Are private school /boarding school kids just sportier overall & into adulthood?

[Homeontherangeuk]

Asking after making observations with my own peer group... I shunned sports & was allowed skive at my comp. I was too self conscious in front of the boys to join in & to this day I can't swim & I participate in no sports...
The lockdown made me realise how sporty my circle of friends was particularly the privately educated.. A few still play adult lacrosse & hockey, all sea swim regularly, horse ride, run, play tennis & badminton... It's part of their lifestyle..
I asked my closest friend if there was a correlation with her sporty lifestyle & school & she said school provided a great deal of sports time, large pitches with a large focus on matches etc...
When my sporty friends & acquaintances were choosing schools sports & sports facilities were a big selling point, just as important as the academics... All their kids are now extremely sporty & outdoorsy too... Just wondering if this is across the board?

It can also make a massive difference to the not as talented sporty kids who enjoy playing.

My DS is keen and loves sport, but he is never going to be in the A team. And the teams outside school are not going to work, because by the time you get to 15-16 there is not really an option around here for kids who are not playing at a serious level.

However, he is in B and C (and D!) teams at his school. He plays/trains 3 times a week, has competitive matches against similar teams from other schools, and has a blast.

If he went to his local (very good and pretty sporty) comp, he would not be picked for anything, and team sports would have been shut off from him, possibly from the age of 12.

It was a big selling point for us.

My brother went to a private school with extensive sports facilities and sport on the timetable every afternoon. He volunteered to help the PE teacher by making a spreadsheet for when which kids were doing which sport. And he left himself off it. Brought home an unworn sports kit at the end of term.

I went to private school (only for secondary school), hated P.E and was absolutely terrible at it. I can’t run, throw, catch, have terrible co-ordination. I have never participated in a sport since, never been to a gym, taken up running, been swimming except to take my children, do no exercise (not proud of this and am aware it is not a good thing). All those years of private school P.E lessons did nothing for ability of enjoyment of sport. My siblings did not go to private school, and all of them are more sporty than me.

@KingdomScrolls

Boris Johnson was privately educated, he's hardly a picture of sporting prowess

But he plays whiffwhaff, eh what!

Private schools near us have fantastic facilities. They also do a longer day than most other schools to enable more sport and run optional clubs at lunch after school. After school sports costs the same as wraparound care so is oversubscribed - better to do a club activity than pay the same to play games in the school hall.
The main difference is the way they talk about sport and exercise as a stress reliever and stamina builder, something that I see/ hear in most leaders and leadership and well-being teaching being about in the corporate world.

I think the main factors are:
°More curriculum time given to PE/sport/games in independent schools (longer days for a start)
°Better facilities for sport/games in independent schools (in general, obviously not all)
°Specialist teachers from reception in independent schools, so children learn to rules of each sport, and are taught sport-specific skills from a very young age. More time to practise means higher level of sport on entry to secondary school.
°Parents are more likely to have the funds to allow niche sports in independent schools (e.g. sailing, shooting, fencing, rowing etc) meaning these sports are dominated by those educated in the private sector. Look at football- you just need a ball and someone to play with, and professional teams have people that have grown up in poverty but practiced their whole lives.
°Parents in the independent sector are more likely to have the means to schlep up and down the country each weekend allowing their child to compete at ever higher levels and thus improve their form/skills at a faster rate. Higher level at a younger age means access to county/national teams and even more specialised training, so those not able to make this commitment lose out.
°Influenced by living in a city, those with more means have larger homes and gardens meaning they have the opportunity to practise every day, with perhaps a tennis court or swimming pool at home, a games room with a table tennis table or snooker table, space for a basketball hoop, or a room filled with gym mats to practise tumbling...etc

My children were in the independent sector for primary and switched to state for secondary. They both report that their classmates didn't know the rules for hockey, rugby, badminton, cricket, even rounders and netball, which are definitely played in the maintained sector.

I went to a boarding school. the only sports available were Lacrosse (winter) and tennis (summer). I hate both & was useless at both.

as an adult, I like running / biking / swimming / skiing but never had the chance to do any of those as a child at school. I think day school would have had many more opportunities for weekend sport etc.

