Sport builds girls' confidence, says schools leader

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　　Girls should take part in competitive sport to build confidence and resilience, the leader of a group of girls' schools will argue this week.

　　Helen Fraser, chief executive of the Girls Day School Trust (GDST), will tell the group's conference that sport can help girls cope with failure.

　　All girls "and not just the sporty ones" should take physical exercise, Ms Fraser will say.

　　Research that girls are far less active than boys is worrying, she argues.

　　"Girls who are in schools which focus solely on academic achievement can experience success after success, and may never learn that you can have a real setback and come back and recover", Ms Fraser told BBC News.

　　"The experience of losing a hockey game three-nil and carrying on to another match builds resilience".

　　Ms Fraser will tell the conference that she backs "sport for all".

　　"That's why I love it when our schools have A, B ,C and D teams and beyond", she will say.

　　Not all girls like ball games so it's important to find alternatives, says the GDST

　　The GDST draws on research from the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation which suggests only a quarter of girls in England meet current recommended levels of physical activity each week, with the proportion taking part in regular sport falling steeply after the age of 10.

　　One in five girls do no physical activity at all, twice the proportion of boys, the research suggests.

　　Ms Fraser says other research suggests that more than 80% of senior women business leaders played organised sports while growing up.

　　She says similar high proportions of female executives believe sport made them more disciplined, resilient and competitive in their careers.

　　She cites the example of former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, once a competitive figure skater and tennis player, while the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, was in the French national synchronized swimming team.

　　Ms Fraser says Olympic medallists like Jessica Ennis, Katherine Grainger and Nicola Adams are excellent role models for young women but says women's sport needs better funding and more media coverage.

　　"I think sport and exercise are ways in which women can reclaim their bodies from the kind of obsessions of the tabloid press and celebrity magazines", says Ms Fraser.

　　Valerie Dunsford, head of Sheffield High School, part of GDST, said it was important to offer a large range of sports to attract different types of girls.

　　"Not everyone wants to be out on the hockey pitch", said Ms Dunsford.

　　"You don't have to be a fantastic sportswoman to bounce on a trampoline and it gives you a great workout."

　　She said the great sporting advantage of girls schools was a lack of self-consciousness.

　　"Girls school pupils are less bothered about what they look like. Even of our sixth formers are still happy to put on a leotard and jump on a trampoline."

　　The GDST is composed of 24 fee-paying schools and two academies.查看译文

　　据英国广播公司6月7日报道，一位女校组织领导表示，竞技运动有助于女孩们建立信心和加强恢复力。他们将于本周将就此话题展开讨论。

　　女校信托组织的首席执行官海伦弗雷兹将在会议中宣布，运动有助于女生更好地应对失败。

　　弗雷兹表示“所有女生，不仅是爱好运动者”，都应该参加体育锻炼。

　　她说，调查表明，女孩们远不如男孩们活跃，这是很令人担心的。

　　“尽管那些在学校里只在乎学业成绩的女孩们可能会不断地获得成功，但她们可能永远不会意识到自己的不足并且尝试着去弥补它”，弗雷兹对BBC说。

　　“如果你能在经历3比0惨败的曲棍球比赛后继续参加另外一场比赛，这将有助于锻炼你的恢复能力”。

　　弗雷兹女士将对会议表明她“无条件支持体育运动”的态度。

　　她会在会议上说：“这就是为什么我很欣赏我们学校分ABCD和其他不同组的原因”。

　　不是所有的女孩都喜欢球类运动，所以寻找其他的运动就显得很重要了，英国女子日间公学信托表示。

　　英国女子日间公学信托在女性运动和健康学基础里的调查表明，英国只有四分之一的女孩达到每周应该的体育运动量，在10岁以后，参加常规运动的比例更是猛跌。

　　调查表明，5个里面就有1个女孩根本不参加任何体育锻炼，是男孩比例的两倍。