Private schools and Olympic medals – is there a link?

Olympic longevity is an attribute for several privately educated members of Team GB. Mary King competed at all 4 Games inward the study, winning 2 silverish medals. © Mike Bain

A novel report has revealed that a 3rd of Britain’s Olympic medalists from the past times 4 Games came from mortal schools.

When Team GB’s get down medals were won at the London Games, British Olympic Association chairman Lord Moynihan announced: “It is 1 of the worst statistics inward British sport, together with wholly unacceptable, that over fifty per centum of our medallists inward Beijing (at the 2008 Olympic Games) came from  independent schools*, which way that one-half of our medals came from only vii per centum of the children inward the UK.”

UK Sport together with Olympics bosses had already admitted privately that they expected to a greater extent than than a 3rd of athletes inward the 500-strong Team GB for the London Games to induce got been educated at independent schools.

The get down British gold medals of the London Olympic Games of 2012 were won past times a duo of privately educated rowers. Top-heavy representation inward the medal tabular array of privately educated sportsmen together with sportswomen would enhance questions for those responsible for physical educational activity together with sport inward the terra firma schools that educate 93 per centum of the population.

But inward his study, Dr Malcolm Tozer, the editor of Physical Education together with Sport inward Independent Schools, says the total publish of privately educated athletes at the 4 summertime Olympic Games from Sydney inward 2000 to London inward 2012 numbered no to a greater extent than than one-fifth of the participants – but these athletes accounted for nearly a 3rd of the UK’s medal haul.

“Sportsmen together with sportswomen educated at independent schools were over-represented at the abrupt destination of competition. They were twice equally probable to hand the transcend viii inward their best lawsuit and, 1 time there, twice equally probable to win medals,” Tozer said.

Tozer compared participation of athletes from independent schools together with terra firma schools, together with looked at factors including sporting success together with academic achievement, pop together with ignored sports, together with sports scholarships.

He likewise posed leading questions for those responsible for the Olympic legacy – over the novel national curriculum for physical eduction, the electrical flow Ofsted research on schoolhouse sport, the role of after-school activities, the contribution of teachers together with coaches, together with the re-assessment of the role of the Youth Sport Trust.

The findings on privately schooled athletes at Olympic Games from 2000 to 2012 included:

• Men outnumbered women inward Team GB at all 4 Olympic Games – but less together with therefore at Beijing together with London.  In the 1 sport where men together with women competed on equal terms, equestrianism, women outnumbered men v to three.
• Millfield School had the highest publish of representatives over the 4 games amongst 16, amongst Eton College adjacent amongst 12. If repeat selections are discounted, Eton has eight, which covered 3 sports – athletics, equestrian together with rowing.
• With 23 competitors, equestrian was behind only rowing (76), hockey (36), swimming (29), together with athletics (28) inward publish of participants from a total of 262. The gild changes if the proportion of the total publish of competitors inward each sport is calculated: equestrian (about 44%), rowing (40%), hockey (28%), sailing (25%), lawn tennis (22%), swimming (16%), and athletics (9%).
• Top-eight places inward 8 of the 29 Olympic sports were achieved past times all or nearly all the privately educated competitors inward all 4 Olympic Games inward cycling, equestrianism, hockey, modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing together with swimming, together with past times nearly one-half of those inward athletics.
• Most medals won past times privately educated members of Team GB over the 4 Olympic Games came inward rowing (45), equestrianism (19), sailing (12), cycling together with hockey (8 each) together with modern pentathlon (4).
• Schools played no or trivial usage inward the get down sense inward several other sports, notably canoeing, cycling, diving, equestrianism, gymnastics, synchronised swimming, triathlon together with weightlifting.
• Fencing, sailing, shooting, swimming together with lawn tennis all benefited from schoolhouse involvement, whereas canoeing, cycling, diving, equestrianism (only Laura Bechtolsheimer seems to induce got ridden at school), gymnastics, synchronised swimming, triathlon together with weightlifting owe trivial to schools other than the of import contribution of an effective together with comprehensive programme of physical educational activity together with sport. The proposition that independent schools unremarkably supply velodromes, purpose-built rowing lakes, show-jumping arenas together with 10-metre diving platforms higher upwards 50-metre swimming pools – amongst practiced coaching to jibe – is unfounded, Tozer said.

 

‘One of the worst statistics inward British sport, together with wholly unacceptable’: The contribution of privately-educated members of Team GB to the summertime Olympic Games, 2000-2012, one 1000 Tozer. Published online inward August 2012, inward The International Journal of the History of Sport, DOI:10.1080/09523367.2013.814643

* Independent schools were by together with large called world schools until the 1970s; thereafter, the schools preferred to endure known equally independent schools. In both cases, the schools are mortal fee-paying enterprises, independent of terra firma provision. 

 

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