Sport opportunities not being provided

The Daily Mail reports that almost a million children are not doing enough exercise because thousands of schools are squeezing sport off the timetable. Official figures show that one in seven is missing out on chances to play sports such as football and netball. With childhood obesity soaring - a quarter of 11 to 15-year-olds are now classified as so fat that it threatens their health - schools have been set a target of providing at least two hours a week for PE and sport. But around a third of primaries and two-thirds of secondaries fail to achieve this.

Government figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats show 895,481 children aged five to 16 lose out as a result. Critics yesterday claimed a generation of youngsters is being let down and at risk of becoming couch potatoes. They said it makes a mockery of the £100million drive launched by the Prime Minister last July to give children five hours of sport a week, during and after school, by 2010. Liberal Democrat sports spokesman Don Foster said: 'It's ludicrous for Gordon Brown to be making commitments when so many kids still aren't doing the two hours. 'Billions of pounds have been pumped into school facilities so parents are entitled to expect their kids are given a decent chance to use them.' Heads claim the curriculum is overcrowded, leaving some schools struggling with the demands of tests and exams.

Mick Brookes, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers, said: 'The findings are not surprising. We believe the targets, tests and tables regime is squeezing out important areas.'