Why do boys play football in PE?

[cakedup]

DS is 12, in Year 8. I am really fed up with the way PE is so sexist and divided at his school. Basically, the girls do trampolining and other 'girl' sports and the boys do football.

Not every boy loves football. DS hates football. He would love to try other sports like trampolining. Since he began in Year 7, every PE lesson has been football apart from a handful which were rugby and cricket (probably about 5 lessons in total).

DS tells me there is a girl who is football mad in his year and although she attends girl's football as an after school club, the girls have never had football as part of their PE lesson.

This just seems so unbelievably sexist and archaic. I'm surprised because I think the school thinks of itself as quite forward thinking (they have a strong LGBT presence for example).

What is it like in your DC's school? I'd like to write a letter to the head of the PE department, anyone else done this before?

I am assuming it's not a private school by on of your follow up posts.

In which case,, it's not normal.

Is your school one that does bizarre setting for PE? At mine, they set PE (yes really...) and it seems to me that the lower sets rotate round more sports whereas the sporty ones stick to team sports a bit more. Notwithstanding, girls have a go at football (and rugby) and boys play hockey, even rounders . There is a lot of dance, aerobics, fitness, table tennis, badminton, trampolining,the bloody Cooper Run.And constant Dodgeball!

I actually like football but it is definitely something which can spill over in badly run lessons into a bit of macho culture and occasional aggression.

They should definitely be rotating round a range of sports so I'd gently enquire when they are going to trampoline!