It claims the drastic move could seriously jeopardise the future of school sport across the United Kingdom.

The Department for Education has announced it will no longer be providing ring-fenced funding for School Sport Partnerships following the cuts despite the scheme having introduced millions of children to competitive sport.

The Youth Sport Trust said such a move will have a completely negative and lasting impact on the delivery of PE and school sport for young people and that all of the benefits promised from the London 2012 Games may now disappear for children in schools.

Campbell, who is also the chair of Government National Lottery distributor UK Sport, said: "This is devastating news for the future health and well-being of our young people and the army of dedicated, passionate and committed people throughout the country who, through sport, have delivered such change for young people in recent years.

"The 450 School Sport Partnerships have provided millions of hours of coaching, created thousands of new links between schools and clubs and introduced over a million more young people to competitive sport over the last three years."

Steve Grainger, chief executive of the Youth Sport Trust, said: "The cuts are staggering given the transformational change that has been created and the incredible results which have been delivered in school sport.

"With just 21 months to go until the start of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, Lord Coe's pledge to use the Games to transform sporting opportunities for young people is now hanging in the balance.

"In these very challenging times, what does not change is our determination to continue using sport as a way of increasing young people's aspiration and achievement.

"We remain fully focused on improving the PE and sport experience for every young person and will work to ensure that sport remains at the heart of school life."

Chris Dunne, head teacher at Langdon Park School in Tower Hamlets, London, added: "School Sport Partnerships have transformed school sport, not just in terms of increasing the numbers of participants, competitors, aspiring coaches and young volunteers, but also in using sport to increase young people's educational and career aspirations.

"These cuts will have such a damaging effect on school sport that there is a very real danger everything that has been achieved thus far will be lost."

In a letter to Campbell, Education Secretary Michael Grove stated: "Our approach differs fundamentally from that of the last Government.

"As part of this change of approach, I have concluded that the existing network of School Sport Partnerships is neither affordable nor likely to be the best way to help schools achieve their potential in improving competitive sport.

"While the network helped schools to increase participation rates in the areas targeted by the previous Government, the fact remains that the proportion of pupils playing competitive sport regularly has remained disappointingly low.

"Only around two in every five pupils play competitive sport regularly within their own school, and only one in five plays regularly against other schools.

"I can confirm therefore that the department will not continue to provide ring-fenced funding for School Sport Partnerships."

The Youth Sport Trust has been advocating, developing and implementing school sport for the past 15 years, over which time government investment in school sport has increased from zero in 1995 to around £160 million for schools across England annually.

The bulk of this investment has been used to create a new infrastructure for the delivery of school sport.

Every school in England now has a dedicated human resource to deliver a varied programme of PE and sport for all young people.

This has increased the numbers of young people taking up at least two hours of school sport per week from around 1.8 million young people in 2004 to around 6.5 million in 2010.

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