factsheet - young women and girls physical activity - Women's Sport ...

A WSFF Insight Factsheet 

Young women and 

girls’ physical activity 

This factsheet summarises the recent key findings around young women and girls’ participation in sport and physical activity. It 

brings together quantitative data from a number of sources including the NHS Information Centre; Department for Culture, Media 

and Sport (DCMS); Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF); Youth Sport Trust (YST); Girlguiding UK; and Women’s 

Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF). 

Physical activity - main findings 

• Just a quarter of girls meet current recommended levels of physical activity a week 

• Female drop off in sport starts earlier than males’; and the drop off is also more dramatic 

• Despite PE being compulsory in schools, one in five girls still does no activity in a week. This is twice the 

proportion of boys 

• For girls, being fit and healthy is the most popular reason for taking part in PE/sport. Other motivations 

include working as a team, making friends, being considerate and helping them to think about others 

• Girls think sports traditionally played by boys, such as rugby and football, are seen (by society) to be 

more important that sports played by girls 

Health Survey for England, 2008 

Proportion of young people who take part in recommended 

levels of physical activity, by gender 

29% Little or no activity 

24% 

Recommended levels of 

physical activity 

47% 

Some activity 

44% 

• Just a quarter of girls take part in 60 

minutes of physical activity every day 

compared with a third of boys 

24% 

Meets recommended levels 

Girls aged 2-15 Boys aged 2-15 

Meets recommended levels = at least 60 minutes every day; some activity = 30-59 minutes every day; 

little or no activity = less than 30 minutes a day 

32% 

• The proportion of girls taking part in 

the recommended levels of activity a 

week declines with age, particularly 

after the age of 10 

Source: NHS The Information Centre, Health Survey for England for 2008. See note 1 

Due to methodological differences between the surveys and the different questions asked, it is not possible to compare the different survey results. 

Further information about the surveys and respondent bases can be found at the back of the factsheet. 

Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation Young women and girls’ physical activity: December 2010

Proportion of young people who take part in recommended 

levels of physical activity, by gender and age 

60% 

50% 

40% 

30% 

20% 

10% 

Girls 

Boys 

Physical activity by age 

•By 15, half as many girls as 

boys are doing the 

recommended levels of activity. 

(15% v 32% respectively) 

• Girls’ interest in informal sport 

(and games) declines more 

rapidly than formal sport 

0% 

Age 

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 

• Girls are less likely to have low 

activity levels if their parents are 

active 

Source: NHS The Information Centre, Health Survey for England for 2008. Meets recommended levels = at 

least 60 minutes every day 

Participation in formal and informal activity 

by and age 

Informal sports/exercise 

Girls’ activity levels by parents activity levels 

100% 

80% 

Formal sports/activities 

35% 

52% 

Low activity 

34% 

47% 

60% 

Some activity 

40% 

20% 

0% 

Age 

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 

Source: NHS The Information Centre, Health Survey for England for 2008 

Participated in activity at least once a week. Informal sport/exercise includes: 

cycling, hopscotch, trampolining, playing around e.g. kicking a ball around, hide 

and seek, skating, dancing, skipping etc. Formal sport/activities includes: 

football, rugby, hockey, lacrosse, netball, basketball, handball, cricket, 

rounders, tennis, badminton, squash, running, jogging, athletics, swimming, 

gymnastics, work out with gym machines, weight training and aerobics. 

49% 

35% 

51% 

16% 13% 15% 

Meets 

recommended 

levels 


Father’s activity levels 

Meets 

recommended 

levels 

Meets 

recommended 

levels 

43% 

10% 


Mother’s activity levels 

Source: NHS The Information Centre, Health Survey for England for 2008 

Children and Young People’s Participation Survey, 2009 

Proportion of young people who achieved 2+ hours of organised sport in the last week during 

the school day by gender and age 

56% 53% 

42% 

59% 60% 59% 

45% 

63% 

71% 

All 5-16 

year olds 

All girls (5- 

16) 

5-8 years 9-12 years 13-16 

years 

Girls 

All boys (5- 

16) 

5-8 years 9-12 years 13-16 

years 

Source: DCSF, Children and Young People’s Participation in Organised Sport, 2009. Base: All aged 5-16 in years R-11 who attended school or college for exactly 5 days 

in last week. England only. See note 2 

Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation Young women and girls’ physical activity: December 2010 

Boys

Proportion of young people who took part in any organised sport in the last week, by gender and 

age (in or outside school) 

77% 73% 

91% 89% 

72% 

80% 

90% 91% 

83% 

31% 

49% 

All 5-19 

year olds 

All girls 

(5-19) 

