Schoolchildren protest outside House of Commons over cuts to sports funding

By Tom Degun

December 7 - Hundreds of pupils from across England have today taken part in protests outside the House of Commons against cuts to school sports funding as the backlash to the axing of the £162 million ($260 million) for School Sports Partnership continues.

Demonstrators also handed in a large 500,000-signature petition to Downing Street which condemns the move and calls for a re-think of the highly controversial decision.

It follows 75 top athletes, including world diving champion Tom Daley and Olympic gold medallist Denise Lewis, writing to Prime Minister David Cameron saying the policy is "ill-conceived" and that the move risks harming the 2012 London Olympics having a "genuine legacy" of encouraging participation in sport.

The Schools Sports Partnership, which is a joint initiatives between primary, secondary and specialist state schools designed to increase sporting opportunities for children, was axed in October this year in the Comprehensive Spending Review after the Government claimed it was looking at the best way to reallocate the funds.

Education Michael Gove has consistently defended the move saying that the he simply wants "maximum value for money" while Cameron has even gone as far as to described the partnerships as "a complete failure."

Cameron later backtracked on the statement claiming that he was "looking very carefully" at the issue and that new proposals would be brought forward "soon", although Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt denied that the Government were making "a U-turn" on the decision.

"Michael Gove is saying we want to do competitive school sports better," Hunt had said.

Shadow Education Secretary Andy Burnham welcomed what he said was "a huge change in tone" on school sports.

Burnham and two other Shadow Cabinet Ministers have written to Gove to offer to work with him to help retain the existing structure of partnership managers, which co-ordinate efforts between schools.

Burnham and his colleagues though did accept that the overall funding will have to be reduced given the tough financial climate.

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