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Secondary education

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Original poster

DD is starting a petition at the school with her friends

126 replies

EmmaMackenzie42 · 07/09/2023 21:17

Hi, this is my first time posting but I've been on Mumsnet for a while, and I've found lots of things useful on this website :)

So this all started when my eldest daughter (14 years old) didn't get into the netball team (there are only 15 places in each year, including subs, out of the hundreds of girls in the school). I've realised that the boys in her school have plenty of sports teams (football, rugby, basketball, cricket, tennis, even table tennis etc.). The only other technical girls sport is X-country (that is unisex, but it only happens once a year).

She wanted to start a petition along some of her other friends to make more girls sports teams and it has got quite a few signatures so far from several girls and even a few boys. They are also holding an additional petition to have an end-of-year school prom following exam season; thst has garnered a similar number of signatures.

The school has claimed it will consider the prom (but no actions have been done so far), and they also said they wouldn't create more girls sports teams because "not enough girls would sign up/ want to play for the sports teams".

I am in full support of my DD and her friends, and I love her very much. I came on here hoping for online support to put pressure on the school to create more girls' sports teams (and the EOY prom of course! :) ).

OP posts:
SisterMichaelsHabit · 07/09/2023 22:58

The other thing the girls could do, if they're feeling anarchical, is just pick a sport, form a team, and start practising, and keep turning up every week until someone makes it an official team. But that's risky and they could end up in trouble because the leadership team don't sound very reasonable (and also sound quite sexist).

Testina · 07/09/2023 23:26

This sounds more like your crusade than hers.

You say, “I’ve realised” and it’s your thread. Of course it’s a great cause and you should support her… but what does she actually want, and what does the petition ask for?
Most girls will sign to say theoretically they should have the same teams as boys. What teen girl would say no to signing that? But how many of them want to participate, and in what?

I have a Y10 girl and out of 150 girls they struggle to get 7 (a team) every week to come to practice.

So I think they need to be specific about what they want and how they want schools to encourage girls to engage with it.

DesertIslandHereICome · 07/09/2023 23:39

I'm all for girls playing sports, l was sporty myself, however l was very much in the minorityas.a.teenager and l don't think that has changed.
Surely if there was a demand for these sports they would already be in place. Of course other girls will sign the petition, but commiting to it is another issue.

Coyoacan · 08/09/2023 00:12

Reading a lot of the dismissive replies on this thread, it is hard to believe England just came second in the World Cup

nowawake · 08/09/2023 07:12

@EmmaMackenzie42 is it a state school or a private school? Is it oversubscribed or more marginal? In my experience, schools are very mindful of their public image and would not want social media (or comments made by girls at their Ifsted inspection) to expose a lacklustre attitude to girls' sports. My children"s school only has about 40% girls, but girls' sport is just as prominent as boys' sport.

I'm sure your daughter will get support for the petition, but what might be more effective -is a survey demonstrating actual interest in joining a female football team, rugby team, tennis team, table tennis team, basketball team, etc etc. That way she would kill two birds with one stone - demonstrate the principle, and prove the interest! It will need names - not just anonymous numbers.

RedHelenB · 08/09/2023 07:24

LittleOwl153 · 07/09/2023 21:37

Maybe the girls need to turn up to football practice, basketball etc and if they have enough for a team they should ask to be coached along side the boys...

This.

Hellocatshome · 08/09/2023 07:27

Coyoacan · 08/09/2023 00:12

Reading a lot of the dismissive replies on this thread, it is hard to believe England just came second in the World Cup

I dont think anyone is dismissing the fact the girls should have access to sports teams. The points being made are:
Is there enough interest to support a school team?
How to prove this to the school.
If there isnt enough interest within school the girls who want to get involved have lots of opportunities outside of school

notquitesoyoung · 08/09/2023 07:28

I would encourage DD to research local female professional athletes both past & present and contact them via social media to try and get some additional support. There must be something in some rules somewhere that mean funding has to be shared equally between boys & girls. Women's sport is front & centre following the football/rugby/cricket successes in recent years - now's the time to kick up a fuss.

WandaWonder · 08/09/2023 07:29

Ans who is going to run all this? I presume you will volunteer to help?

BingoandBlueyForever · 08/09/2023 07:32

Can she get lists of whole teams of girls who want to play particular sports? That would prove the demand is there. 11-15 girls wanting to be a football team, 7-10 wanting to be a 2nd Netball team.

notquitesoyoung · 08/09/2023 07:33

WandaWonder · 08/09/2023 07:29

Ans who is going to run all this? I presume you will volunteer to help?

