Most small children love running. They need little encouragement to do so. Primary, and prep, school playgrounds are full of the constant buzz of physical activity. PE lessons featuring running and athletic activities are enthusiastically pursued.

Fast forward ten years. The great majority of adolescents are reluctant runners. House Cross Country events rarely present a school at its best. Lessons with a substantial running component quickly categorise themselves into the compliant athletes, the reluctant runners and the early walkers.

And yet another ten years further on, many of the same people have returned to running....

There are two basic requirements for a Schools' Sevens competition. One is that the participants are schools and the other is that there should be seven players in the team. An infringement of either condition would appear to nullify the title.

However, no less a competition than the "National Schools Sevens" - widely known by the association with Rosslyn Park Rugby Club - though it has been quite some time since the finals were played there - is apparently unconcerned with these qualifications. The participation of educational institutions quite unlike schools is apparently welcomed by the organisers...

How important is it to win school sports fixtures against local rivals? There is no doubt that victories against significant opponents have been part of the fabric of school sports since matches first came to be organised in the early nineteenth century. They have long been seen as a kite mark of quality, illogically inferring a wider superiority.

In the competitive landscape of twenty first century independent schools, sports results continue to have significance. The recognition of the importance of "marketing" is widespread, bringing a temptation to feel that the results of some matches...