HC Deb 19 June 2002 vol 387 cc365-8W
Bob Russell

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many specialist sports schools there are in(a) England and (b) each local education authority. [62982]

Mr. Miliband

[holding answer 17 June 2002]: The total number of schools designated as specialist sports colleges in England is 142. The table shows the number of specialist sports colleges in each local education authority.

Number of schools designated as specialist sports colleges by LEA (as at 17 June 2001)
Local education authorities Number of

sports colleges

Barking and Dagenham, London Borough of 1
Barnet, London Borough of 1
Barnsley 1
Bath and North-East Somerset 1
Bedfordshire (from 2 October 1998)
Bexley, London Borough of
Birmingham 6
Blackburn with Darwen
Blackpool 1
Number of schools designated as specialist sports colleges by LEA (as at 17 June 2001)
Local education authorities Number of

sports colleges

Bolton (from 1 September 1998) 1
Bournemouth
Bracknell Forest
Bradford 4
Brent, London Borough of
Brighton and Hove 1
Bristol, City of 2
Bromley, London Borough of
Buckinghamshire 2
Bury
Calderdale 1
Cambridgeshire 2
Camden, London Borough of
Cheshire 2
Corporation of London
Cornwall 3
Coventry
Croydon, London Borough of 1
Cumbria 1
Darlington
Derby, City of 1
Derbyshire 1
Devon 2
Doneaster 1
Dorset 1
Dudley 1
Durham 2
Ealing, London Borough of 2
East Riding of Yorkshire 1
East Sussex 3
Enfield, London Borough of (from 1 September 1998)
Essex 5
Gateshead 1
Gloucestershire 2
Greenwich, London Borough of 1
Hackney, London Borough of
Halton
Hammersmith and Fulham, London Borough of
Hampshire 2
Haringey, London Borough of 1
Harrow, London Borough of 1
Hartlepool 1
Havering, London Borough of 1
Herefordshire
Hertfordshire 2
Hillingdon, London Borough of
Hounslow, London Borough of
Isle of Scilly
Isle of Wight 1
Islington, London Borough of
Kensington and Chelsea, Royal Borough of
Kent 4
Kingston upon Hull, City of 1
Kingston-upon-Thames, Royal Borough of
Kirklees 1
Knowsley 1
Lambeth, London Borough of
Lancashire
Leeds 2
Leicester City (from 2 October 1998) 1
Leicestershire 1
Lewisham, London Borough of
Lincolnshire 1
Liverpool 2
Luton
Manchester 2
Medway
Merton, London Borough of
Middlesborough 1
Milton Keynes 1
Newcastle upon Tyne 1
Newham, London Borough of 1
Norfolk 2
North East Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire
North Somerset 1
North Tyneside 1
North Yorkshire
Northamptonshire 1
Number of schools designated as specialist sports colleges by LEA (as at 17 June 2001)
Local education authorities Number of sports colleges
Northumberland 2
Nottingham, City of 1
Nottinghamshire 2
Oldham 1
Oxfordshire 2
Peterborough, City of 1
Plymouth, City of 1
Poole 1
Portsmouth 1
Reading
Redbridge
Redcar and Cleveland 1
Richmond-upon-Thames, London Borough of 1
Rochdale 1
Rotherham 1
Rutland
Salford
Sandwell 1
Sefton 1
Sheffield 2
Shropshire 3
Slough 2
Solihull
Somerset 1
South Gloucestershire
South Tyneside
Southend-on-Sea
Southampton
Southwark, London Borough of
St. Helens
Staffordshire 1
Stockport
Stockton on Tees (from 2 October 1998) 1
Stoke on Trent (from 1 September 1998) 1
Suffolk 2
Sunderland 1
Surrey 1
Sutton, London Borough of
Swindon
Tameside
Telford and Wrekin
Thurrock
Torbay
Tower Hamlets, London Borough of
Trafford 1
Wakefield 1
Walsall 1
Waltham Forest, London Borough of
Wandsworth, London Borough of 2
Warrington 1
Warwickshire 2
West Berkshire (Newbury) 1
West Sussex 2
Westminster, London Borough
Wigan 1
Wiltshire 2
Windsor and Maidenhead, Royal Borough of 1
Wirral 2
Wokingham
Wolverhampton 1
Worcestershire 2
York, City of
England Total 142

Mr. Hepburn

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many schools hold annual sports days in the(a) Jarrow constituency, (b) North East and (c) UK; and how this figure has changed over the last 11 years; [61272]

(2) what the Department is doing to encourage schools to hold sports days; [61273]

(3) how many hours per week schools are (a) required and (b) encouraged to devote to physical education and sports for pupils. [61274]

Mr. Miliband

The Department for Education and Skills does not collect figures on the number of schools which hold sports days. School sports days have an important role to play as part of an overall package of PE and sport opportunities provided by schools for all children. Work being undertaken by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority suggests that the vast majority of schools do hold an annual sports day or a similar event.

Physical education is compulsory within the National Curriculum at all Key Stages for all pupils. Schools must provide PE in accordance with the subject's programme of study. Guidance on Key Stage 3, published by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and the Department for Education and Skills, indicates that the programme of study could be delivered within 90 minutes. Our White Paper "Schools: achieving success" includes a commitment that all children will be entitled to two hours of high quality physical education and school sport a week, within and outside the curriculum.

The school sports co-ordinators programme brings together partnerships of schools. These are championing new PE and sport opportunities for young people. One of the key aims is to increase the amount of inter and intra-school sport which does, of course include schools sport days, both within school and with other partner schools.