That doesn't seem to be an issue for the boys so shouldn't be for the girls. Resources should be split equally and if that means additional resources great but if it doesn't then the current resources need to be diverted.

FannyBawz · 08/09/2023 07:33

I think the girls should just turn up at the existing practise times for the boys

tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz · 08/09/2023 07:36

IF there is demand then actually staffing is a bollocks excuse - just cut the boys offering in half and bingo, you've got your resource

Hellocatshome · 08/09/2023 07:36

notquitesoyoung · 08/09/2023 07:33

That doesn't seem to be an issue for the boys so shouldn't be for the girls. Resources should be split equally and if that means additional resources great but if it doesn't then the current resources need to be diverted.

Show quote history

Thats not really how volunteers work though is it. You can't demand someone who is volunteering to run a boys rugby team because they have an interest in it start volunteering to run a girls hockey team when they haven't the first clue about hockey.

WandaWonder · 08/09/2023 07:36

notquitesoyoung · 08/09/2023 07:33

That doesn't seem to be an issue for the boys so shouldn't be for the girls. Resources should be split equally and if that means additional resources great but if it doesn't then the current resources need to be diverted.

Show quote history

So there is lots of girls wanting to the same sports?

tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz · 08/09/2023 07:37

tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz · 08/09/2023 07:36

IF there is demand then actually staffing is a bollocks excuse - just cut the boys offering in half and bingo, you've got your resource

Granted I've assumed the sports stay the same

Soontobe60 · 08/09/2023 07:38

Floralnomad · 07/09/2023 21:24

Who is supposed to run these teams and organise the matches and practices , perhaps the teachers just don’t want to do more than they do . Why does your daughter not join clubs outside of school there are plenty about - netball , football , rugby , hockey to name a few .

Presumably there are enough staff to run the teams for the boys though!

Jellybean2017 · 08/09/2023 07:38

Can the girls not just join the "boys" teams in, for example, basketball, table tennis... What would happen if they turned up to the clubs? In this day and age they could just say they identify as a boy couldn't they 🙊🤣

TeenDivided · 08/09/2023 07:42

Surely the thing to do would be to put out a call across the school:

Any girls from any year interested in playing in a football team please turn up in kit on the astroturf at 3.15pm Wednesday next week. (Preferably at a time set aside for boys football practice.)

If there really is interest they'll turn up. If it is posturing they won't.

notquitesoyoung · 08/09/2023 07:43

@Hellocatshome OP hasn't stated how the boys teams are resourced - in a school environment is that likely to be volunteers? Any school funded resource should be divided equally and that's admin time to put together/run/administer teams just as much as it is coaching.

ZadocPDederick · 08/09/2023 07:47

EmmaMackenzie42 · 07/09/2023 21:34

@Floralnomad Over 60% of students in the year (mostly female) have signed the petition and the number is only increasing.

Those 60% need to ask for a meeting with the games staff to talk about how they can make it happen. I'd have thought the staff may well welcome pupils showing so much interest.

AndromacheAstyanax · 08/09/2023 07:47

Schools are bound to listen to ‘student voice’, so the school should at least hear your daughter and respond to her. As a former headteacher, I’d probably have welcomed more warmly a personal visit from the student, or a request through the school’s channels (is there a student council?) than a petition, which seems just a tad militant. However, that’s a small point, and perhaps she could still do that.

I think these are both very reasonable requests, but especially the sport, where it’s hard to justify a disparity between boys and girls (another standard for which schools are accountable). There could well be a difficulty in staffing the teams initially, but at worst this would delay rather than impede the project.

As for the prom, I must admit I don’t like the word! But the concept is great, and I hope she succeeds.

ZadocPDederick · 08/09/2023 07:48

Floralnomad · 07/09/2023 21:24

Who is supposed to run these teams and organise the matches and practices , perhaps the teachers just don’t want to do more than they do . Why does your daughter not join clubs outside of school there are plenty about - netball , football , rugby , hockey to name a few .

If the teachers can find time to run boys' teams and organise their matches and practices, there is no valid reason for not doing the same for the girls. If necessary, they could cut out a couple of boys' activities.

tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz · 08/09/2023 07:49

Agree that tweeting (or is it X-ing now?!) female sports stars is a n ace idea

Hellocatshome · 08/09/2023 07:53

notquitesoyoung · 08/09/2023 07:43

@Hellocatshome OP hasn't stated how the boys teams are resourced - in a school environment is that likely to be volunteers? Any school funded resource should be divided equally and that's admin time to put together/run/administer teams just as much as it is coaching.

In a school environment it is likely to be teachers on a voluntary basis. Most schools especially state schools it is not in their contract that they have to run any extra curricular activities.