According to a common physical education curriculum set for all schools, children attend traditional team game classes and competitive sports classes. The government recommends schools to set their physical education class hours at two hours a week for all grades, including hours spent in extracurricular club activities. For physical education, eight key stages are set, and the children must meet certain criteria at each of the stages. The law stipulates that at key stage 3 (for children aged 11 to 13), the achievements of children are to be evaluated at three levels and the results notified to their parents and guardians.

In addition to mandatory physical education classes, many schools provide children at key stage 4 (aged 14 to 15), who are

▲ Physical education class provided in the UK

in the last grade of compulsory education, with physical education or dance classes as optional classes. Children can choose these as examination subjects when they sit for an examination at the final stage of compulsory education.

Apart from physical education, there are health classes, in which children learn about personalities, social responsibilities, and health issues. The government positions these classes as a national curriculum to teach children cross-subject matters.

## (2) Lifelong Sports and Competitive Sports

According to a national household survey conducted by the UK Office for National Statistics in 2002, 43% of UK citizens do some form of exercise or sports (excluding walking) at least once every four weeks (for those aged 16 or older). The number of sports clubs in England is 106,000, and in other regions it is 10,000. The total number of sports club members in England is 8 million, which means that each sports club has approximately 80 members on average.

As a means to improve national athletic competitiveness, the government supports and trains top-level competitors under a program called the “World-Class Performance Program.” Specifically, subsidies are given to top-level competitors and competitive sports organizations from the sales of lotteries and from the national treasury in order to let these competitors devote themselves to training. In 2003, approximately 600 top-level competitors and competitive sports organizations received subsidies. The amount of subsidies granted differs by the performance level of the competitors.

In 2002, the English Institute of Sport (EIS) was founded to strengthen the abilities of top-level competitors. This institute supports these competitors in the areas of sports medicine and science.

## (3) Promotion Regime for Sports Administration

In the United Kingdom, the Department of Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) and the Sports Council are mainly in charge of sports issues within the government. The DCMS coordinates sports policies and the Sports Council implements various projects to promote sports, improve the percentage of people participating in sports, enhance athletic competitiveness of the nation, and upgrade sports facilities.

## 3 France

## (1) School Physical Education

The basic law on sports, established in July 1984, mandates elementary and junior high schools to provide physical education and sports opportunities to students in all grades. According to the law, all schoolchildren have to attend physical education and sports classes.

At elementary schools, physical education class hours (including those for art) are set at 6 hours for pupils in the basic learning stage and 5.5 hours for pupils in the deep learning stage. Class hours are set at three or four hours, depending on the grade, for students in the first half of their secondary education course and two hours a week for those in the second half of their course. In addition, for students who will specialize in sports courses at senior high school, an additional three-hour physical education class is provided as an optional subject. These students choose two subjects from among multiple subjects provided for learning skills and knowledge about the entire sports culture. Also, physical education and sports subjects are included in the mandatory subjects of examination for the Baccalaureate, which schoolchildren sit for when they complete their secondary education course.