- Sport England research shows more than half (57%) of teenage girls aged 13-16 are not meeting the guidelines of physical activity for their age.
- Studio You is a Netflix-style PE resource for teachers to engage teenage girls with PE at school, offering fun activities like yoga, boxing and dance
- BBC Radio 1 DJ and TV presenter Vick Hope is championing Studio You and available for interview on Monday 27th September
- Studio You is powered by the award-winning This Girl Can campaign from Sport England
Studio You, a free Netflix-style PE resource for teachers, has been launched to inspire teenage girls to get active through fun PE lesson experiences. The video-on-demand platform, funded by Sport England, focuses on girls’ enjoyment during PE, instead of competition. It’s powered by This Girl Can, Sport England’s campaign to help women and girls be active.
Teenage girls experience more obstacles to engaging with exercise than boys, creating a gender gap in activity levels that lasts into adulthood. Self-consciousness (57.2%), a lack of confidence (52.9%) and not having found anything they enjoy (32.4%) are key barriers. Only 34% of girls in years 9-11 strongly agree that they enjoyed taking part in PE, compared to 56% of boys in the same age group2.
Co-created with teenage girls and PE teachers, Studio You is available to all schools in England and is designed to break down the barriers that stop some girls from engaging with sport and activity. Sport England has invested £1.5 million of National Lottery funding into Studio You, which was developed by Hopscotch Consulting. The platform is supported by the Association of Physical Education and features over 100 different videos, with non-traditional and non-competitive activities like yoga, dance, Pilates and boxing on offer. The videos are linked to the national PE curriculum, led by 10 on-screen professional young coaches. Teachers can search for lesson content by duration of class or the type of activity. Content can even be selected by mood with four themes - Energise, Relax, Party and Focus - to choose from.
Sport England research shows that more than half (57%) of teenage girls aged 13-16 are not meeting the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a day. Pandemic disruptions and the closure of schools means that 62% of teenage girls have been doing less activity during the pandemic than before. Teenage years are the peak time for girls to drop out of school sport and develop negative attitudes to physical activity, with almost two thirds (64%) of girls quitting sport altogether by the age of 16-17.
Kate Dale, Sport England’s This Girl Can’s Campaign Lead, says:
Many girls grow up to have a negative relationship with exercise. Studio You is the resource we need to help them have a positive relationship with it instead. And for some girls, PE at school is their only chance to get active – so it’s important to make it fun and get the experience right for them. We know PE teachers want all their students to enjoy PE, but the pressures of school life and being a teenager make this challenging. Studio You is here to help teachers to get girls enjoying exercise, to close the gender activity gap and to help girls build healthy habits for life.
Vick Hope, Studio You champion says:
I sometimes enjoyed sport at school, but I felt insecure that I wasn’t as good as other girls. I lacked confidence and worried about my body and being judged. But as an adult, I learned how important exercise is for my mental and physical wellbeing and wish I had known that earlier in life. I’m delighted to back Studio You to help girls to discover the joys of getting active; the pressures of being a teenager today means they need the positive boost and resilience that exercise gives more than ever. It doesn’t matter if you’re not the best or how you look – it’s all about having fun.
Backing the initiative Burnley and Padiham MP Antony Higginbotham said:
We know how important physical activity is, not just on the body but also the mind. And so projects like this, which provide further encouragement for young girls to get involved in activities such as yoga or dancing is brilliant.
I’d like to thank both Sport England and Studio You for supporting the development of students within our borough and would encourage as many teachers as possible to take up the opportunities on offer.
A PE teacher from one of a select group of 20 schools that trialled the Studio You platform said:
We’ve all been so impressed with the platform and the research that has gone into producing it. The Studio You resources and videos are potential game-changers for some of our girls. We will be implementing these into our curriculum.
A Year 9 pupil, who took part in a Studio You class, at her school said:
The class was really fun and it made me feel like I was doing well and keeping fit; it was really good.
To sign up to Studio You, see a preview of the classes available or for more information go to www.studio-you.co.uk/