The new-style competition will be known simply as the School Games, and will be run primarly by the Youth Sport Trust, who are in charge of the current UK School Games, which were launched in 2006 by then Sports Minister Richard Caborn.

A total of £10 million ($15 million) per annum of Lottery funding in support·of competitions including an annual School Games will be provided as part of the U-turn over the funding of school sports announced yesterday by the Government. 

Originally billed as a School Olympics, but now operating under a less contentious name as far as the organisers of the London 2012 Games are concerned – which will effectively take the place of the UK School Games which the Youth Sport Trust has run for the last five years.

The first finals will be held in the Olympic Park in the year of the Games.

The Youth Sport Trust have been appointed despite it being widely assumed that the British Olympic Association (BOA) would run the event. 

Jacques Rogge met with Prime Minister David Cameron earlier this year and discussed how the Games would be known as "the British Olympic Association School Games" because the BOA would be in overall charge.

The Department of Health will also be providing up to £14 million ($22 million) over the next two years to support levels of participation in the Games by primary schools, according to a release from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport which continues:

"The development of the School Games is being led by the Youth Sport Trust, who will work with Sport England, sports and other key partners to develop the new series of competitions over the next academic year 2011-12.

"This will involve a new series of intra-school competitions offered to schools; more competitions between schools available at district level; and festivals of competitive sport in every county and city – linked to a schools database to recognise and profile competition results."

The decision to keep the Youth Sport Trust in charge of the School Games, coupled with Michael Gove's announcement that he had would not be totally scrapping funding for school sports, is a coup for Sue Campbell (pictured), the chairman of the Youth Sport Trust.

In broad terms, the annual ring-fencing of funding for school sports partnerships and school competitions will be halved in the next two years, rather than done away with altogether.

Campbell is happy to look on the bright side.

"I'm delighted that the Coalition Government has decided to support the investment in· school sports partnerships," she told insidethegames.

"I am obviously pleased, because all those people involved in the partnerships have done a fantastic job and this latest announcement builds on what has already been done and allows the process to move forward.

"There were days when I didn't think the shift from the original announcement was going to happen.

"But I think there was a considerable impact made by that great walk - I won't call it a march - to Downing Street by all our Young Ambassadors, the terrific letter of support from so many of our elite athletes, and an incredible level of support from the media.

"If any one of these elements had been missing, maybe we wouldn't have got to where we are today.

"I think this process has made us all realise how important school sports are to us."

The latest proposals will see the Department for Education (DfE) pay school sports partnerships to the end of the current academic year at a cost of £47 million ($73 million).

In addition, £65 million ($101 million) from the DfE's spending review settlement will be allocated Sue Campbell, chair of the Youth Sport Trust, has welcomed the news that the Government has taken a substantial step back from its proposals to scrap £162 million of to allow every school in England to release a PE teacher for one day a week for the following two academic years.

That funding will be supplemented by an input of £6.4 million ($9.9 million) over two years from the Department of Health to secure the future of Change4Life Sports Clubs in secondary schools, which have been proving especially good at attracting children who are "least active."

"It's a fresh start," said Campbell.

"It's different.

"And the Youth Sports Trust has got to get behind it and make it work just like we got behind the last strategy.

"We are not there to judge.

"We are there to make sport work for young people."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
November 2010: Exclusive - School Olympics to be launched next month by Government
October 2010: "School Olympics" will spark revolution claims UK Culture Secretary
September 2010: British school sport is envy of world claims Youth Sport Trust
September 2010: Exclusive - Youth Sport Trust back School Olympics
August 2010: Exclusive - Talks on British School Olympics title opened with IOC