Delegates at a conference held at Loughborough University today will hear how a four-year programme has improved girls’ participation in sport and physical education at secondary schools.

The Let’s Go Girls conference, organised by the Youth Sport Trust in partnership with the DCMS and Nike will show how the Girls in Sport scheme has reached 66 per cent of English schools and helped improve sporting opportunities for 1.35 million young women since it was launched in 2000.

Research undertaken prior to the implementation of the programme showed that of 11,000 girls surveyed, one in five took part in PE only because they had to and a similar number believed being good at sport was not important or ‘cool’ for girls.

Thirty per cent did not think they would be physically active after leaving school, 30 per cent did not like their PE kit and more than 40 per cent felt self-conscious about their bodies during PE lessons.

Sue Campbell, chief executive of the Youth Sport Trust, will tell delegates today what the scheme has achieved since.

“Girls in Sport has helped schools to make real and lasting changes to girls’ experience of PE and sport,” she said.

“From offering different activities during and out of school hours, to redesigning kit and changing rooms, to promoting female sporting role models and involving girls in decisions about PE and sport, the Let’s Go Girls conference will hear how schools have used the Youth Sport Trust and Nike programme to ensure more young women develop healthy active lifestyles.”