Brown: children will get five hours of sport a week

Gordon Brown today said every child will be offered five hours a week of school sport, with a stronger emphasis on competitive games.

He announced £100 million in funding for "a united team effort" to make athletics, team games and fitness an everyday part of school life.

Backed by double Olympics champion Dame Kelly Holmes, a new National School Sport Week will be launched. Extra funding will go on coaches in schools and communities, building on a £633 million project already in the pipeline.

"We need to put school sport back where it belongs - as much a part of the school day as algebra and Shakespeare," said the Prime Minister, during a visit to the West London Academy, Ealing.

"I was lucky enough to have primary and secondary schools that had sport at the centre of their ethos. I want every child to have that opportunity." At present, only 80 per cent of children get at least two hours of sport a week at school - a factor partly blamed for the soaring levels of child obesity. Only 37 per cent of pupils take part in sporting competition between schools.