It's that time of term. Pupils in smart new kit, balls straight out of the packaging and over inflated: shiny new gym mats. Ambitious plans for fixture programmes and cup competitions, and the optimism that emerges from a long summer holiday and the fact that no teams have yet lost.

A lot of time, energy and money will be spent before the term ends. But will it be worth it? Will the results justify the hours of effort, the discomfort, the meetings, the bus journeys and the unwelcome emails from the hard to please parents? What will...

The world of school sport struggles with the tension between performance and participation. Do games exist to provide opportunities for all, or to allow the most able to excel in competition? Or can you have both? This dilemma is never more evident than in the annual Sports Day. Few indeed are the schools that do not engage in some form of this annual ritual - usually at this time of year. Even schools that have no programme of Athletics to speak of feel the need for this inevitable event in the school calendar. So, what's the point of Sports...

Teachers and coaches wishing to deliver better technical and tactical outcomes in school sport are well supported. A variety of courses, resources and external forces guides them towards a well established body of knowledge, which is extensively available in a variety of guises to suit all learning styles.

It is widely recognised, however, that technical competence is only one ingredient in the performance cocktail. Many of the other variables that determine success in sport are personal qualities. Uncontroversial is the assertion that attitude matters. Determination, courage, empathy, selflessness are indisputably important - but entirely separate from the...