5-8 years 9-12 

years 

Girls 

13-16 

years 

17-19 

years 

All boys 

(5-19) 

5-8 years 9-12 

years 

Boys 

13-16 

years 

17-19 

years 

Source: DCSF, Children and Young People’s Participation in Organised Sport Survey, 2009. Base: All respondents. Data not previously published 

Organised sport 

The three charts from the Children and Young People’s Participation Survey refer to organised sport (that which is lead by an 

instructor/coach/teacher – see note 2) 

• Girls are less likely than boys to take part in any organised sport a week – 73% compared with 80%. The 

greatest differences between the sexes occurs from age 13 onwards 

• Female drop off in sport starts earlier than males’ – beginning at age 9-12 compared with age 13-16 

respectively. Not only does it start earlier, but it is also more dramatic, which is why the larger differences 

between the sexes in the older age groups. Between the ages of 5-8 and 17-19, girls activity drops by 

66% (from 91% to 31%). While male drop out is less than half (from 91% to 49%) 

• With respect to regular activity one in six girls achieve 5 hours + of activity a week (inside and out of 

school) compared with one in four boys 

Proportion of young people who achieved 5+ hours of organised sport in the last week, by 

gender and age (in or outside school) 

20% 

16% 

22% 19% 

24% 

12% 10% 

15% 

29% 34% 18% 

All 5-19 

year olds 

All girls 

(5-19) 

5-8 

years 

9-12 

years 

13-16 

years 

17-19 

years 

All boys 

(5-19) 

5-8 

years 

9-12 

years 

13-16 

years 

17-19 

years 

Girls 

Boys 

Source: DCSF, Children and Young People’s Participation in Organised Sport Survey, 2009. Base: All respondents. Data not previously published 


PE and Sport Survey, 2009/10 

% of pupils (5-18 yrs) who take part in 3+ hours of high quality PE and out of hours school sport 

in a typical week, by gender and year group 

Girls 

Boys 

66% 

58% 58% 63% 65% 67% 71% 73% 61% 57% 53% 51% 46% 

29% 28% 

50% 

52% 55% 60% 61% 64% 67% 68% 56% 50% 44% 39% 33% 

17% 15% 

62% 

41% 

All pupils 

Year 1 

Year 2 

Year 3 

Year 4 

Year 5 

Year 6 

Year 7 

Year 8 

Source: Department for Education, PE and Sport Survey, 2009/10. England only. See note 3 

Year 9 

Year 10 

Year 11 

Year 12 

Year 13 

Primary 

Secondary 

School provision of physical activity 

• Almost three in five boy take part in 3+ hours of high quality PE and out of schools sports in a week, 

compared with just over half of girls 

• The smallest differences by gender are in years 1 to 7. The gap between the sexes widens as pupils get 

older, until by Year 13 the difference is 13 percentage points 

• Overall 78% of girls in years 1-13 participate in at least 120 minutes of curriculum PE, compared with 

80% of boys. It looks like there is very little difference overall, and this is true for every year group in 

primary school However, on entry to secondary school a difference in participation levels by gender 

starts, rising to a 4 or 5 percentage point differential in years 10 to 13 

% of all pupils taking part in 120 minutes of PE in a a typical week by gender and age 

80% 

Girls 

Boys 

94% 

66% 

78% 

92% 93% 95% 95% 95% 95% 

91% 90% 

83% 

53% 50% 

11% 11% 

89% 87% 

81% 

49% 

45% 

94% 

62% 

7% 7% 

All pupils 

Year 1 

Year 2 

Year 3 

Year 4 

Year 5 

Year 6 

Year 7 

Year 8 

Year 9 

Year 10 

Year 11 

Source: Department for Education, PE and Sport Survey, 2009/10. England only. Where information given. See note 3 

Year 12 

Year 13 

Primary 

Secondary 


PE and Sport Survey, 2009/10 

% of pupils (5-18 yrs) involved in inter-school competitive activities by gender and year group 

Girls 

50% 48% 

57% 54% 

62% 66% 73% 

Boys 

49% 47% 44% 

38% 

32% 

24% 24% 

60% 

40% 

44% 48% 57% 53% 60% 62% 68% 43% 40% 35% 28% 21% 11% 10% 

58% 

30% 

All pupils 

Year 1 

Year 2 

Year 3 

Year 4 

Year 5 

Year 6 

Year 7 

Year 8 

Year 9 

Year 10 

Year 11 

Year 12 

Year 13 

Primary 

Secondary 

Source: Department for Education, PE and Sport Survey, 2009/10. England only. See note 3 

