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?

I went to a state primary then a state secondary in inner London both of which had and still have swimming pools.

The reason they have pools is groups of parents raised money for them before I joined the schools.

Likewise when my secondary school were threatening to sell of their sports field parents came to the rescue.

The parents of my schools weren't all middle class they just valued education and the extra-curricular stuff around it.

I detest swimming but from late teenage until my early 40s I did participate in team sports.

At school we did swimming then apart from cricket - we did volleyball instead - the other sports and dance activities were the same as reluctantbrit's daughter. Then when we were 15/16 we had the choice of horse riding, ice skating and squash.

Some of my nephews and nieces in their late teens/20s went to nearby state schools and had similar opportunities. Some of them are sporty others aren't.

In a word - no.

My lovely nephew and others I know didn't board but went to a private school.Hated sport and developed skiving into a fine art. He wasn't alone there.

I hated it too, it was less easy to skive in my day.

You cannot make someone sporty if it isn't in them. It shouldn't be a problem as long as they take 'ordinary' exercise (walking, maybe cycling, swimming), and are fit and well.

State school here. I'm very sporty and outdoorsy. As is my partner who also went to state school. And I'm hoping my child will be too! She certainly likes the outdoors at the moment.

Maybe we were lucky in that our state schools provided after school sports clubs and I was encouraged outside of school to pursue outdoor activities.

Don’t think it makes a difference or it shouldn’t make a difference

Both my kids are at state schools
Daughter performs at a high level for gymnastics
Son plays youth football for a Scottish premier league club

If the effort is put in from both child and parent a state school child can perform at the highest level

@Homeontherangeuk I have had the same experience as you. My comprehensive put me off sport/exercise! I once went to an after school session in yr8 to ‘try out’ for sports teams but was crap so it came to nothing. All we ever did was netball (stand at side as an ‘extra’), hockey (same), rounders, running round the field.

Once at university - oxford 20yrs ago so lots of independent school leavers - noticed they all had experience of different sports, knew the rules, all had had a chance to try things out, confident even if rubbish. Ditto my friends now. I doubt it is completely universal though.

DS1 is at independent school. He is now 10 and does football, rugby, hockey, athletics, tennis, badminton, swimming, cricket, climbing wall etc routinely at school. He is not a sportsman….but has played matches against other schools in football, rugby, hockey, cricket and tennis. They also do judo.

I get a strong feel that in many state schools you can avoid any sport/opt out quite easily whereas in independent this is less acceptable and as more sports are available there is more chance of people finding something they like.

State schools don’t have the funds. Your average state secondary probably has about 1500 pupils and maybe 2 sports halls, 2 fields, 2 tennis courts, and enough sports teams to accommodate perhaps 5% of the pupils. They pay lip service by offering a 2hr PE lesson per week but ultimately there just aren’t the facilities to offer sport for every child.

Unfortunately the kids whose parents can’t afford to pay privately for sport opportunities are at state schools. And the kids whose parents can’t afford houses with big gardens and safe clean parks are at state schools. And the kids whose families can’t afford cars to travel to parks or beaches or countryside are at state school. That 2hrs a week is all they get. It’s not surprising they don’t develop a love of something they don’t get a chance to do.

@IsabelGowdie

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.

I think this is really important. My older child goes to a private school, and enjoys sports but isn't especially gifted (except for one), but becase the numbers are small and they need as many participants as posssible, everybody is encouraged to join in, and they're super patient and positive about it. There's no way in hell she'd be participating this much in a big comp.

I think it is more down to what is prioritised by parents, and income levels that the schools as such. I went to state school, and am fairly sporty, as is my DC. We are lucky enough to be able to afford to go skiing regularly, and afford whatever is needed for other sports. It is a bit of a self fulfilling prophesy, as parents who prioritise sports, will choose schools with similar priorities.

I'm one of those borderline people who could have gone either way. My parents used to run before we were born and holidays were always camping with walking so kind of outdoors.

I first got into Judo at school then tried activities outside school like ballet, gymnastics. We also lived in a suburb where you just went and explored on bikes, lots of concrete for roller skating, patio for ballgames, garden space for makeshift badminton. We had a large leisure centre nearby so swam about once a week outside termtime.

Then at secondary I scraped into the netball and rounders teams. Weds afternoons was school sports only, we had games on Saturdays. PE was quite varied incl. trampolining, we had a pool at school. Later on you had to choose one extra curricular activity a term and they had things like dance, horse riding. Also school sports day, everyone had to participate in a sport whatever it was. I liked that ethos as it means its not all about being competitive. There was a run that everyone had to do once, basically a form of torture.

A lot of the sport at private schools can be a bit elite-the cricket pitch was worshipped, god forbid you walked on it, and the football team were like literal gods.

As an adult I've been into yoga, cycling and swimming mainly. I've also done snowboarding, scubadiving, snorkelling, yoga, cycling holidays. I love an active holiday.

I think it is more down to what is prioritised by parents
My parents prioritised food and rent. Should they have prioritised sport for me instead? For many people this isn’t an option.

parents who prioritise sports, will choose schools with similar priorities
Again, you’re assuming there’s a choice. Often children have to go to an allocated school because of transport options - for example if you don’t walk to our town school then you have to be able to afford bus fares to the school in the next town. Or maybe all of the local schools are equally poor at sport - there isn’t a state school near here that has above average outdoor provision.

No, since Y7 all mine did was workout in the gym.
Not a sporty child at all. No sport or PE at the school as not enough kids for teams.

