NON-COMPETITIVE sports days are on the rise in schools.
However, the vast majority aren't a fan of this new method, which aims to prevent singling kids out as "winners" or "losers" with 82 per cent saying they would much prefer to go back to the old school ways.
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Parents have conflicting opinions on sports daysCredit: Getty - Contributor
Are sports days compulsory?
While the that physical education is a compulsory part of education for children from the ages of four to 16, actual sports days are a bit of a grey area.
It's up to the individual school to decide exactly how much time is devoted to PE, the current minimum stands at two hours a week.
The primary key stages which are KS1-4 cover a number of sports that are required, including athletics, dance, games, gymnastics and swimming, some of which are covered at sports day.
However, as sports days are typically held within school hours and school attendance is compulsory, sports days could be seen as compulsory, although it is not stated in the curriculum that it is.
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as it makes their children unhappy and anxious, saying that they can opt to keep their kids at home on the day.
A lot of schools have opted out of traditional sports daysCredit: Getty - Contributor
What are the different events put on?
There are a number of different games and races hosted on sports day, but which ones completely depends on the school.
They can vary depending on whether or not the primary school has a non-competitive sports day or a more traditional "old school" one.
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Traditional sports days revolve around races, which can be great for some children but embarrassing for othersCredit: Getty - Contributor
Sprints, egg and spoon races, sack races and wheelbarrow races are some of the traditional events.
Parent and child races are another kind of race that's less included nowadays, due to reports of parents cheating, resulting in a number of schools banning the race.
What are some of the controversies surrounding sports day?
Primary school sports days have been a widely-discussed topic over the past few years since the introduction of non-competitive days.
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and wanted to make it compulsory.
showed that 57 per cent of parents with primary school aged children said that their schools were one of those who chose not to have a traditional sports day.
The poll also displayed that 76 per cent of families do not approve of the non-competitive events and believe that healthy competition helps children improve and challenge themselves.
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