School provision of physical activity 

Top 10 sports provided at secondary schools 

for girls 

• Athletics, football and dance are the three 

most commonly offered sports at secondary 

school for girls 

• Sports more likely to be offered to girls than 

boys include dance, gymnastics, rounders 

netball hockey, trampolining, cheerleading, yoga 

and equestrian 

• Sports more likely to be offered to boys than 

girls include cricket, basketball, rugby, golf, 

table tennis, softball, boxing and baseball 

Athletics 

Football 

Dance 

Fitness 

Rounders 

Netball 

Badminton 

Basketball 

Gymnastics 

Tennis 

99% 

98% 

97% 

97% 

97% 

96% 

95% 

94% 

92% 

87% 

Source: Department for Education, PE and Sport Survey, 2009/10 

Top growth sports in schools 

80% 76% 

70% 

71% 

58% 59% 55% 2003-04 

46% 

44% 41% 

2009-10 

36% 35% 

31% 

26% 

26% 29% 27% 

21% 

14% 

12% 17% 15% 12% 

7% 4% 2% 

Tennis 

Multi skills clubs 

Fitness 

Orienteering 

Cycling 

Golf 

Badminton 

Table tennis 

Rugby League 

Canoeing 

Archery 

martial Arts 

Rowing 

New sports on offer at 

schools 

• While there are some core 

traditional activities on offer by 

almost all schools (e.g. 

football, dance and athletics) 

there are a number of sports 

that are growing in popularity. 

In particular, multi-skills and 

cycling have seen massive 

increases between 2003-04 

and 2009-10 

Source: Department for Education, PE and Sport Survey, 2009/10. % of schools offering activities 


Taking Part Child Survey, 2009/10 

5-10 year olds 

Have done any sport In last 4 weeks days 

Top 10 sports and physical activities (weekly participation) 

Girls 

Boys 

Swimming 

34% 

Football 

48% 

Girls 

Cycling 

Walking 

20% 

16% 

Swimming 

Cycling 

29% 

19% 

Gym 

15% 

Walking 

18% 

83% 87% 91% 

81% 

Boys 

Football 

Game skills 

9% 

6% 

Martial arts 

Gym 

9% 

6% 

Tennis 

5% 

Tennis 

5% 

Horseriding 

4% 

Game skills 

5% 

2008/09 2009/10 

Netball 

Aerobics 

4% 

4% 

Cricket 

Golf 

5% 

3% 

Source: DCMS, Taking Part Child Survey, 2009/10. England only. ‘Football’ includes 5-aside, ‘ swimming’ includes diving or lifesaving, ‘cycling’ includes bmxing and mountain 

biking, ‘walking’ is non-stop for more than 30 minutes), ‘gym’ includes gym, gymnastics, trampolining or climbing frame, and ‘’game skills’ include hoops, hopscotch, throwing 

etc, ‘aerobics’ includes keep fit. See note 4 


• Female participation for 5-10 year olds has declined in contrast, male participation has increased. 

•Preferred sports for 5-10 year old girls include swimming (34%), cycling (20%) and walking (16%) 


• There is a tiny increase in sports participation for girls and boys aged 11-15 between 2008/09 and 

2009/10 

•Netball, gym and walking are the top three sports for girls. 


Have done any sport In last 4 weeks days 

Top 10 sports and physical activities (weekly participation) 

Girls 

Boys 

Netball 

23% 

Football 

59% 

Girls 

Gym 

19% 

Basketball 

21% 

Walking 

18% 

Rugby 

20% 

95% 97% 96% 98% 

Boys 

Swimming 

Football 

17% 

16% 

Cycling 

Swimming 

19% 

16% 

Badminton 

10% 

Cricket 

16% 

Aerobics 

10% 

Walking 

16% 

Basketball 

9% 

Badminton 

13% 

2008/09 2009/10 

Cycling 

Rounders 

9% 

9% 

Tabletennis 

Gym 

12% 

10% 

Source: DCMS, Taking Part Child Survey, 2009/10. ‘Football’ includes 5-aside, ‘ swimming’ includes diving or lifesaving, ‘cycling’ includes bmxing and mountain biking, 

‘walking’ is non-stop for more than 30 minutes), ‘gym’ includes gym, gymnastics, trampolining or climbing frame, ‘aerobics’ includes keep fit. 


