Girls’ sport has been in the news again but, unfortunately, not for the right reasons. Sky’s report with Public First, published in September 2025 and then updated in July 2026, states that girls in the UK are missing out on 280 million hours of sport ever year. The gender gap, identified by Sky, is exceptionally worrying. In my own constituency of Cheadle – a leafy Manchester suburb – girls play 13% less sport than boys, where 7 hours 2 minutes is played by boys and 6 hours 6 minutes by girls every week. In Manchester Central this increases to 15% less sport and in Bolton, 18%. Sky concludes that “closing this participation gap could unlock an estimated £650 million in health and productivity benefits for the UK.”
But then, should we be surprised when female sport quite simply does not receive the same attention as male sport and – when it does receive the spotlight (the recent Sydney Sweeney advert as a case in point) – the focus is not always positive. In fact, a colleague drew my attention to the fact that she tracked the top five sporting news stories published on the BBC website over a seven-day period just last week. Out of the 35 top sporting news articles published, just three related to women in sport, and one of these was in reference to the ‘Sweeney ad [as] a barrier for girls in sport.’ Billie Jean King popularised the quote “if you can see it, you can be it”. Girls simply aren’t always seeing those sporting role models and consistently so and, if they aren’t, how can we expect them to be taking part in the sport that can bring such health benefits to them, both when they are young and, by extension, as they grow older.
Most will, of course, point to the health benefits of girls being involved in sport. Indeed, Sky’s report notes that “getting a physically inactive 18-year old girl involved in sport generates a lifetime benefit of £30,000 to the UK economy per person.” And the barriers to their involvement is not solely explained by the lack of exposure to inspirational role models. In fact, Sky reports that 33% of 11-18 year old girls experience sexist comments whilst playing sport, there are fewer sports in which they can get involved due – in part – to unequal access to facilities, as well as a feeling of exclusion from those sports usually associated with boys. Indeed, it is not easy to be a young girl wanting to play football and being told that she has to join the boys’ team because there aren’t enough girls to warrant a separate girls’ team. We also cannot underestimate the significant impact of the physical changes girls experience as they get older. 37% of girls said that they dropped out of sport because they didn’t feel comfortable in the kit. Furthermore, the lack of education on period sporting wear and sports bras has a real impact and one that cannot be underestimated. We need to ensure that girls feel comfortable in their kit, comfortable playing and that they avoid feeling judged by those around them when they do play.
What is also vital to remember is that girls are – because of this lack of participation – missing out on the skills developed through sport. Indeed, Sky concludes that 30% of girls are more likely to believe that they can handle a lot of pressure because of playing sports growing up, 20% are more likely to enjoy trying new things and 30% are more likely to bounce back quickly after hard times. The development of resilience, team-work and leadership skills that so many girls are missing out on is significant and exceptionally sad.
As Head of a girls’ school, I feel that the girls in my school are fortunate when it comes to participation and involvement. Girls, indeed, perform at elite levels in my school with my Head Girl from last year, for instance, successfully completing A-levels, attaining a place at Medical School and being the captain of the GB Hockey Team. But, more importantly, our inclusive approach to sport, where all girls are actively encouraged to take part, results in the development of real character benefits. My Director of Sport, Sarah, talks abut the perseverance, leadership and team-work, the determination and tenacity that she sees being developed when girls are involved in sport. She sees girls being able to handle setbacks in a way that produces strong, independent young women who are proactive in their approaches to setbacks and who develop confidence in the classroom as a result. She also says, not surprisingly, that girls involved in elite level sport are highly organised. After all, they need to be when they are juggling their sport alongside their examination work.
And, indeed, sport does not only benefit those at elite level. It benefits everyone. Sarah talked to me about the joy she experienced alongside the girls, when seven girls who were non-swimmers at the start of the year were able to swim a length of the swimming pool for the first time. She spoke of the ‘sheer elation’ with their success and the support each girl showed to each other when they achieved this landmark.
But girls here are lucky. We are a GSA school where every sporting opportunity; from cricket to football, water-polo to hockey is for girls. Girls take part, they enjoy doing so and they benefit from their participation, both in terms of their health and the development of character. Indeed, research by the Girls’ Schools Association shows that girls in all-girls settings have significantly higher levels of sports participation and engagement compared to national averages in co-educational settings. In fact, girls in GSA schools participate in 25% more curriculum sport and, where nationally there is a 65% drop off in the time girls spend playing sport between the ages of 14 and 18, in GSA schools, this drop-off is limited to just 25%. And then, girls in GSA schools are nearly 5 times more likely to play cricket and 30% more likely to play football compared to girls in other types of schools.
It is clear that more needs to be done for all girls. We need to ensure that young girls receive specialist teaching from the primary age, that they are surrounded and exposed to female sporting role-models and that they are encouraged to have a go – even in those sports which are under-represented in the female space. I saw Jasmin Sawyers, the British long jumper, speak recently and was inspired by her exceptionally positive message on women in sport. She calls on us all to normalise conversations with girls about those issues that impact their participation, such as periods. “Let’s normalise the conversation” she says and “end the shame.” When period pain and shame are cited as key reasons why 65% of girls drop out of sport, these conversations need to happen and they must, absolutely, be normalised. Jazmin talks of the “personal empowerment, equality, social cohesion and leadership” that can benefit society because of sporting involvement and “every child deserves the chance to succeed.” There is still so much to do to equalise the very uneven playing field.
