FROM England’s European Championship win to record-breaking viewing figures for all-female boxing cards, 2022 was a big year in the rise of women’s sport at both home and globally.

But there is more to sport than such visibility at the top level, and more to physical activity than just sport: successes at an elite level can perpetuate the idea that it’s only for “sporty types,” something that new research has highlighted stems from early experiences in PE.

After finding that 40 per cent of English women say PE in school made it difficult for them to be excited about physical activity in later life and over a third — 36 per cent — were put off sport for life, This Girl Can — Sport England’s campaign to get women and girls moving, regardless of shape, size and ability — is calling for our approach to PE to expand beyond its traditional confines.

Funded by Sport England, Studio You’s free video-based PE lessons  takes the campaign into schools, helping teachers to break the PE mould. Made for girls aged 11-16 who don’t feel PE is for them, the programme is designed to change their mindset and introduce them to a variety of physical activities, including combat, dance, yoga, and fitness.

The idea is to increase girls’ engagement and activity, changing the way they see PE and bringing fun to physical activity after research showed that 55 per cent of girls aren’t reaching the UK Chief Medical Officers’ basic physical activity target.

The new study conducted among just over 2,200 adults for Studio You shows nearly half of women in England — 47 per cent — didn’t enjoy PE activities compared with only 26 per cent of men; a further 37 per cent said they had a negative experience in PE as opposed to just a fifth of men.

The gender divide in PE experiences is stark, highlighting the need for more inclusive and wide-ranging approaches to PE. For many women, PE lessons made them feel judged (57 per cent v 32 per cent of men), uncomfortable (56 per cent v 36 per cent of men), embarrassed (54 per cent v 33 per cent of men) or anxious (54 per cent v 36 per cent of men).

It’s no surprise then that a massive 84 per cent of women admitted to using an excuse to get out of PE when the top memorable experiences included playing football or netball in the freezing cold (28 per cent), worrying about looking silly (27 per cent), or running laps in the rain (22 per cent).

Nearly half of women — 45 per cent — said they were uninterested in PE at school compared with 23 per cent of men, finding the class too competitive (43 per cent), stressful (49 per cent) and too focused on team sports (37 per cent).

What more can be done to encourage young girls into physical activity? Programmes such as Studio You could help bridge the gap for a new generation, as 40 per cent of women said a wider choice of activities would have helped engage their interest in PE at school.

In a similar vein, respondents said offering alternative activities for students uncomfortable with sport (39 per cent) or with lower fitness levels (33 per cent) would have helped their experience.

Half of secondary schools in England are now registered with Studio You and over 100,000 girls have been reached through the campaign since it launched in September 2021, 

According to the campaign, less-active girls using Studio You are also indicating that they have a say in PE and that they like the activities they do in PE, with teachers saying it helps them engage less active students and those who have been previously resistant to PE.

Sport England is the arms-length body of government responsible for growing and developing grassroots sport and getting more people active in England. It is funded by the government and the National Lottery. It is England’s successor to the Sports Council, which was set up in 1972 and reorganised into UK Sport and the home nations’ sports councils in 1997.