Many schools in England have failed to capitalise on the success of the London Olympics and too many state school pupils still don't have the chance to participate in competitive sport.

Ofsted has found that head teachers still treat sport as an "optional extra" and has also made a correlation between schools in which pupils lack opportunities to excel in sport and poorer academic results.

The report from the schools inspector explores the reasons why so many top athletes are from private schools, finding "unacceptable discrepancies" as fewer than one in ten pupils in England attend fee-paying schools, but make up the majority of players in rugby union's English Premiership and more than a third in top-level cricket.

According to the report, many state school heads said competitive sport was optional, with only 13 per cent expecting all students to take part.

The report's authors highlighted the work teachers have put in, allowing pupils to excel. It said strong teams rely on teachers to prepare and dedicate time and energy both during the school day and after hours, with chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw stating that there is evidence to show high school fees and large playing fields are "not a prerequisite to success".

He said heads who treated competitive sport "with suspicion or as an optional extra are not only denying youngsters the clear dividends that come with encouraging them to compete, they are also cementing the social inequality that holds our nation back".

"Sport can have a transformative effect on schools and pupils," added Sir Michael.
 
However, the NUT's deputy general secretary Kevin Courtney responded to the findings by saying state schools often have sub-par facilities, while many teachers cannot find space in the curriculum for sport.

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