that the gap between state and privately education students in sport will change any time soon. But there is an opportunity to increase equality.
“Every young person has a right to physical education and a balanced programme within that subject,” Roberts adds. “What we want is equality.”
