Boys and girls doing different sports in PE

[Notemma]

DD is in Y7 at a small Independent school, 80 kids per year. The whole year does PE at the same time and it’s split into boys/girls then a top set boys and top set girls, bottom set boys and bottom set girls.
DD is quite sporty, does lots of athletics outside of school. At school they do 6 sports over the year Cross Country, Swimming & Athletics every year. Then on the school website it says they will rotate through “Rugby, netball, volleyball, tennis, badminton, basketball, hockey and football”. DD has been looking forward to trying rugby, so decided to ask her teacher when they would be doing it and she was told girls don’t do rugby. DD was quite upset when she got home as she had been looking forward to it.
I decided to call the school and clarify, I was told that boys don’t do netball or hockey and the girls don’t do rugby.

AIBU to think it’s unacceptable to not offer all sports to all children? I don’t mind the classes being separated by sex and ability but I think every class should do the same sports. Should I complain?

You could suggest your DD canvasses her classmates and if they want to do the 'boys' sports, they can send a delegation to the Head of PE and negotiate it. It would be interesting to see what they have to say on the issue. They'd certainly learn a lot from doing this.

I don't agree "the majority" of girls, at Yr 7, wouldn't want to give different sports a go. I would suggest the boys not wanting to do netball was the result of socialisation by people like some of the posters on this thread telling them it is a girls' sport.
One of my dds wasn't at all keen on the yoga they did, and another didn't like trampolining at all, but they understood that it was good to try lots of different things because it is quite often the case that people do enjoy things once they have actually tried them, even if they had thought they might not in the first place. If they don't, well, good to know it is only for 1/2 a term and they would probably enjoy the next session which somone else wouldn't.

Except both trampolining and dance are ahead of football in the list of sports girls would rather play in school.

https://www.youthsporttrust.org/research-listings/research/girls-active-national-reports-2024/

Following my friend and family who are teachers. I pretty convinced that schools ate stuck in the past and especially PE is stuck in the past. It is worrying how little has changed compared to when i was in scho. I guess we've moved on from overhead projectors to smart boards

If they’ve been raised by sexist parents who prioritise teaching their sons that girls are inferior and if they teacher their daughters they are incapable delicate flowers.

Possibly. They might have been raised by parents with zero interest in sport, so everything they’ve learned about it will be in school.

Schools can’t please everyone, and it’s a shame if not everyone child gets to do the sport they want, but that’s where sports outside school come into play.

It is right that they split the lessons by sex, so they’re getting something, if not everything right.

You don't need to think you're a delicate flower to not want to play rugby. I would have point blank refused any attempt to make me participate in a contact sport. Mind you, my brother felt the same and was constant in trouble for refusing to go anywhere near the ball.

OP lots of people talking shite on this thread.

Yes to the split of girls and boys for sports at secondary age, we all know the difference between them as they hit puberty.

I would complain about the girls not getting the opportunity to play Rugby "girls don't play Rugby" is completely sexist.

As an ex female player myself I would encourage you to seek out a local club who do offer this, it's an amazing sport so I hope your DD gets a chance to try.

(Off to the six nations this weekend )

Yes it's bullshit on one level that certain sports are coded "boys" and some "girls" but if your kid has a niche interest they want to pursue, not just sports, then you just have to go extracurricular. A quick google reveals a ton of junior girls' rugby clubs around.

Hopefully the school might even be amenable to letting her do that in school sports time. There was a girl at my school who did pole vaulting and she went off to train instead of having to do hockey etc with us.

I hated netball as a girl, but loved hockey. Having the opportunity to try rugby would be great for those girls

Yanbu. Touch rugby is fine.
Netball and rounders are crap. I always wanted to play basketball or cricket.

Ha, my best friend at school (male) was the same. Loathed rugby, loathed the rugby boys, would only run away from the ball, not afraid to argue back with the teachers, ended up skiving most PE lessons.

Ironically he became a professional dancer and ended up working on the sports side of that.

Hockey and football are contact sports. Its nonsense saying that girls don't want to play them...

Hockey and football are classed as semi-contact sports so sonewhat different. I'm sure some girls want to play rugby, but not all and not just because they've been oppressed by the patriarchy.

I have the opposite worry about my son when he gets to secondary - he is a keen dancer and generally energetic and active but has zero interest in football or rugby (or probably hockey though don't think he's ever tried it at primary). I think he is going to hate boys PE if it's all football and rugby....

Dance is in the Arts curriculum not PE curriculum at quite a few schools (DDs do it on rotation with drama and music). There is the odd boy on the Dance team as well... a big part of the annual musical.

Running and swimming are important for schools to offer as (beyond the mere safety benefit of swimming) they are sports that adults are highly likely to take part in in later life. Parkruns are massive. Lots of adults like going for a swim. Promoting these sports to kids is promoting being active for life.

The cost of providing swimming lessons is well beyond most secondary schools.

Thank you for the comment about dance being in arts. So far his dancing has all been outside school. I guess we'll have to wait and see how it's organized depending on which school he goes to.