Industry News
Private schools 'could help obesity problem'
Posted on 20th March 2008
A thinktank has suggested that Britain's obesity problem could be helped if local children are given access to private schools' sports facilities.
The New Local Government Network (NLGN) has recommended that the government should force schools that receive charity status to make their often high-quality gyms, sport pitches and swimming pools available to local sports clubs for at least ten hours a week.
It points to research which shows that access to sports facilities can increase fitness activity by up to 50 per cent.
With one study warning that at the current rate a quarter of UK children could be obese by 2050, that can only be a good thing.
The Charity Commission has introduced new rules which state that independent schools must prove their charity status if they want to keep the £100 million worth of annual tax breaks they current enjoy.
Sharing facilities with local state schools and sports clubs would be one way to do that.