Girls at Scotland’s 318 secondary schools are to be given help increasing their physical fitness under a new programme launched by the Scottish Government today. 

The ‘Fit For Girls’ programme will be led by sportscotland and will see a Government investment of £530,000 to encourage girls between 11 and 16 to take part in more physical exercise.

Research shows that physical activity by girls drops sharply as they get older. At age 11 only 56 per cent of girls are meeting the national recommendations for physical activity of one hour most days of the week. This figure falls to 41 per cent by the time girls are aged 13-15.

Launching the programme, Sport Minister Stewart Maxwell said:

“The benefits of physical activity to the health and wellbeing of girls are enormous and the Scottish Government is committed to increasing participation across all ages. Worryingly, as young girls approach adolescence there is a decline in participation and involvement in exercise. We are keen to tackle this trend and to encourage girls to continue to enjoy activities into and well beyond their teens.

“This new investment will give girls and young women more opportunities and choices to enjoy the social, psychological and physical benefits possible through physical activity.”

But the Lib Dems attacked the Government for not matching their manifesto commitment of providing at least one hour of physical activity for every child every day.

Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Sport Jim Tolson said:

“The Scottish Government must be more ambitious about encouraging young people to take exercise at school.  Liberal Democrats proposed a bold target for every child to get the equivalent of one hour of physical activity every day and we are disappointed that the Scottish Government has shied away from setting a similarly challenging target.

“It is generally accepted that young girls need particular support to participate in exercise at school.  We hope that the targeted funding goes some way to remedying this, but we want the government to be much more ambitious for children’s sport.”

sportscotland Board Member Louise Martin CBE said:

“sportscotland welcomes the funding from the Scottish Government to roll-out the Fit for Girls programme across the country. What is unique about this programme is that it encourages girls to take ownership of their physical activity programme and allows them to choose a wider range of often non-competitive activities like dance and trampolining. It is also about making the school environment more 'girl friendly' when it comes to physical activity.”