Tories under fire after dramatic fall in school sport in England

New figures undermine Rishi Sunak's claims to boost PE ahead of Women's World Cup final

The number of hours young people spend doing PE and sport in secondary schools in England has fallen by more than 12% since the 2012 London Olympics, despite promises by ministers that the games would inspire a generation" and kickstart a massive expansion of sport in the state sector.

The fall is recorded in the latest figures released by the government, which show a drop from 326,277 hours in 2011/12 to 285,957 in 2022/3. Although the total went back up after the pandemic, it then fell again over the last year by more than 4,000 hours.