Sport & physical education at schools in great britain

I. Sport has always been a very important part of a child’s education in Britain. 1)____________. Team games, for example, encourage such social qualities as enthusiasm, cooperation, loyalty, unselfishness, fairness (no cheating) and losing without anger (being a “good looser”). Absolute fairness and losing without anger are considered important.

II. Sport activity is great to be fit and healthy. 2) ____________________ . As well as the com­pulsory PE lessons that everyone has to do, teenagers can take part in extra sports at school.

3) ________________ . Most schools and colleges offer the opportunity to join sports teams, or take part in extra sporting activities in the evenings, on the lunch breaks or even at weekend, that’s why teenagers can do more of the activ­ities that they enjoy. The government is doing much to make sure that teenagers have the facilities available at school to do the sports they most enjoy.

4) ____________ .

III. Thousands of schoolchildren of all ages take part in sporting activities when the school day is over. The main sports they play are rugby, hockey, foot­ball, netball, basketball, cricket and tennis. They like athletics, swimming and rowing. 5) _________ . To celebrate the success and commitment of the students, some schools have an annual Sports Awards Night, which is followed with a disco and barbecue.

1. Regular exercise can increase energy levels, release stress and help everybody to feel good.

2. The recommended amount of exercise for teenagers is at least one hour a day.

3. Traditional games such as football, rugby and cricket and individual sports like track and field athletics, gymnastics or swimming develop physical abilities and provide a certain kind of moral education.

4. The sporting calendar is a very busy one — there are matches and tourna­ments against other teams on most Saturdays and some other days too.

5. Opening parks, playgrounds and basketball / tennis courts for longer hours encourages children and young people to enjoy sports outside of school.

Exercise 16. Read the true / false statements. If the statement is false, give the correct statement.

1. Sport plays an important role in education in Britain.

2. Traditional games and individual sports develop physical abilities.

3. Sport doesn’t develop moral qualities.

4. Cooperation, loyalty, unselfishness aren’t important in British schools.

5. To lose is considered just a “part of the game”.

6. The recommended amount of exercises for teenagers is 15 minutes a day.

7. When the schoolday is over, children hurry home.

8. The main sport in British schools is baseball.

9. Many schools organize school parties to award the best sportsmen.

Exercise 17. Listen and complete the chart, talk about what sports the students do [16:114].

PARTICIPATION IN SPORTS AT MILLFIELD HIGH SCHOOL
________	boys (25 %)	girls (17 %)
swimming	boys 2) ______	girls (85%)
athletics	boys (70 %)	girls 3) _______
4) _______	boys (83 %)	girls (6 %)
aerobics	boys (5 %)	girls (72 %)
cross-country running	boys 5) ______	girls (19%)
6) _______	boys (76 %)	girls (2 %)

Example: 25% of boys at Millfield High School play basketball

Exercise 18. a) Read the conversations between the students and complete the dialogues with the second conditional of the verbs in brackets.

1. A: Where would you study if you 1) _______(live) in England?

B: If lived in England I 2) _________(study) at Millfield High School.

2. A: What sport would you choose if you 3) ______( be) a student of Millfield High School?

B: If I were a student of Millfield High School I 4) _______ (choose) swimming, because I am fond of water sports.

3. A: If you 5) ______ (have) a chance to do any extreme sports, what would you choose?

B: I would choose paragliding.

A: Why would you choose it?

B: If I 6) ______ (go) paragliding, I would take a lot of photographs. It would be really exciting

4. A: If you 7) ________ (do) any extreme sports, what would you do?

B: I would go rock climbing, because if I 8) _______ (learn) to climb I would see a nice countryside from the top of a cliff.

5. A: What would you do if you 9) _______ (have) lots of money?

B: Firstly, I would buy a big boat.

A: Why do you need such a big boat?

B: If I 10) _______ (buy) it, I would study to sail, after that I 11) _______ ( invite) all my friend and family to sail round the world.