I take a serious interest in school sports and PE etc

[petteacher]

Has PE in schools become more strenuous since the Olympics in London?

I ask because I read a lot more in the papers about the bar being put up on school exercise.

I assume different schools have different angles on PE/school sports.

[petteacher]

I do of course go back a long way

We did Football and cricket. No running or organised P.E

[secretsantasquirrels]

No sign of that at DS2 school.
He is in year 11 seldom seems to do PE. He hates it and will avoid physical exercise at all costs he takes after me. Perhaps they think he's a lost cause by Y11.

[BackforGood]

No discernible difference I've noticed.
I think PE has long been one of those subjects that varies wildly from school to school, and isn't often a major decision maker in choosing a school - those serious about sports do them with outside clubs anyway.

[lljkk]

No change since 2012, before are after.
DC seem to do a huge variety (primary & secondary). In my day... we basically did limited athletics & American sports you never heard of. I was terrible at all of them.

[meditrina]

I've not noticed any change.

(Bu am wondering how much older the OP is than me - I often find I'm older than many other posters; so quite a change to see something from someone who pre-dated organised PE, which was certainly round by 1960s).

[trinity0097]

No change where I work, but we always did lots. 5 hours a week for all ks2 and 3 pupils, plus options to do extra, e.g. This afternoon I spent an hour supervising a bunch of about 25 girls and boys playing a mass game of football, their choice to do that!

[SonorousBip]

Somebody from DS's school won a gold medal in the Olympics and it does feel as though they are trying to get them all to do that next time. To my mind he does a LOT of PE/sport, some of which is timetabled and some of which is not really voluntary.

As I cannot think of anything more likely to keep a 12 year old boy out of trouble, and as it is the perfect antidote for his screen-likings, I have no problem whatsoever with him spending a lot of time on a cold and muddy pitch.

[NoComet]

No our lunch time as got shorter and lots of after school stuff seems to have disappeared.
Fucking Ofsted.

[mummytime]

The only difference at DDs school is some money for an astro-turf pitch which helps with Winter games outside. They had at least 3+ Ex pupils competing and a few in other national sports teams. But the Olympians tend to be in a non-school sport, although they do have trial sessions through school (and I think that is how all three started).
For DD in year 10 she does slightly less physical activity than her big brother did, but then she does more outside school.

[petteacher]

You will have read in yesters Times/telegraph that a 12 year old girl died after gym exercise in school. After inquest school said we will look at our practises Generally I suppose some |PE teachers are sgt majorish others are reasonable. How was yours? And how is yours with your children? Thanks for replies

[BackforGood]

Mine were all lovely (I was at Secondary in the 1970s).
As far as I can tell from what they say, my dcs are all very nice too. ! of my dds thinks 1 of them is patronising, but the other loves her. I guess, as always, there's always been a mix.

[petteacher]

I am in an older age group we hardly did PE but play f and c (and this is not rude.)

As one post pointed out a lot of it is compulsory. I dont think teachers are Gods. And older children/parents should have a choice on controversial aspects of education

[meditrina]

You'd probably need to go to the private sector, to escape the requirements to have PE, though some academies/free schools might depart from the NC.

What is it in NC that you find controversial, btw?

And, with greatest respect, is one pupil's recollection of school games some time before mid-1960s really a representative starting point?

[NearTheWindmill]

My PE experiences were vile. I was the skinny runt who couldn't do it; always the last on the bench, not well co-ordinated, slow runner, bully of a teacher who used to eye us up in the showers she insisted we had. I remember her telling me I was totally useless. Nowadays I think her conduct would have been reported for being sexually inappropriate. We did a lesson of PE (ghastly, bare feet on a frozen floor and I'm sure I would have been better at that if I could have worn plimsolls - I still have very sensitive feet and hate being barefoot). An afternoon of games via coach which was utterly vile. Netball (horrid game where you can only move a step), hockey (actually that was OK), tennis (couldn't hit the ball), athletics - marginally better. Oddly I was quite good at cross country - in the top third at least. From the age of 16 I vowed I would never play organised sport or engage with organised exercise ever again.

DD's experiences (15) are pretty similar except she hasn't had the coach or the sexual pervert. She detests it equally. To the point that she refused point blank even to look at Wimbledon High School for 6th form because they continue to do PE there in lower 6th.

PE and games at school added nothing to my life at all and seriously damaged my confidence. DD has been better but mainly because I have given her my absolute full support and actually made a formal complaint when a PE teacher told her she would be better if she made more effort - she wouldn't; she's exactly the same as me and always tries her hardest. PE teacher's comments meant she came home in tears as a result of the humilitation.

Not a lot has changed in my opinion; those who teach the subject are a breed and just don't understand that there are many who just can't do physical stuff.

FWIW neither dd nor I are unfit or overweight or lazy - we just can't do sport. In other subjects allowances are made; in PE it appears still to be acceptable to humiliate a child. Can you imagine if an English teacher held up work of a dyslexic child and humiliated him or her in front of the rest of the class. No, I can't either - there would be storm of protest.