Voice of the Young Survey, 2007 

Top 8 reasons for taking part in PE/sport, by gender 

37% 

27% 27% 

24% 

Young women (11-18) 

Young men (11-18) 

8% 8% 6% 6% 6% 7% 5% 7% 4% 8% 4% 4% 

I like to be fit 

and healthy 

It is fun 

To develop new 

skills 

To achieve 

something 

I like winning 

Favourite 

lesson at 

school 

I like 

competing 

Great way to 

make new 

friends 

Source: Youth Sport Trust, Voice of the Young Survey, 2007. See note 5 

What do young people enjoy doing? 

• Spending time with friends is the preferred activity for almost half of all girls, followed by listening to music and then 

playing sport. For boys, sport is the preferred activity, and more than twice the proportion of boys as girls say this 

(31% of boys and 13% of girls) 

• For girls, being fit and healthy is the most popular reason for taking part in PE/sport (37%). Not as many boys are 

drawn by the health benefits with just 27% giving this as their joint top reason for participation alongside it being fun 

• Girls are less drawn to the competition elements of PE/sport than boys – half as many said their main reason for 

taking part was because they like competing 

Benefits of PE/sport: % of young people who agreed with the following 

statements, by gender 

Helps me to work as part of a team 

Helps me to make friends 

Helps me to be more considerate 

Makes me happier 

Helps me develop sense of responsibility 

Gives me a way of expressing myself 

Gives me a sense of belonging 

Makes me want to help others 

Helps me to think about feelings of others 

Helps me to have a voice 

Helps me to understand my identity 

Source: Youth Sport Trust, Voice of the Young, 2007 

70% 

67% 

79% 

78% 

69% 

77% 

65% 

67% 

62% 

65% 

58% 

63% 

58% 

60% 

57% 

54% 

52% 

57% 

50% 

56% 

94% 

92% 

Young women (11-18) 

Young men (11-18) 

Benefits to 

taking part in 

sport 

• Girls are less 

likely than boys to 

say that PE/sport 

offers the benefit of 

making them 

happier and helps 

them understand 

their identity 

• Girls are more 

interested than boys 

in the benefits of 

working as a team, 

making friends, 

being considerate 

and helping them to 

think about others 


Girls Shout Out! 2007/Girls’ Attitudes Survey, 2010 

Young women’s views on sport 

46% 

69% 

Sports traditionally played by boys are 

seen to be more important than sports 

played by girls 

10-15 year olds 16-25 year olds 

72% 

48% 

Playing sport and being healthy are 

very important 

The importance of sport 

• A study by Girlguiding UK in 2007 found that 

young women think sports traditionally played by 

boys, such as rugby and football, are seen to be 

more important that sports played by girls. This 

pessimistic view increases with age 

•The same study found that for seven in ten 10- 

15 year olds, playing sport and being healthy are 

very important. However this view declines with 

age with less than half of 16-25 year olds 

agreeing with this statement 

Source: Girlguiding UK, Girls Shout Out! Survey, 2007. UK. See note 6 

What young women would like to change about how they look – top three responses given 

7-11 year olds 11-16 year olds 16-21 year olds 

33% 

21% 

8% 6% 

14% 

23% 

14% 

9% 9% 9% 

7% 

5% 

Want to be thinner Body shape Teeth Nothing 

Source: Girlguiding UK, Girls’ Attitudes Survey, 2010. Respondents were asked ‘If you could change one thing about the way you look, what would you change?’UK. See 

note 7 

Body confidence 

• A more recent study carried out by Girlguiding UK in 2010, found a significant proportion of young 

women could identify at least one thing they would like to change about their appearance – with being 

thinner, body shape and teeth the three top answers given 

• The proportion of young women wanting to change how they look increases considerably with age – at 

age 7-11 23% would change nothing, but by the time they reach 16-21, just 5% are confident enough to 

say the same thing 

• Even as young as 7-11, girls are already worrying about their weight – with 8% of them wanting to be 

thinner. Unfortunately, the number of young women thinking this increases sizably with age. By the time 

they reach 16-21 – one in three young women wants to be thinner 


WSFF/BMRB - Omnibus Survey 2008 

The top 5 items that young women consider ‘essential to have’ at sports facilities 

Privacy e.g. cubicles 

91% 

80% 

Hair dryers 

Full-length mirrors 

40% 

31% 

36% 

62% 

Free towels 

Music 

29% 

18% 

25% 

25% 



Source: WSFF, BMRB Omnibus Survey, 2008.. Great Britain only. See note 8 

How can sports facilities be improved to encourage more young women to get involved? 

