Is Our Country Failing At Sport Due To The Lack Of Opportunity Given To State Schools?

Is Our Country Failing at Sport Due to the Lack of Opportunity Given to State Schools?

Here at Class People, we believe in making a positive contribution to the teaching profession and supporting education professionals. We are continually striving to raise the standards of education and recognise how much of a difference it can make.

Class People recruitment consultant Tom Sharwood discusses the funding gap for sports between state and private schools, and explores ways to combat these issues. 

State schools don't get the same opportunities to excel in sports as private schools - that is the unfortunate truth. Most of the time, how you get selected for representative honours within many sports all depends on which school you attend and a lot of the time these schools cost a pretty penny to go to.

An inquiry into schools' sports by education standards Ofsted revealed that there are 'unacceptable discrepancies' in the ratio between state and independent school pupils competing in sports at an elite level.

I believe that there are multiple factors for this.

Funding is a significant reason, closely followed by the quality of the teacher/coach and then the lack of a crossover and opportunity between state and private school sports. Ultimately, all of these factors could lead to thousands of high-level or potentially 'world-class' athletes being overlooked, therefore harming a country as a whole in any given sport.

I mentioned previously that I feel funding for sports in state schools is a massive factor. This can be from the equipment that has been with the school long before most students were born, or the school mini bus that has the main colour of rust orange. The students need to be getting the opportunity to train and play at a standard that could motivate and spur them on to feel that one day they could be playing sport as a full-time job, with the potential to represent their country. You compare this to the ultra-modern high-tech sporting equipment and facilities that private schools are buying, which gives the students a sense that this is the norm. Unfortunately, state schools just can't compete.

There is also a multitude of extra-curricular activities and opportunities for the students to train, both in the sport and in the gym, to mould themselves into the mesomorph body shape that allows them to compete at the highest level of their chosen sport, inside and outside of the school grounds.

Caterham private school sports facilities.

The quality of the coach may be down to the more attractive salaries from private education, or even down to the high quality of facilities on offer.

Now, how do we combat this?

Additional funding is one option, but with the current economic climate, this may not be enough to really get the wheels in motion and genuinely help out smaller state schools.

Another option is to install more elite competitions with bigger incentives (not just for the winners) that will push both the coaches/teachers and students to want to succeed, not necessarily just take part. This level of competition will also allow the crossover between private and state school teams to play each other locally and nationally, and encourage more scouting. Through this, I feel that there will be more opportunities for all students to have the chance to get noticed by professional sports clubs that can channel them to be a top-level athlete and fulfil their otherwise overlooked potential.

There is a serious concern about the number of elite athletes that we as a country are producing, and something needs to be done. We as a collective should be working hard to find the very best we have to offer and give them a bright future, so we can really perform and excel on the world stage. This, in turn, will give the younger students the aspirations that dreams are achievable and if not, then they will see the importance of passing on knowledge and guidance to the next generation.

With all this being said, admittedly, it isn't all schools that are guilty of this neglect of sport. More schools need to realise the importance that sports have on students and how competition can aid the development at a young age. Being active and competitive can promote a more positive attitude and unity throughout the school, inside and outside of the classroom. 

If you are interested in finding out more about Class People and what we can do to help you, please call me on 01242 898 124 or email marketing@classpeople.co.uk