Gap in children’s sports participation widens in Wales

Nation.Cymru staff

The gap in regular sports participation between pupils in Wales’ most and least deprived areas has widened, even as more children are taking part in organised sport.

Sport Wales found that 35% of pupils in the most deprived group took part in organised sport outside lessons at least three times a week, compared with 51% in the least deprived group. The gap has grown from 12 percentage points in 2018 to 14 in 2022 and 16 this year.

The 2026 School Sport Survey drew responses from 122,000 pupils in Years 3 to 11 across 1,000 schools. Across Wales, 43% took part in school or community club sport at least three times a week, up from 40% in 2022. The proportion taking part less than once a week also rose by three percentage points, to 38%.

Sport Wales says more than half of children are at risk of falling short of physical activity guidelines. It is calling on the Welsh Government to widen access to sport and make physical activity a bigger part of the school day.

The survey also found gaps by gender and disability. Some 47% of boys took part in club sport at least three times a week, compared with 39% of girls. The figure was 39% for pupils with a disability and 45% for those without one.

Sport Wales chair Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson said: “We must listen to what young people have told us, and we must make the level of widescale change needed, so that being active is not considered an optional extra or nice to have. Failing to do so is letting them and the generations behind them down.”

Some 84% of pupils said they wanted to try at least one sport they did not already do, equivalent to around 256,000 children across Wales. Trampolining was the most popular activity pupils wanted to try, followed by target shooting and archery. Swimming and football topped the list of sports pupils wanted to do more often.

Having fun

Almost six in ten pupils said they would do more sport if there were more activities they liked. Having fun mattered to 80% of pupils, while 61% picked being with friends and 30% picked winning. Pupils could choose more than one answer.

Sport Wales chief executive Brian Davies said: “Where they live, family income, disability, gender, race, and access to welcoming and affordable opportunities still shape whether they can take part.”

Sport Wales and Public Health Wales are testing ways to build more movement into the school day, including through how pupils travel to school, activities during lessons and links with local clubs.

Sport Wales said early feedback from participating schools suggested the approach was helping pupils engage in lessons and improving their wellbeing. Mr Davies said he hoped long-term funding would allow the programme to reach every school in Wales.