Sports: Children David Taylor To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans his Department has to increase participation amongst under-16 year olds in (a) athletics, (b) badminton, (c) basketball, (d) cricket, (e) cycling, (f) gymnastics, (g) hockey, (h) netball, (i) rugby league, (j) rugby union, (k) squash, (l) tennis and (m) volleyball. Mr. Sutcliffe The Government's investment in PE and sport in schools has had significant success in increasing participation in these sports. Schools were asked to indicate the range of sports provided by their school during the academic year. Details of the percentages of schools which provided the indicated sports are provided in the following table, highlighting the progression of school participation annually (academic year). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |2003/04|2004/05|2005/06|2006/07|2007/08| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Athletics |90 |91 |92 |93 |93 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Badminton |31 |32 |35 |37 |39 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Basketball |65 |63 |67 |69 |69 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Cricket |85 |85 |89 |90 |90 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Cycling |21 |27 |34 |42 |46 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Gymnastics |94 |93 |95 |95 |94 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Hockey |77 |74 |77 |78 |77 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Netball |84 |81 |81 |81 |81 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Rugby League (inc tag rugby) |12 |11 |12 |133 |34 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Rugby Union (inc Tag Rugby) |67 |71 |74 |66 |68 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Squash |5 |5 |6 |7 |7 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Tennis |70 |71 |76 |79 |79 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Volleyball |27 |25 |28 |30 |30 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1 Surveys prior to 2006/07 did not include ‘tag rugby’ in definition.Base:All schools (2003/04—6,574; 2004/05—11,498; 2005/06—16,898; 2006/07—21,745; 2007/08—21,631).| | | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following table shows the sports or activities which schools had club links to during the academic year. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |2003/04|2004/05|2005/06|2006/07|2007/08| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Athletics |32 |33 |38 |40 |43 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Badminton |10 |10 |12 |14 |17 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Basketball |27 |25 |28 |28 |30 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Cricket |45 |46 |52 |56 |57 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Cycling |4 |5 |6 |8 |10 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Gymnastics |24 |26 |31 |35 |40 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Hockey |20 |19 |22 |23 |25 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Netball |26 |26 |29 |30 |32 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Rugby League (inc. tag rugby) |10 |9 |10 |118 |20 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Rugby Union (inc. tag rugby) |39 |41 |46 |44 |48 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Squash |3 |3 |4 |5 |6 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Tennis |27 |30 |36 |39 |40 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Volleyball |3 |2 |2 |3 |4 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1 Surveys prior to 2006/07 did not include ‘tag rugby’ in definition.Base:All schools (2003/04—6,574; 2004/05—11,498; 2005/06—16,898; 2006/07—21,745; 2007/08—21,631)| | | | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our PE and Sport Strategy for Young People will continue that success story, and we are investing over £780 million to 2010-11 to offer five hours of sport a week. The National Governing Bodies of Sport will receive ring-fenced funding as part of their Whole Sport Plan budgets, aimed at developing further links between schools and clubs, and increasing the number of young people involved in volunteering and leadership in sport. Badminton and volleyball are also among the four sports which will benefit from ‘Premier League 4 Sport’, a new scheme launched this month, which will drive participation among young people in partnership with the 20 Premier League football clubs. The challenge for all these sports is to make themselves attractive to young people, so that young people choose to take them up.