Muireann Henderson is a Gold Young Ambassador at Ysgol John Bright. She has seen big changes to sport within her school and a dramatic increase in participation among her peers since the last School Sport Survey.
In her opinion schools must give pupils the opportunity to have a say in order to reap these benefits.
I was lucky to have the chance to complete the school sport survey last time around. Schools across Conwy put a big effort into ensuring that their pupils undertook the online survey and in my opinion this has benefitted both us as pupils and the individual schools greatly.
The results from the survey allowed the schools in Conwy to understand why certain groups of pupils were not taking part in school sport. They also shed light on what they could do to turn this around.
As a result there are now many more sports being offered in schools which appeals to many more pupils. To support this, the schools are all now working together and also with local clubs to share facilities and resources.
Results from the last survey highlighted how girls especially those aged 14+ wanted to become more active but did not enjoy traditional PE sports. One of the biggest successes from the last school sport survey has been the creation of Only Girls Allowed sessions, which has seen a big increase in the amount of these girls taking part in school sport.
The schools now offer zumba, spin and trampolining sessions through local clubs and gyms, which is encouraging girls back into sport in school and also into gyms and local clubs within their spare time.
The schools ability to better match school sport to the wants and needs of their pupils, like with the Only Girls Allowed sessions, has meant that more of us are regularly participating and getting more out of it.
It is unquestionable that we have seen a great improvement in school sport here in Ysgol John Bright and across Conwy thanks to the last school sport survey.
I am glad that I had the opportunity to influence decision making around school sport and am certain that we have all benefitted from this experience. Schools really must give their pupils the opportunity to have a say this year!
The Sport Wales School Sport Survey goes live from April 8th 2013. For more information visit www.schoolsportsurvey.org.uk
