13 July 2007
Gordon Brown has announced a £100 million campaign to give every child the chance of five hours of sport every week.
The PM made the announcement today while visiting the West London Academy, a school with an excellent reputation for sport, with Culture, Media and Sport Secretary James Purnell, Children, Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls, and Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes.
He called for a "united team effort" from the Government, schools, parents, volunteers and the sporting world to make sport a part of every child’s day in the run up to 2012.
The plans include greater emphasis on competition within and between schools, a network of competition leaders and a new National School Sports Week.
Mr Brown said:
"We need to put school sport back where it belongs - playing a central role in the school day. I was lucky enough to have primary and secondary schools that had sport at the centre of their ethos. I want every child to have that opportunity to take part.
"Whatever their natural ability and whatever their age sport and activity can make our children healthier, raise self-confidence and self-esteem. It develops teamwork, discipline and a sense of fair play. Values that will stand young people and the country in good stead in the years to come."
The moves will help strengthen the competitive framework for school sport - from grassroots to elite. The aim is for every child to have access to a range of sporting competition from local and regional to national level.
While at the Academy, Mr Brown watched potential future sports star, 11-year-old Igor Morais, play table tennis. Dame Kelly told the visitors:
"This is a future talent. This is what school sports are all about - getting the opportunity to see a star.”
The PM also demonstrated his own tennis skills, while Dame Kelly had a go on a trampoline and James Purnell played football with some of the pupils.
- Read what leading figures in British sport think about the campaign
- Go to the Department for Children, Schools and Families website (new window)
- Go to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport website (new window)
- Find out more about the West London Academy (new window)
Watch our film of the visit
YouTube video of the Prime Minister’s visit to the West London Academy.