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Original poster

Cannot believe boys & girls are still taught different sports in PE..

78 replies

CityFox · 11/02/2016 21:10

When I was at school 20 odd years ago, girls played netball, tennis and hockey. The boys got yo play basketball, football and rugby...

I always thought this most unfair, and after much petitioning we were offered an after school rugby club for girls.

I am Shock to hear via another thread that this is still the case, why??? Aibu to think it's pretty sexist all round?

OP posts:
TooOldForGlitter · 11/02/2016 21:12

Ridiculous isn't it. It switches term by term at my daughters school. The term just ended was girls doing dance and gymnastics and boys doing football and dodgeball.

Drogon · 11/02/2016 21:27

I was a bit bemused reading the other thread that so many schools did have split PE lessons. I left school nearly 10 years ago and never had split PE lessons. Boys and girls all did dance, gymnastics, football, rugby, cross country etc.

Marniasmum · 11/02/2016 21:30

did the boys play netball?

megletthesecond · 11/02/2016 21:30

Are they Sad?

I hated crappy rounders and always wanted to play cricket. But girls weren't allowed to play cricket.

RudeElf · 11/02/2016 21:32

Yes i am looking at secondary schools for my DS and am really surprised that every single one has different sports for girls and boys in PE!

bruffin · 11/02/2016 21:34

My dd played rugby at secondary and my son played netball at primary.
When they got to secondary they had pathways and could chose their own sports, they also had a choice of golf at primary and secondary. This was ordinary state schools.

Moob · 11/02/2016 21:35

When I was at school girls used to move inside to the sports hall when it was wet and cold while the boys stayed on the field.

Boys did a longer cross country course.

Boys had communal showers and girls had cubicles.

I assume these things have all been equalled out now?

I was at secondary school late 80s early 90s

Drogon · 11/02/2016 21:39

Marnia actually that's a good point, I can't ever remember the boys playing Netball! I have no idea what sport they did instead.

Must suppress hideously embarrassing teenage memories of gym knickers Blush

Whiskeywithwater · 11/02/2016 22:33

My DD is in both the school basketball and football team. Girls and boys all do PE together and do all sports ... Including boys doing netball ...

Original poster
CityFox · 12/02/2016 08:40

No, at my school we played different sports. It was shit, I would much rather have played rugby, football & basketball.

DD is staring secondary in September and loves football. I didn't think to ask whether she'd have the opportunity, I just assumed it must have changed by now... Hmm

OP posts:
Original poster
CityFox · 12/02/2016 08:43

That's good to hear Whiskey.

OP posts:
BadDoGooder · 12/02/2016 08:47

I was gutted not to be allowed to play any of the sport I liked at school.
I was really good at football, but wasn't allowed to play it in any meaningful way at secondary, so gave it up.
I also wanted to do rugby and they wouldn't let me.

I was very saddened to see on that other thread that there are still schools where boys and girls do completely different sports. I really thougt we had moved on since my day.

It is nice to hear from some schools who do seem to have got their act together though.

Babyroobs · 12/02/2016 08:48

My dd plays in a girls football team outside of school but the team struggles to keep going and they have no subs due to lack of interest depsite trying to recruit new players. Her school also has a girls football team, but I'm not sure all girls play it, just the ones who choose to do it after school.

ShanghaiDiva · 12/02/2016 08:52

Both mine play the same sports - touch rugby, athletics, tennis, rounders, hockey and football. Netball is only offered as an after school club and I think it's girls only as when they compete against other schools there are only teams of girls.

Namechange02 · 12/02/2016 08:56

Boys did a longer cross country course.

That's still the case. And it is particularly ludicrous in the U13 and U15 age groups where (most of) the girls tower over (most of) the boys! I don't really understand why the girls are deemed too weak to run say 3k when the boys run that distance.

Sport is also segregated at my son's school. I think it's silly too. I would have preferred dodgeball to dance! I went to an all girls school anyway so no football, rugby or cricket on offer. I did like rounders though.

Marniasmum · 12/02/2016 08:59

At our school boys and girls were, and still are, taught PE separately.Girls concentrated on hockey and netball in the winter, and tennis and rounders in the summer.Boys did rugby and cricket.That was in 'double games' In single PE lessons I think we did the same things - swimming,gym, athletics,climbing, volleyball badminton etc but separately.
Classes double up for PE lessons so 1A and 1B girls would go together and 1A and 1B boys.I imagine this eases pressure on changing rooms and we would not have been allowed to have so many PE lessons (4 a week) otherwise.

ShotgunNotDoingThePans · 12/02/2016 09:06

Must look out the other thread. DD was remose last night as her aixth form (self-started) group of rugby girls has been told the teacher is no longer allowed to 'teach' them as he has to concentrate on the boys' sevens (which happens on a different day but maybe he sits and thinks about them). I say 'teach' as they were never actually shown how to tackle and subsequently there were injuries. I think this has been given as another spurious reason.
He did tell them to summon up their aggression by imagining someone had pinched their straighteners, however Hmm

iseenodust · 12/02/2016 09:15

I think part of the reason this goes on is that if boys & girls did all of each others sports then timetabling would mean only short spells of each, resulting in less skilled teams. At DS's school swimming is a mixed class as is PE (which covers gym, cross country, tennis, basketball) but rugby, netball etc are separate. DS though plays boys hockey and their team was stuffed by a mixed team from another school a couple of weeks ago Grin.

Original poster
CityFox · 12/02/2016 09:24

"I think part of the reason this goes on is that if boys & girls did all of each others sports then timetabling would mean only short spells of each, resulting in less skilled team"

In that case they should have short spells of each, then be allowed to choose. If, as they assume, girls all want to play netball** and dance around it should then even out Wink

OP posts:
KeyserSophie · 12/02/2016 09:35

Agree that sports options shouldnt be defined by gender. However,
we also have to be wary of dismissing certain sports (e.g) netball as "lesser" just because they're primarily played by women and sports primarily played by men (football/rugby) as "better".

It's also difficult to play many sports on a mixed basis beyond, say, 11. As an umpire I can say that mixed netball doesnt really work, similar to mixed football, because although it's not technically a contact sport, in practice it is, and the strength/size differential becomes relevant. Hockey works better.

LittleLionMansMummy · 12/02/2016 09:44

Yanbu.

We also petitioned our teachers to introduce football for girls. I despised netball. We did a lot of mixed lessons (running, rounders, basketball etc) but always separated for netball and football.

Mominatrix · 12/02/2016 09:46

Coed swimming, fine. Coed netball, squash, tennis, and even football - fine.

Coed rugby, definitely NOT fine. Rugby is contact starting age 8, and by the time the boys are 10/11, the strength difference would make it very dangerous. I mean this is a sport where there is an ambulance waiting at each of my son's games!

LittleLionMansMummy · 12/02/2016 09:49

Mominatrix - yes, and I've seen the weird and wonderful places rugby players put their hands! I don't like the idea of mixed rugby at all.

ReallyTired · 12/02/2016 09:53

I think that single sex sports classes are fine. Physiologically boys and girls are different. It's not sexism, it's fact. Single sex sport gives girls the chance to achieve. The children at my son's secondary get the chance to do all the sports in single sex setted groups.

ReallyTired · 12/02/2016 09:55

My son's school does mixed dance once a fortnight.

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