Record Number of Pupils Get Extra Sporty in the South West

More children in South West Wales are getting involved in extra-curricular sport than ever before, thanks to initiatives managed by the Sports Council for Wales (SCW).

 The Welsh Assembly Government’s 5x60 programme, managed by SCW, aims to get secondary school pupils in Wales - especially pupils who do not normally participate – to be more active more often.

5x60 has proved extremely popular in the South West, with all secondary schools in Neath Port Talbot, Swansea, Ceredigion, Carmarthen and Pembrokeshire offering 38 different activities including dance, dodgeball and cheerleading to more than 20,000 youngsters across the region.

Football, rugby and dance have proved to be the top three sports among girls whilst football, basketball and table tennis are the most popular for boys in secondary schools in South West Wales.

The lottery funded Dragon Sport scheme – Wales’ biggest campaign to get primary school children hooked on out-of-school-hours sport – is also helping to draw more children into sport and to increase activity levels.

At its launch in October 2000, the scheme was billed as the biggest ever recruitment drive in Welsh sport – and it has exceeded all expectations, with 97% of primary schools in the South West now actively involved in the scheme.

The Welsh Assembly Government’s PE and School Sport programme (PESS) enhances the delivery of curriculum based physical education by boosting confidence and subject knowledge among teaching staff. It too has made great strides in its aim to address shortcomings and improve standards in the delivery of physical education lessons in Welsh schools.

The programme is playing a vital role in ensuring that all young people have the opportunity to improve their physical and life-skills and develop a positive approach to health and fitness.

Research has continued to show that the scheme is having a significant impact since its launch in 2002 - not only on standards of teaching and performance - but also on pupils’ behaviour, learning skills and attitudes.

Chair of the Sports Council for Wales, Philip Carling is looking ahead to further improvements in participation rates over the next few years:

"Increases in levels of sport and physical activity have already been achieved however there are still major challenges ahead as we continue to build towards a healthier and more active nation. We need to ensure that the good work that has already begun can continue well into the future and supporting children and young people to lead an active lifestyle is a sure fire way of developing active, healthy adults."

30/03/09