I was at private schools- including boarding at a public school- for the entirety of my education from 4-18. We probably did more sports than other schools; it was compulsory all the way through and we had easier access to good facilities to integrate sports into the curriculum. The boarding school I attended for VI form recognised that not everyone was sporty though; we had to attend a certain number of sessions a week and had options like trips to the local gym, pilates or aqua aerobics. We also had a half day of lessons on weds to do sports all afternoon - we were at "school" til 5:15 each day and the whole school got to break for doughnuts at about 3pm between activities, no matter what. LOVED that so much .

I felt more engaged with sport for having the space to try those options. I also I have dyspraxia and two years of gentle exercise did more for me than the previous twelve years of failing to use a skipping rope or being pelted with netballs. I was especially grateful for easy swimming pool access in the schools I attended- it was the only sport I was any good at. Having attended both all girls and mixed VI form at an all boys, I think the latter did a better job of really integrating sport into our lives and being something everyone did. My girls school tried but it was more for the sporty ones.

I need to get back in shape now, but that's more due to tricky circumstances for a while. Those have changed now!

@LemonRoses

Certainly public schools expect high participation in sports through to and including sixth form. Does that mean everyone leaves loving sport? Probably not but most are competent with a tennis racquet and there are few fatties leaving sixth form.

Sport is definitely more encouraged from a young age. Not wobbling around a playground throwing a lump of foam, but competitive sport from prep, if not pre-prep. I’d be surprised if someone left a decent prep and public education unable to swim, run cross country, play tennis, and then either lacrosse/ hockey/netball or hockey/cricket/rugby plus opportunity for other sports such as sailing, fencing, squash, polo, shooting, open water swimming, badminton etc.

DD is in a state comprehensive and in the last three years did

Athletics
Tennis
Netball
Football
Badminton
Gymnastics
Hockey
Cricket

They also have Dance lessons separately taught from PE.

I’m neither confident nor sporty despite being having attended a school that is synonymous with jolly hockey sticks.

Confidence is the result of coming from money and from stability and security. It’s not generated by schools, except the thinnest veneer that many can later see through.

The emphasis on sports is because the boarding school day is really long and keeping the inmates exhausted makes for easier discipline.

Sporty and confident are both great traits but they aren’t the exclusive preserve of public schools, although they would love it if you thought so to justify their fees.

No? My DH went to an elite private school but doesn’t partake in any sports at all. He likes watching football and the occasional cricket match but that’s it. A couple of my friends went to private school and they’re not interested in any sport.

Definitely not from what I’ve seen! Quite the opposite.

Would echo other posters

Private schools usually have much better sports facilities than state schools

@LemonRoses

Certainly public schools expect high participation in sports through to and including sixth form. Does that mean everyone leaves loving sport? Probably not but most are competent with a tennis racquet and there are few fatties leaving sixth form.

Sport is definitely more encouraged from a young age. Not wobbling around a playground throwing a lump of foam, but competitive sport from prep, if not pre-prep. I’d be surprised if someone left a decent prep and public education unable to swim, run cross country, play tennis, and then either lacrosse/ hockey/netball or hockey/cricket/rugby plus opportunity for other sports such as sailing, fencing, squash, polo, shooting, open water swimming, badminton etc.

That's a great explanation, I was exposed to none of these growing up & quite frankly feel a bit out of my depth & wouldn't like my dc to feel the same when their older... We have been skiing with one family a few years previously & although we loved the scenery & our surroundings as a family we were all beginners whereas the parents were on black runs & off piste plus their kids were skiing twice a year since they came along...! They just love sports & the outdoors!

Mine: state school and sporty. But sporty/outdoors-y long before school.
Polo was taken up at Uni though, perhaps wouldn't have gone for that sport without the Uni club.

Actually had drinks with a few private school parents recently complaining that if you not “in the clique” and really good at the sport play for the school etc they are not that interested in the child. Was surprised

@Comedycook

I went to private school and hate sport.

Generally though, I see a correlation between income and activity levels.

My dc goes to a state primary but with quite a mixed intake in terms of income levels. The kids from wealthier families are by far more active and sporty. It's things like being able to afford the gear, good quality outdoor clothing, good quality appropriate footwear, two cars so one child can be taken to events whilst the other parent does something else. Roof rack to carry kit. Small tokens of privilege that make it so much easier

sporty or active?