• Privacy and hair styling is a particular issue for school-age girls – 91% said changing cubicles were 

essential, 62% said hair dryers and 31% said full length mirrors 

• When WSFF asked young women to consider how sports facilities could learn from shops, providing clean 

changing rooms was the most popular answer given 

• For 10-15 year olds friendlier helpful staff and hair styling facilities were also high on their list, while for 

older girls having a range of things to do in one place and the ability to try before you buy were popular 

responses 

Learning from the shopping experience – what would encourage more girls to take part in sport? 

Top 5 answers for young women 



57% 

62% 

43% 43% 43% 

29% 

36% 34% 

47% 44% 45% 41% 

31% 29% 27% 24% 

14% 

19% 

12% 15% 

Clean changing 

rooms 

Friendlier 

helpful staff 

Hair styling 

facilities 

Better areas to 

socialise 

Range of 

things to do in 

one place 

Discounts 

The ability to 

try before you 

buy 

Longer/better 

opening hours 

Shuttle buses 

Celebrities 

advertise 

services 

Source: WSFF, BMRB Omnibus Survey, 2008. Question asked ‘If sport facilities were to learn from shops, which of the following do you think would encourage more women 

and girls to take part in sport?’ 


Notes 

1 Data taken from NHS Information Centre Health Survey for England (HSE) 2008. Children aged 13-15 were asked questions directly about their 

physical activity, while the parents of children aged 2-12 were asked the questions on the child’s behalf. Existing literature suggests that children are 

less likely that adults to accurately report physical activities. A total of 7,521 young people aged 2-15 were interviewed in 2008. England only. 

2 Data taken from the DCSF Children and Young People’s Participation in Organised Sport Omnibus Survey, 2009. ‘Organised Sport’ is defined as 

‘sport, dance or other physical activity which is organised and led by an instructor like a coach, teacher, sports leader or someone else, including any 

training for events or competitions’. ‘Outside the school day’ is defined as ‘either before school starts or after lesson ends including the weekend’. ‘In 

and out of school’ is defined as ‘both during the school day i.e. during lesson time, including PE lessons, lunchtime, or break times and outside the 

school day’ as described above. Respondents are asked to recall the previous seven days of activity not including the day on which the interview took 

place. See table below for bases. England 

All respondents = 11,821 

Male Age 5-8 Age 9-12 Age 13-16 Age 17-19 

5,878 1,714 1,581 1,544 1,039 

Female Age 5-8 Age 9-12 Age 13-16 Age 17-19 

5,943 1,438 1,567 1,815 1,123 

Those aged 5 to 16 in years R-11 who attended school or college for exactly 5 days in last 

week = 6,267 

Male Age 5-8 Age 9-12 Age 13-16 

3,177 1,222 1,150 805 

Female Age 5-8 Age 9-12 Age 13-16 

3,090 1,027 1,113 950 

3 Data taken from the Department for Education (formerly DCSF) PE and Sport Survey, 2009/10. All partnership schools in England were surveyed with 

responses from 21,436 schools (99.8%) and 357 FE colleges (99.4%). ‘PE’ is the planned teaching and learning programme in curriculum time that 

meets the requirements of the national curriculum for physical education. ‘High quality’ is defined as ‘producing young people with the skills, 

understanding, desire and commitment to continue to improve and achieve in a range of PE, sport and health-enhancing physical activities, in line with 

their abilities’. ‘School sport’ includes any activity that requires physical skilfulness and is part of the school’s planned formal, semi-formal, supervised or 

led provision. School sport typically takes place out of school hours. England 

4 Data taken from the DCMS Taking Part Child Survey 2009/10. Boys, and girls age 5-15 were asked about their engagement and non-engagement in 

sport activities during the four weeks prior to interview. To count, the respondent must have participated in the activity for at least 30 minutes. England 

5 Data from the Youth Sport Trust’s Voice of the Young Survey, 2007. Base = 1,122 young people aged from under 11 to 18; 524 boys and 598 girls. 

Great Britain 

6 Data taken from Girlguiding UK Girls Shout Out! Survey, 2007. Bases: girls aged 10-15 =1,039; girls aged 16-25 =581. UK 

7 Data taken from Girlguiding UK Girls’ Attitudes Survey, 2010. Around 1,200 girls aged 7-21 were asked their attitudes to key social, political and 

economic issues. UK 

8 Data taken from the WSFF’s BMRB Omnibus Survey, November 2008. Bases: girls aged 10-15 =56; young women aged 16-20 = 62. Great Britain 

Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation 

3 rd Floor, Victoria House, Bloomsbury Square, London WC1B 4SE Tel: 020 7273 1740 Email: insight@wsff.org.uk www.wsff.org.uk

factsheet - young women and girls physical activity - Women's Sport ...

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