It followed a wave of protests from teachers, pupils and Olympic athletes like diver Tom Daley and heptathlete Denise Lewis, who had warned that the cuts could threaten the London 2012 Olympics leaving a successful legacy.

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 to allow every school in England to release a PE teacher for one day a week for the following two academic years.

"It's time to ensure what was best in school sport partnerships around the country is fully embedded and move forward to a system where schools and parents are delivering on sports with competition at the heart," said Gove.

"This will take some time and I'm pleased to be able to confirm some funding for school sports partnerships during this transition.

"But I'm looking to PE teachers to embed sport and put more emphasis on competitions for more pupils in their own schools, and to continue to help the teachers in local primary schools do the same."

Gove sparked outrage in October when he said he was cutting funding for 450 School Sports Partnerships (SSP), which organise PE, sports clubs and competitions at schools where there are no specialist sports staff.

Gove believed the £2.4 billion ($3.7 billion) spent on the scheme over the past seven years had brought some benefits but said it was overly bureaucratic and that too few children were taking part in competitive sport.

Prime Minister David Cameron (pictured) had called the scheme a "complete failure" but earlier this month adopted a more conciliatory tone after public criticism of the move.

But the figures from the DfE show the proportion of schoolchildren doing at least two hours of sport per week rose from 25 per cent to 90 per cent in the past seven years.



Ministers were under pressure to defuse the row in case it overshadowed an event at the Olympic Park this evening, where Cameron will switch on the Stadium's lights for the first time.

Under the hastily revised plans, the money will pay the wages of 3,600 school sports co-ordinators.

More than 70 British Olympic athletes wrote to Cameron last month warning that the "ill-conceived" ending of funding for the sports partnerships would risk the future of children's health.

They said the move would destroy any hope of delivering the promised legacy of wider participation in sport promised in London's successful bid for the 2012 Olympics.

Earlier this month, around 500 pupils delivered to 10 Downing Street a petition with half a million signatures appealing for the scheme to be saved.

Funding for the sports partnerships will continue to the end of the school summer term next year but will be reduced to £118 million ($183 million), Gove's Education Department said.

The cuts mean coaches, who are seconded from their regular PE duties, will work one day a week instead of two.

It is hoped teachers' time can be reorganised so there is no loss of PE provision despite the cuts.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt was reported to have taken the lead in demanding at least a partial reprieve, arguing that scrapping partnerships could harm the UK's pledge to use the 2012 Olympic Games in London to increase participation in sport.

The Youth Sports Trust, the charity responsible for delivering school sport, said it was "absolutely delighted" to keep the network of coaches in place.

The Government will also revise the PE curriculum to give greater emphasis to competitive sports and headteachers will be given greater freedom in how they spend money on sport.

Doubl Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes will lead a network of "sporting advocates" to promote youth participation.

"I want competitive sport to be at the centre of a truly rounded education that all schools offer," said Gove.

"The Government is clear that at the heart of our ambition is a traditional belief that competitive sport, when taught well, brings out the best in everyone, be they the Olympian of tomorrow or the child who wants to keep fit and have fun learning new sports and games."

But Labour Education spokesman Andy Burnham said the move was an embarrassing climbdown by the Coalition Government.

"I am worried this U-turn is all about saving face and will not go far enough," he said.

"I believe it is possible for the Government to make savings while keeping the basic school sport partnerships infrastructure in place.

"Children need a combination of competitive sport, alongside coaching and opportunities for all.

"The decision to dismantle a world-leading school sport system on the eve of our home Olympics amounts to selling out our children and our Olympic legacy."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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