I bet most of the less well-off families are much more active- manual jobs, kids playing out, walking to school etc

I went to private school from 4-18. We did sport all the time. Apart from swimming I hated it. The memory of Lacrosse for 2 hours on a wednesday morning in february still brings me out in a cold sweat. not sure I ever learnt to play it properly, stupid game. If you weren't good at sport nobody cared and it was only a core of super sporty girls who got picked for any matches. Sport in state schools isn't great but my kids have all got much more involved in external sports groups.

The sportiest people I know just happens to live in
places with wonderful climates (south of France, Spain, California...) where the culture is more ‘outdoorsy’ in general. Of course i was at school with kids who were really sporty, but they were more ‘county level’ serious sportspeople.

@LemonRoses interesting that you mention tennis as the sport which almost everyone reaches basic competency in. IME racquet sports, including tennis, are the sport that you got only the most basic exposure to in PE- as in, we learnt to serve a few times and that's it. Those who played well had had private lessons - which may or may not have been organised via the school- and may have then picked it as an optional sport. You might learn to play there but those sessions were usually full of and geared towards people who already played well. Most people I know amongst my indy school friends who play well learnt privately - likely at the country club/private members club or a tennis club. It never seemed to be as much of an interschool fixture/big deal as hockey, lacrosse, netball, cricket, rugby, football, swimming, athletics and cross country, shooting and fives; certainly not round here anyway. Tennis played seriously seemed more of a thing in Malory Towers and the Chalet School than it ever did for real. I've just started to look into learning properly as an adult as I wish I COULD play!

Also IME as a former boarder whilst exercise played a part in "few fatties leaving VI form", not eating the school food, pressure and untreated/undisgnosed eating disorders also played a key role. I also know people who gained weight because they tucked into portions of food designed to fuel the boys rugby team whilst doing little exercise if they dropped a more intensive sport for a gentler one, and stress eating. I lost weight though; my puppy fat fell off anyway, I exercised and watched my weight, I felt intimated by my more glamorous classmates so wanted to look good, I worked long hours and stressed about exams and as a picky eater I only ate 1 proper meal a day- lunch. The school had the best budget for lunches as the day pupils ate it too. I often made my own dinner and skipped breakfast because of the stink of a school worth of cooked eggs- and I liked a lie in.

Well I went to private school and o hate sport. Being forced to do cross country in the rain wearing gym knickers etc and horrible teachers put me right off.

I bet most of the less well-off families are much more active- manual jobs, kids playing out, walking to school etc

I meant consciously active rather than just having to be active in day to day life. So a poorer family might walk to the shop...the richer family wouldn't dream of doing this but are happy to drive their 4x4 to a beauty spot to go hiking or cycling

My sons go to private school and love sports. It's somewhat self fulfilling as the sports facilities at their school were probably the main factor in deciding whether to pay for private education. Rugby, hockey, football and cricket was compulsory at their prep school and secondary until Y10 (though streamed so you don't have a six foot Jonah Lomu flattening the poor child who hates contact sport and is a foot shorter than everyone else).

There's 7.30 gym sessions before school, three scheduled sports lessons, fixtures every Saturday/some midweek and after school/lunchtime sessions. I'd say my sons do an average of 10 hours training in a school week plus fixtures. Plus they play club/county sport on Sundays.

Upside is that they love it, they like the team aspect and it keeps them fit and off their screens. Downside is that it means we don't really have free weekends (Saturday fixtures are compulsory, even if you're injured and it's an away match) and, if you play all three main sports, it's full on all year and can get a bit much (particularly as matches take all day in the cricket season). I think they'll continue to play club sports after they leave school as they enjoy the social aspect.

My daughter is 18 and went to private school from the age of 2. She loathes all sport and wouldn’t run if a Zombie was chasing her! She does however know how to play pretty much everything. I do wonder if when she’s older she’ll take up some sport, and maybe it’s just a rebellion thing against ‘school’. But that’s probably my wishful thinking?

The more sports you try, the more you are likely to find one you enjoy. Facilities and opportunity play a huge part.

Here in South Germany, just about everyone learns to ski either with the family or on their (state) school trips. It’s no wonder that many adults still ski with enthusiasm right into their senior years.