Probably.
DS goes to army cadets that is held at a mixed boarding school. Their facilities are amazing. i get quite sad when I pick him up that he won't have that every day 😳.

Thanks, agree with all the replies.. I think the lockdown made me realise how much I missed out on by not being sporty especially when alot of my friends were delighted about being able to play their adult hockey, lacrosse & basketball... I'm going to try & get my dc more involved in sports even just so they don't feel like complete fish out of water...

Look at two old Etonians who come to mind, one of whom is a Mr Rees-Mogg. Imagine their sporting non-prowess.

He’d be good at the long jump. Or the high jump maybe?

I have 3 kids currently at a big co ed boarding school (well on hols now!). I went to state school myself.

Their school day is far longer than a state school. Sports and extra curricular activities (often also sports) are compulsory. They also have school and sports on Saturday. At their school everyone is expected to be able to play tennis, swim, play rugby (boys) or netball (girls), cricket teams for both sexes, hockey teams and football for both sexes, rowing (taken very seriously, river runs through the grounds) or kayaking for both sexes and athletics in the summer term. Not compulsory are things like climbing wall (with qualifications as in they can take a test), squash, fencing, badminton, volleyball, horse riding (stables on campus), polo team, show jumping teams, there is also a skate boarding park and an off road bike trail and a big dance studio with ballet, modern, also rock climbing and sailing off less than an hour away. This is off the top of my head I will have forgotten something. There are also school ski trips.

No idea how much this will shape their sport in adulthood but they have the opportunity to try lots of different things at school that’s for sure. At their school you can only duck out of sports if you have an injury and their med. centre has a full time physiotherapist. Music scholars are excused some things as they are very busy practicing for concerts.

I think everyone finds something they like and by sixth form you are allowed to do a lot less sport if you choose. They are very lucky but they are certainly kept very busy.

I just thought some of you would be interested to read an up to date what’s happening sport wise at a big English boarding school. As a state school kid I have been amazed by their timetable and all the kit!

When my youngest was in Y6 the council used to organise a series of x country runs after school for all the local primaries. Funnily enough the main private school was also allowed to participate and the 300 or so state schooled kids had to wait until 5pm so said private school could get there (they finished later). Virtually all the privately educated children did well. It was quite eye opening. All trying hard. On the other hand many of the state educated kids didn't have proper trainers, some even ran in school shoes.
Quite a few were noticeably overweight and unfit. It stuck in my mind precisely because it was so obvious. Don't whether it was an attitude thing, sheer competitiveness, fear of coming last.
Ds1 and 2 also did triathlons for quite a few years. The families at races for the main part were middle class. You could just tell. Not surprising considering the cost of cycling gear, wetsuit etc Funnily enough the most talented child there was from quite a deprived background, mum was a single parent working all hours...but she had a really determined mind set and desire to win.

It is quite sporty at private school but I dont think it translates into adulthood judging from my DS and his friends and despite my encouragement.

I went to private school and we did five hours of PE per week from pre-prep right through until sixth form.

In prep school it was one lesson/day - as we got into senior school it was 2x double lessons each week, and 1x single lesson.

We had an on-site 25m swimming pool with diving boards, tennis, badminton and squash courts, a climbing wall, netball and basketball courts, cricket pitches, rounders pitches, horses and stables, a lake so we could do rowing, canoeing and scuba diving, hockey pitches and astro turf too. We also had an indoor gym and a ballet/yoga studio, as well as a 400m running track, long/high jump pitches etc.

Basically, there was something for everyone, and in sixth form you could basically spend your PE time doing whatever you wanted - squash, swimming, tennis, gym, yoga, pilates - there were so many choices that even the most unsporty kids had something they enjoyed.

My dd at a state primary (Y5) has never played a competitive match (she’s sporty and has been picked for fun sports activities for the school, though), doesn’t know the rules of netball or hockey (has had ‘taster’ sessions) and her school swimming lessons were 5 hours across 10 weeks in Y3.

My friends with DC at preps have lots of team sports, coaches who know what they’re doing rather than class teachers and play matches every week.

That’s the difference.

DS attended an independent from 3 -13 and again for sixth form, but was one of the youngest and weediest in his age group so hated rugby, didn't mind hockey or tennis. Opted out completely at his (not good) comprehensive, but played squash and did Devizes Westminster in the sixth form. At university he took up yoga, and now boxes and runs with a friend. Also loves skiing and scuba-diving, but there are fewer opportunities for those in the UK, so they remain holiday activities.

@VerySmallPears

My dd at a state primary (Y5) has never played a competitive match (she’s sporty and has been picked for fun sports activities for the school, though), doesn’t know the rules of netball or hockey (has had ‘taster’ sessions) and her school swimming lessons were 5 hours across 10 weeks in Y3.

My friends with DC at preps have lots of team sports, coaches who know what they’re doing rather than class teachers and play matches every week.

That’s the difference.

That's the other extreme; that must be highly unusual.

Maggies I don’t know - that’s a sample of one primary and three preps. Maybe other primaries do have more competitive sport, including matches, and specialist PE teachers?

I work in a prep school. The kids do sport every day in the afternoon and compete against other schools and get entered into County competitions.
There’s definitely an element of competing within that.

It''s pretty standard for a decent prep school, and would be among the facilities parents expect, and why they pay fees. It's also implicit that private school teachers are going to take on responsibilities, for coaching or music/hobbies or boarding, in tandem with their subject teaching.