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?

Dd plays many sports and will try anything, educated at comp to 16 then state boarding on scholarship. Dp private educated boarding, hates sport. I think it's mostly access to nice facilities

@megletthesecond

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 😳.

Oh yes forgot about cadets - lots of the less sporty kids were into cadets - they did archery, target shooting. Also Duke of Edinburgh was encouraged.

their med. centre has a full time physiotherapist
Unbelievable. State schools don’t even have a med centre and would never have a full time physiotherapist. This just highlights the massive gap between state and private schools.

Definitely not. Dh and I both went to boarding school. While I did ride competitively until I finished school (that's why I went to that particular school), I would say that neither of us are remotely sporty! We wanted the Euro 2020 final and neither of us had ever really watched a football match before! We don't do any sports, and didn't really in school unless forced (except for the riding for me).

I would imagine that the perception of being more sporty is because parents who send children to boarding school can afford to support training in multiple sports. It's otherwise quite expensive. And also someone else does all the sorting and running around. Mine don't do sports because dh and I are too busy working to be available for them to do it in the afternoons.

Our school also has a physio but you do have to pay for his services (unless you're a sports scholar). But it's subsidised at £100 per academic year, I think to stop every pupil going along with minor niggles.

I would gather money & school ethos definitely play a part in it... As mentioned prep & private are more likely to be quite competitive from a young age & aspire to excellence whereas state would not be as pushy...

My DC went to private school and aren't sporty in any of the ways you mention. DS1 is at national level for an individual sport and DS2 loves hiking but not much else. Throw them a ball and they'd both just watch it land!

I think the preps often do take sport and music much more seriously (which will make a difference especially for team sports) but I suspect a lot of the excellent kids are also doing lots out of school and probably started doing something sporty from toddlerhood.

@SilverOak

their med. centre has a full time physiotherapist Unbelievable. State schools don’t even have a med centre and would never have a full time physiotherapist. This just highlights the massive gap between state and private schools.

With the med centre remember that whilst it is obviously a wonderful facility, it's not necessarily just a perk or a luxury but a necessity for the type of student body. Boarding schools may well have overseas pupils or pupils who board monthly because it's unrealistic for them to go back & forward more often. You need a proper san to put them in when they're sick, it's not practical to be going between boarding houses. At my school the house "matron" did first aid but was more of a head housekeeper; if you were ill, you were better off in the san with the qualified nurses, who were always in uniform and referred to as Sister.

If the school has enough demand for a physio, especially if there would be lots of having to ferry pupils around otherwise, I can see why it makes more sense to hire one. They're lucky to be able to do it but it does make sense, especially if the school is v sporty, as the one mentioned seems to be.

Schools are responsible for boarders- I was a weekly boarder and my medical records went to the school GP. We had booster jabs through the school. We had medication/prescriptions dispensed and had GP appointments through the school, in the san. Older pupils were trusted to go to the surgery in town alone on occasion but it made more sense for the surgery to send a duty GP to the school.

It's something pupils at schools like that are fortunate to have access to as part of their schooling... but at the same time it's a necessity for looking after the needs of pupils at a boarding school.

@newnortherner111

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

The OE I know is a self confessed non-sporty weed. His school nickname was apparently "Mr Muscle" because he looked like the guy on the Mr Muscle ads!

@Cowbells

My DC went to private school and aren't sporty in any of the ways you mention. DS1 is at national level for an individual sport and DS2 loves hiking but not much else. Throw them a ball and they'd both just watch it land!

My Dd1 sounds like yours, junior elite in gymnastics & despite her great coordination, strength & balance from the gymnastics she despises playing ball sports & team sports... I put it down to lack of focus on sport at her state school especially since covid hit, the priority has been catching up on the academics since they went back & DH & I not sporty examples.....

OP, I used to worry about it, but now I think as long as they enjoy something physical that keeps them out in the air and fit, who cares? Doesn't have to be team sports. They have friendship groups for the 'team' mentality.

@Homeontherangeuk

One of my dc is an elite level gymnast but she has no other interest in sports beside her gymnastics 🙄 wouldn't be all around sporty like my friends dc who are competent at hockey, lacrosse, tennis, basketball etc... When we meet up up with certain families they always have a ball, a few racquets in the car & always find a spot to play in the park... Despite dds high level in gymnastics she struggles with ball sports & hates team sports! The private school families kids live for match days & happily try their hand at any sport! I think it's very interesting & I actually envy my friends with their sporty lifestyles & kids😔

Eh?!

There's a strong link with parental interests. My husband played rugby so spent a fair amount of time teaching and encouraging our kids to play. While played to a very good standard in some state schools, it's more widely played in the private sector (and definitely at primary school level). It becomes somewhat self-fulfilling at that point as my husband also went to private school so my kids were keen to play rugby at their school. Playing for the first XV is an aspiration for most of the rugby players as they move up the school.

Not that rugby is just a private school thing. Our local rugby club has a mix of kids from state and private. Many of the England players went to private school as schools invest significant resources in developing players. Although it is changing, and there are a number of England players (Tom Curry, Joe Marler, Kyle Sinckler etc) who didn't. One of our local private schools has also ditched rugby as parents weren't keen on the physicality and injuries. (Which I can understand as it can be brutal; we had two ambulances at the first match of one season when two players were knocked unconscious).