Girls should take part in competitive sport to build confidence, and the leaders of a group of girls' schools will argue this week. Helen Fraser, director of the Girls' Day School Trust (GDST), will tell the group that sport can help girls deal with failure.
"All girls, not just the sporty ones, should take physical exercise," Ms. Fraser says. Research that girls are far less active than boys is worrying, she argues. Ms. Fraser will tell the group that she supports "sport for all". "That's why I love it when our schools have A, B, C and D teams and beyond," she says.
The GDST draws on research from the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation which suggests only a quarter of girls in England meet basic levels of activity each week. One in five girls do no activity at all, twice the proportion of boys, the research suggests.
Ms. Fraser says other research suggests that more than 80% of women business leaders played sports while growing up. She uses the examples of former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who once was a skater and tennis player, and the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, who was in the French national swimming team. Ms. Fraser says Olympic medallists like Jessica Ennis and Katherine Grainger are excellent role models for young women but says women's sport needs more money and more news reports.
Valerie Dunsford, head of Sheffield High School for Girls, part of GDST, said it was important to offer a large number of sports to attract different types of girls. "Not everyone wants to be out playing the hockey." said Ms. Dunsford.
