The charity, the Youth Sport Trust (YST) has highlighted what it calls 'a troubling decline' in the number of hours secondary school students in England spend in PE classes – and says the situation should be “a wake-up call to society”.
24th July 2025
In its’ yearly report, the YST has called for “urgent action to protect and prioritise” physical activity sessions, and stressed that “nearly 4,000 hours have been lost in the last year alone” across state-funded schools. The organisation adds that, since London 2012, “almost 45,000 PE hours” have disappeared from timetables in secondary schools while, there are also 7% fewer PE teachers than at the time of the London Olympics.
The report also indicates that 2.2m pupils across England are now completing under half an hour of daily activity, while less than half (48%) met the UK’s Chief Medical Officers’ recommendation of completing a minimum of at least an hour’s daily physical activity.
According to the charity, children aged 11-14 are most affected, with over 2,800 hours axed and nearly 350 teachers lost for this age group over the last 12 months. And this at a time when recent analysis by the Royal Society for Public Health has suggested that most kids will be overweight or obese in nine areas of England by 2035, and that childhood obesity rates are poised to worsen across 90% of the nation.
YST adds that those with special educational needs and disabilities, girls and pupils from less advantaged backgrounds still “face the biggest barriers to being active”.
However, there were more positive points from the report, including:
PE is a compulsory school subject, but the recommended time spent on it (two hours a week) isn’t enforced. Describing the decline in PE hours as part of “a longer-term trend”, YST chief executive Ali Oliver commented:
“Our children are moving less, feeling unhappier and losing access to the transformative power of PE, contributing to stagnant physical activity levels. Unless we take action … we risk failing a generation."
In a statement, the Government said: “We’re determined to break down barriers to accessing PE and school sports … are working to boost participation and have already invested £100m to upgrade sports facilities and launched a programme to improve access to sports for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. Our ongoing curriculum review seeks to ensure children do not miss out on subjects including PE and sport.”
An outdoor gym is an excellent way of maximising physical activity in your secondary school and can be used during PE lessons, after school and during breaks. There are also mental health benefits in terms of developing social skills, confidence and self-esteem. Concentration and behaviour and absenteeism levels improve, while children also get into positive exercise habits for life. And we’ve previously reported on how playground gym equipment can help beat exam stress.
Our outdoor gym equipment suits all levels of ability and allows users to exercise safely and at their own pace.
Fresh Air Fitness is the leading, award-winning supplier of outdoor gym equipment for schools across the UK. We know all about the importance of regular exercise for this age group. And we agree that the YST report makes for worrying reading, but an outdoor gym can be a superb way of getting pupils active for longer every day.
We’ve fitted these facilities in senior schools UK-wide, and are with these clients from site inspection through to design, rapid installation and beyond. What’s more, all of our kit comes with a 25-year warranty. Our outdoor exercise machines give users a full-body workout – and with more than 40 items in our line-up. Discover our gym range today – and contact us with any questions you may have.
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