This is the sixth survey carried out by the government and the first one since the target for 5 to 16 year olds to do at least two hours of sport each week was smashed last year. Today’s benchmark for the five hour offer has now been set as the 2008/09 survey reveals:

• 51% of pupils took part in at least 3 hours sport in a typical week.
• 69% of pupils participated in intra-school competitions during the school year.
• 44% of pupils participated in inter-school competitions during the school year.
• Schools provided an average of 18.6 different sports including football, dance, athletics, badminton and volleyball.
• Schools had links to an average of 8.2 sports clubs.
• New sport coordinators in FE colleges organised a total of 92 different events .
• 16% of full time students aged 16-19 in FE colleges had participated in sport events and activities.
• 99% of schools held at least one sports day.Following Britain’s domination in cycling at the Beijing Olympics the 2008/09 survey shows a surge of interest in cycling with half of all schools offering it to pupils (up from 21% in 2003)

Minister for Children, Schools and Families, Iain Wright said:

“Today we are raising the bar on youth sport in this country in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics. Thanks to our national PE and Sport Strategy for Young People and world class investment, school and youth sport has never been so well funded or enjoyed by young people - with £2.4 billion committed until 2011 and 51% of pupils now doing at least 3 hours of high quality PE and sport each week. But we are not going to stop there. We want even more children to join in across the country.

“We are aiming high for our young people because they deserve nothing less - setting our sights on 5 hours sport each week. For the first time ever a government is willing to legislate to make this a reality for all young people. In June we published the Your Child, Your Schools, Our Future White Paper which proposes a new Pupil Guarantee setting out what every young person should get during their school careers, including the offer of five hours PE or sport a week in and out of school.

“This won’t be easy, but no true sporting success ever really is. And like all the great sporting success stories of this country I know we are going to get there thanks to the team effort of schools, professional sport and sport in the community all pulling together with the same goal in sight for young people.”

The national Strategy involves 450 School Sport Partnerships, incorporating all 21,526 maintained schools and 356 Further Education (FE) colleges as well as a network of 225 competition managers who are breathing life back into competitive school sport in this country. Representatives are meeting in Telford this week for the Youth Sport Trust’s annual School Sports Partnership Conference. This will include a keynote address by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Ben Bradshaw.

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Ben Bradshaw said:

“School sport in this country has never been in better shape. Thanks to billions of pounds of Government funding in the last decade, record numbers of pupils are playing sport, competitive sport is on the rise, and we have a wealth of state-of-the-art sports facilities.

“Our challenge now is to make the dream of five hours of sport for every child every week a reality. With the help of the dedicated sports professionals working on the ground, we are poised to take school sport to new heights. London 2012 gives us a unique opportunity to inspire the next generation to take up sport for life, and we are grabbing it with both hands.”

Mike Diaper, Sport England's Executive Director, Children and Young People, said:

"By fostering closer links between schools and sports clubs, and making quality and choice the cornerstones of programmes such as Sport Unlimited, we are opening up sporting opportunities to more children and young people. Connecting with youngsters both during the school day and beyond the school gates gives them the best possible chance of developing a lifelong sporting habit."

Steve Grainger, Chief Executive of Youth Sport Trust said:

 “It is fantastic news that more young people are participating in PE and sport and on behalf of the Youth Sport Trust I would like to congratulate everyone who has played their part in making this happen. Typically schools now offer an impressive 18 sports for pupils to take part in and I think it’s no coincidence that on that back of Team GBs success in Beijing that cycling is the sport that is rapidly growing in our schools. With London 2012 on the horizon, the Youth Sport Trust will remain focused on ensuring that PE and school sport engages all young people and that we continue to provide more opportunities to participate, compete, lead and volunteer in sport.”

Download a copy of the PE and Sports Survey at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/DCSF-RR168(T).pdf