CYP Now - Government urged to boost sports funding for young people

The government is being called on to fund five hours of extracurricular activity for all secondary school pupils as part of a new right to sport, as a new report reveals that physical exercise boosts attainment and reduces crime among young people.

Every secondary school pupil should have access to a minimum of two hours of extracurricular activity per week, report says. Picture: Monkey Business/Adobe Stock

The Gamechanger report, published by the Centre for Social Justice think-tank, lays out recommendations designed to give every pupil the chance to participate in a minimum of two hours of extracurricular sport per week, on top of PE time scheduled in the curriculum.

The report adds that this would “close the ‘activity gap’ between state schools and their independently educated peers”.

It finds that access to sport boosts academic prospects, builds confidence, improves mental health and reduces crime among young people. It notes that sports interventions reduce offending rates by 52 per cent, and that sport increases underachieving pupils’ numeracy skills by 29 per cent.

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