Schools are able to influence how much students participate in sport as well as what sports are available. Factors include:

• Exams and performance awards: qualifications can be very important, especially for people aiming for a career in sport. They’re also good at providing motivation and focus.
• Facilities: the facilities available at school are important as they not only dictate which sports are available but also what standard of performance you can reach.
• Staff attitudes: the attitudes of your teacher can have a big impact on how you feel about PE. It’s easy to appreciate how a motivated and positive teacher will have a more positive impact on their pupils than one who doesn’t appear to care. It’s also important to recognise if a teacher is perhaps biased towards one sport over another as this may affect how they teach different activities.
• Sports clubs: if you want to take up sport seriously then it’s important to have links with sports clubs. If it’s important within your school then this will be something that’s encouraged.
• Extra-curricular activities: PE lessons are one thing but being able to participate further outside of lessons is very important. It also students to work harder at what sport they’re interested in and, occasionally, other sports not used in lessons are included.

Extra-curricular activities are a great way to increase the amount of time pupils’ participate in sport and physical activities. However, there are a number of factors that can influence the provision of these in schools:

• the attitudes of the staff
• how well such activities have fared in the past
• the extent and quality of the facilities available at the school, for instance well-resourced schools can offer a wider range than schools which are limited
• links to local clubs and providers for a wider range of activities and what types of activities they can provide for instance at a health club or golf club
• visits from other sporting providers, for instance an ice hockey rink, dry ski slopes or ten pin bowling
• being able to provide a range of extra-curricular activities which go beyond the traditional sporting models and are able to include other recreational and leisure opportunities

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