Girls put off sport? "DISLIKE"...

     We've all read the headlines today that tell us that PE lessons in schools are putting girls off sport for life and choosing to opt out of exercise. But the question is: is it just girls?

    I would argue that sport, by nature, is non-discriminatory and a selection of sports should be available to anybody irrelevant of their sex, race, sexual orientation or ability. So to suggest that girls are being "put off" sport because the options available are less feminine in their appeal, is a big statement to make and is maybe misguiding when it comes to the status of sport in school.

     I, for one, am one of the students who was never really very good at sport at school and was never really inspired to participate nor achieve. I wasn't a golden child who was a part of the sporting elite - representing the school in every sport and bringing back trophies to display to prospective parents. In fact, it got to the point where, if I turned up, that was something to be proud of as I had "taken part" - which, as we're all told, is more important than winning!

    It wasn't until year 11, when the options available became much more varied, that I realised sport and exercise were not about achieving, but about enjoyment, a sense of participation and developing a positive attitude to physical and mental health. This was also the time I realised how poor my PE teaching had been.

    The logistics of having a variety of sports and exercise programmes available for pupils may be problematic and expensive, but there IS something for everyone. Surely everybody should be able to access at least one thing that they can enjoy, take part in and something that makes them feel good about their physical and mental health.

    Whether it's "masculine" or "feminine" is neither here nor there. Sport is non-discriminatory. I, for one, would not want anybody to be put off sport in the way that I was through my education. And I'm a boy.

    So the question is: is it really just the girls?