School sport aiming to inspire next generation
Maria Miller and London 2012 stars speak at conference.
Great school sport is vital in encouraging children to get involved in sport, Culture Secretary Maria Miller said today as she attended the School Sport Conference.
The conference, titled “Inspiring the next generation”, reflected on London 2012 and looked at how school sport is evolving to keep young people interested and engaged.
The Culture Secretary and British medallists from the Olympic and Paralympic Games were among those addressing guests at the event, which was organised by the Youth Sport Trust and supported by Sport England.
“The people who teach children sport know what a positive influence it can be in a child’s development and how it can stay with them throughout their lives,” Mrs Miller said. This is exactly why [Education Secretary] Michael Gove and I are committed to working together, to ensure that school sport thrives and healthy competition is promoted.
“We want to inspire children from a young age to participate; great school sport is key in achieving this. Now we are more determined than ever to leave a lasting legacy from 2012, inspiring a new generation of youngsters to play sport.”
“Tangible and lasting change”
John Steele, chief executive of the Youth Sport Trust, said: “We are now in the critical phase of turning the inspiration that London 2012 created into tangible and lasting change for the next generation.
“We should not take this as a given, it will not happen without a huge amount of commitment from all of us. School sport plays a pivotal role in this.”