London Olympics 2012: BOA chief blasts 'unacceptably' high number of privately educated Team GB medallists

• Just 7% of the UK population are educated at independent institutions
  
• Yet more than half of Beijing golds were won by ex-private school pupils
• BOA boss Lord Moynihan: 'It is one of the worst statistics in British sport'

By Tom Kelly

PUBLISHED: 17:02 EST, 2 August 2012 | UPDATED: 19:22 EST, 2 August 2012

Overhaul call: BOA chairman chairman Lord Moynihan said it was 'unacceptable' that more than half of Team GB medallists at the 2008 Beijing Olympics came from private schools

The high proportion of privately-educated Team GB medallists is ‘unacceptable’, the chairman of the British Olympic Association said yesterday.

Just 7 per cent of the population go to independent schools – but more than half of Britain’s golds in the 2008 Beijing Games were won by former private school pupils.

So far, Team GB has nine gold medallists in the 2012 Games. Four were privately educated, and a fifth went to school in Germany.

BOA chief Lord Moynihan, himself a former public schoolboy, called for an overhaul of school sport policy to provide more chances for state pupils.

‘It’s one of the worst statistics in British sport,’ he claimed.

‘It is wholly unacceptable that over 50 per cent of our medallists in Beijing came from the private sector.

‘It tells you that 50 per cent of the medals came from 7 per cent of the population.

‘There is so much talent out there in the 93 per cent that should be identified and developed. That has got to be a priority for future sports policy.

‘I have spoken about it many times and I will continue to speak about it until there is not breath left in me.’

The Conservative peer continued: ‘The balance of professional football is that around 7 per cent of players come from the private sector, which is an absolute mirror image of society.

‘That should be the case in every single sport, and that should be the priority in each and every sport, and that is something that every government should strive for.’

At the previous Olympics, a third of Team GB went to independent schools.

They included multiple gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy, who attended George Watson’s College in Edinburgh, and every equestrian medallist.

Non-state schools can afford to devote more time to sport. They usually have better facilities and often boast top-class coaches.

Champion: Multiple gold medal cyclist Sir Chris Hoy, pictured with his wife Sarra after winning the men's team sprint yesterday, was provately educated at George Watson's College in Edinburgh

Pledge: David Cameron, pictured here watching the sprint cycling at the Velodrome with Prince William, said billions would be spent on state school sport over the next five years

The discrepancy is especially noticeable in sports whose basic entry costs are high, such as equestrian events and sailing.

Rowing has already taken action to address the imbalance, with Mo Sbihi, who won bronze in the men’s eight on Wednesday, among the beneficiaries.

The Start programme, launched more than a decade ago, has encouraged rowing coaches to visit comprehensive schools and scout teenagers with the necessary physique to become elite rowers. As a result, half of Team GB’s rowers at the London Games are from state schools.

When asked if too many medals were being won by former public school pupils, David Cameron said: ‘We need to spend on state school sport and we are spending a billion pounds over the next five years.

‘We need to make sure people have those opportunities. Frankly, one of the best things will be the Olympics and the legacy and the inspiration for young people to take part.’

Tory MP Charlotte Leslie  said the statistics were ‘really, really worrying’.

She told BBC Radio 4’s PM  programme that state schools were often reluctant to promote competition.

‘There’s a massive problem with sports and facilities in our schools, but it’s also a much deeper problem,’ she said.

‘I wonder if it’s a problem to do with culture. The reason the private sector does well in education is that it’s very unapologetic about competition – there are winners and there are losers – and this is certainly not the case for all state schools.’

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