sport | Schools Week

Abbie Thorrington, principal, Ipswich Academy

Abbie Thorrington came within a hair’s breadth of representing Britain at the Olympics. The principal of Ipswich Academy and former professional triathlete tells Jess Staufenberg why she would never now leave schools for sport When Abbie Thorrington was three, she had so much energy that she and her dad cycled from Ipswich to Felixstowe. For […]

£25m for instruments as music hubs and PE premium extended

Schools asked to “offer at least one hour of music curriculum a week”,
with a ‘music development plan’ and music lead

Private schools extend Olympic medal lead but Eton stumbles

Twenty prime ministers may have once graced Eton’s playing fields, but – for the first time in nearly three decades – they did not produce a single medal winner for Team GB at an Olympic Games. England’s most famous private school is likely to be quietly mourning the lack of Old Etonians on the podium […]

School playing field sales hit 3-year high as Johnson pledges £50m football pitch investment

Sales of school playing fields hit a three-year high last year, it has emerged, on the same day Boris Johnson pledged tens of millions for new football pitches across England. The prime minister used a major speech on his “levelling up” agenda to announce £50 million in government investment in football pitches. It will ensure […]

DfE launches consultation on content of reformed PE qualifications

The Department for Education has launched a consultation on the subject content of the reformed physical education (PE) GCSE, AS and A-levels. Members of the public can complete an online survey that will allow them to propose any new activities that they believe should be included as part of the qualifications. The activity lists at […]

Government plans a review of children’s physical activity at school

Schools’ efforts to engage their least active pupils in physical activities will be reviewed by the government as it embarks on the second phase of its childhood obesity plan. The first phase, published in 2016, promised a ‘healthy schools’ rating scheme for primaries, and a new interactive online tool to help schools plan at least 30 minutes of […]