Current Issues in Sport Public Schools

Learning Outcome Be able to describe or explain public schools and their contribution to your sport

What is a public school? A public school in England and Wales is an older, student selective and expensive fee- paying independent secondary school which caters primarily for children aged between 11 or 13 and 18 The term 'public school' are in fact private sector not public sector Traditionally, public schools were all-male boarding schools

Can you think of any today? Harrow Rugby Eton Merchant Taylors Charterhouse

**TASK** What do you think these schools were like?

Controlled by trustees Divided into houses becoming hub games Public Schools Strict discipline Boys boarded Bullying Controlled by trustees Divided into houses becoming hub games Boys only Fee paying Upper class only Harsh treatment

Tom Brown’s school days https://youtu.be/s1MK7YEP-kY?t=611

Values Headmasters instilled their own values into the boys Well known headmasters include Thomas Arnold 1828 – 1842 Rugby School What values did the public schools aim to instil in the boys through schooling and sport? Athleticism Muscular Christianity Well behaved Disciplined Good etiquette Fair Play Honour Respect

Muscular Christianity Main values Athleticism Muscular Christianity Devotion to the playing of sport with moral integrity Physical Pursuit of physical endeavour Appreciating the value of fitness Accepting discipline Playing tough but fair Team work and team spirit Accepting authority Sportsmanship Playing honourably more important than winning Performance dedicated to God Which athletes do this?

How did sports emerge? Boys took what they knew about sport from their towns to their new schools, and discussed it with other boys In order to play a game against other boys, rules were made, so all boys could play in teams, and competitions could be set up As the facilities and grounds in each school were different, each school created rules to suit its facilities Eaton and Harrow developed the idea of dribbling with a ball, and helped make the game of football Tall posts at rugby school were combined with the handling rule and altered the game of football to form rugby Eaton had many court yards with walls, which helped develop the rules of wall tennis (squash) and lawn tennis

Continued.. The rules of the games were decided and written down This was known as a ‘Melting Pot’ of ideas As the boys were literate they could write the rules down, adding information about how the game should be officiated, sanctions and what teams should wear This is known as standardisation This was the basis of all future technical developments and the reason why boys could develop inter house competitions

Why was sport used in public schools? Social Control As bullying often occurred between the boys, sport was used as a means of social control The house system allowed boys of all ages to compete in healthy competition Some became Leaders – example? Some became Role Models – example?

Preparation for leaving school Sport taught the boys Leadership skills through captaincy Discipline through abiding by rules Decision making skills Organisation skills Communication skills These were all characteristics that sport instilled into the boys and values that should be still used today

Changes Public Schools made to sport Standardisation – the standardisation of rules within schools meant that inter house competitions could happen, and away fixtures could occur between schools As the rules spread, more competitions began to happen, more regularly Codification – as old boys went to university, they began to form clubs. They started to form the national governing bodies and wrote down the official rules for each sport Melting pot – this was the second melting pot of ideas, which formed the basis of the sports we still play today

**TASK** Write down in paragraph format how sport has changed from popular recreation to public schools thus far