A world in which young people have been negatively impacted by the digital revolution and are isolated from the environment. The teacher, Mr Winters, has great facilities at his school, but is constantly frustrated by his pupils' attachment to their devices. They live their lives through social media, and their incredibly short attention spans make full-length lessons almost impossible.
Age: 12
Tabitha is showing signs of being unhappy and isolated – however this seems to be less about her disability and more about her image. She avoids PE when she can as she’s reluctant to get changed beforehand and doesn’t get involved in any activity in case any photos of her exercising appear on social media afterwards. She uses our remote learning facilities a lot, which is great because it means that her disability does not prevent her from accessing school – however it also means that she spends a lot of time cooped up at home and little time with teachers or her friends face-to-face.
Age: 16
Most days, Chris simply does not seem interested in school or sport. He often looks tired, which I assume is due to late-night social networking and gaming. His energy levels are constantly low and it’s impossible to get him excited about sport, despite our good facilities – he cannot see how being active will make him healthier. His lack of direction has seen him get into trouble on a regular basis, resulting in several suspensions.
Young people are empowered to participate fully in PE, sport and physical activity, in and out of school. Motivated by the feeling of contributing to a brighter future, Miss Gallagher teaches her pupils to eat healthily and use the latest technology to track their health and exercise. Well-trained in engaging children dependent on digital devices and acutely aware of the link between physical activity and improved wellbeing, she also teaches the wider benefits of PE in conjunction with PSHE and Citizenship.
Age: 10
Priyansh is a star student - and his attitude and ambition rubs off on his peers. After he cycles to school, he’ll often lead his friends in an early morning run round the playing fields - which he records using the wearable tech the school provides. He knows the importance of eating well at breakfast and lunch, which gives him the energy and enthusiasm throughout the day to excel academically. He does a lot of sport outside of school too and uses social media to organise after-school activities with friends.
Age: 10
Song is incredibly mature. It must be hard for her to split her time between school here in the UK and her school in China - but she uses social media to stay in touch with friends and keep up-to-date with her sporting role models. When Song is at school, she throws herself into every activity possible, and encourages her friends to do the same. She’s recently shown a real talent for the pole vault, and I have a feeling she might be a star in the making. Her active lifestyle enhances her attention and achievement in other school subjects.
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A generation which proactively seeks an active lifestyle - but do not have the infrastructure they need to maximise their potential.
Mr Higgins is desperate to positively impact the way he teaches PE, but thinks insufficient support has been given to schools. He’s enthusiastic, but out-of-touch with technology - sadly watching from afar as his pupils organise their own sporting activities and turn to the internet instead of their teachers for information or support.
Age: 15
Marik has lots of potential and clearly has a love for sport, yet he is very disengaged in school. He has become skilled at using social media to set up out-of-school activities with friends and loves taking part in street sports. All of his energy goes into this though and he has nothing left to give his studies or PE lessons – this is why his grades in all subjects are so low. He doesn’t seem to be fully happy and always looks frustrated at school.
Age: 9
A cheerful, bubbly personality at school, Morwenna seems happy and healthy but you can also spot how frustrated she is by our limited school facilities. She once enviously told me about her friends at a different school who use technology regularly in PE. She skips lunch most days, as she says she can eat better food at home. I think she would benefit from a more structured exercise programme at school – I know she does some activity with other girls her age but this won’t be enough to keep her healthy.
Here, our young generation has been completely let down. Their days are spent consuming digital media, with very little outdoor activity, leaving them lethargic and broadly unhappy. They’re ill-prepared for the challenges of adulthood.
Over the last few years in teaching, Mrs Mbivzo has seen funding continually diminish, and school facilities worsen. As such, her pupils have no interest in sport or general wellbeing.
Age: 8
By the time Thomas arrives at school, he’s already been on his phone for an hour and is completely engrossed in social media. He spends his break times playing games on his phone too, rather than participating in any kind of exercise - and this has led him to become a quiet, shy, and often unhappy member of his classroom. There is a lot of pressure on him to get good grades, and he does seem anxious about what the future holds. These seem to be passing concerns though, as he is broadly apathetic and lacks drive to change his lifestyle.
Age: 12
Sara seems constantly stressed at school, which is sad to see in a 12-year-old. She complains about her workload and the results expected of her. She would benefit from extra-curricular activities, but has shown no interest whatsoever in PE lessons as she totally disengaged with the activities we offer. She sees anytime spent doing sport is time she could spend revising and studying. She doesn’t spend much time with her friends either and is always on her phone. Every day, she seems more unhappy than the last.
At the Youth Sport Trust, we care about every young person’s future. By encouraging creativity, raising aspirations, building resilience and championing empathy we’ve changed the lives of millions of young people.
To mark our 20th Anniversary, we’re launching a fundraising campaign to raise £20 million by 2035, and create a brighter future for the next generation of young people.
Help us help the children of tomorrow. Please pledge your support.
To train a young sports leader in the developing world for a day
To ensure a young disabled person can take part in sport
To get less active children excited about and engaged in PE and school sport
To create imaginative activity for pre-school children in disadvantaged areas
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