Let Girls Play
On Wednesday, all the pupils at Prep took part in a high-energy session of football. They really enjoyed learning some new skills and the older students were able to put them into practice on the field.
Did you know? The Football Association (The FA) has recently launched a campaign to ensure that girls have the same access to football in schools, and in clubs as boys do by 2024. #LetGirlsPlay
Research shared as part of the campaign shows that football is very popular amongst girls, and that the numbers of girls engaged in football is continuing to grow. Whilst football is the most popular team sport for young people in England, only a third of girls aged 5-18 years participate each week. The research findings show that that 90% of girls that play, enjoy it. 60% of these girls that play football in schools want to play more and 91% of girls that don’t play, want the opportunity to do so.
As part of the same research, girls reported that the benefits to playing football were both physical and holistic:
- 88% play to keep fit and healthy.
- 73% plan to learn/develop social skills.
- 73% paly because it increases their self-confidence.
- 52% play to relieve stress and worry and 92% play because it is fun.