While some privately-educated pupils get to swim in their school's own indoor heated pool and practise their golf swing at lunchtime, others are sent home for their breaks as there is nowhere for them to play.

This weekend, as children and parents gear up for the new term, the Sunday Tribune looks at sports facilities in Irish primary schools and uncovers stark contrasts within the sector.

According to a recent Fine Gael survey of 1,400 primary schools, 75% have no sports hall and almost one-third have no access to a swimming pool.

Another study carried out by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has found that primary schools are much worse off in terms of PE facilities than those at second level.

Meanwhile, it also revealed that more than 60% of children in fifth and sixth classes in primary school watch two or more hours of television a day.

The government's failure to provide PE facilities for schoolchildren is contributing to rising obesity levels and storing up health problems for the future, Fine Gael's spokesperson on sport Jimmy Deenihan has claimed.

"PE facilities in our primary schools have been devastated by government neglect, " he said. "It is no wonder that PE has to take a back seat when so many schools do not even have a sports hall."

The ex-Kerry footballer and All-Ireland winner believes that physical education has to be placed on the same footing as academic studies. "We need to create a whole PE culture in schools, " he said. "PE needs to be an integral part of schooling and should be as important as any other subject."

Deenihan, a former physical education teacher, has called for immediate government investment in PE facilities in primary schools in 2006. "I also believe the National Lottery should give priority to sports facilities that are proposed for sites on or near primary schools, " he said. "There should be an inter-agency and crossdepartmental commission on physical education set up like there is in Canada. The new primary school curriculum is currently being rolled out and it will only be aspirational unless PE facilities are provided."

Deenihan's comments have been echoed by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) which warned that "the PE curriculum just will not happen" unless there is substantial investment in primary schools.

"As the vast majority of primary schools do not have a sports hall, the PE curriculum is totally dependent on the weather so PE has to be cancelled if it rains, " said INTO general secretary John Carr. "PE is not a subject that can be learned from a book so the government must act now."

He added, "It is no good having survey after survey showing rising levels of obesity. The real question is what will this government do about it."

The INTO is now demanding that the government provide every primary school with a general purpose room to ensure that PE classes can take place irrespective of weather conditions. It says every primary school should also have access to adequate and appropriate PE equipment in order to fully implement the PE programme.

"Addressing this issue or not will show if the government is prepared to invest in our young people and their sporting talents, " said Carr.

"Parents and teachers want to see our economic success used to benefit primary school pupils."

The advantaged school

'We are blessed with the facilities'

SITUATED on spacious grounds in the leafy suburbs of Dublin's southside, Terenure College junior boys' school boasts some of the most remarkable sports facilities of any school in the country.

Boys enter the junior school at the age of eight in preparation for their progression into the senior school, which shares the same grounds.

"Our students have access to seven rugby pitches, six tennis courts, a gymnasium, an outdoor astro-turf pitch, mini athletics track, a swimming pool, cricket and golf nets, " said Fr Michael Troy, the junior school principal.

"The children in the school are encouraged to play at least two sports a week and the vast majority of them do.

They each have a 40-minute PE session along with 40 minutes' swimming per week.

"Other sports include rugby, tennis, golf and badminton which students play during their 45-minute lunch break each day, as well as playing matches on Saturdays during the term."

Terenure College is one of Dublin's most prestigious private schools and prides itself on students' academic and sporting successes.

The junior school has 160 pupils from third to sixth class with 10 teachers, and the biggest class in the school has just 23 pupils. The fees for children to attend the junior school for the current academic year are 3,400.

"We are blessed with the facilities here in Terenure College, " said Troy. "This is a completely private school that receives no state funding even though the children's parents already pay for education through their taxes.

"Sport is really important in the school as it encourages participation, enjoyment and creates lifelong friendships.

It complements the children's academic education as it helps their performance in the classroom and it allows children the chance to use time creatively.

"We also have a strong commitment towards sport as it is becoming more important all the time with the whole question of childhood obesity."

The school is currently renovating its private swimming pool at a cost of 1.82m without receiving any state funding.

"The pool was in need of renovation so works are currently taking place and we hope to have it back up and running by the end of May, " said Troy. "There is a a level of contentment and happiness here among the students . . . children enjoy school through sports at the same time as achieving their full educational potential."

The disadvantaged school

'City children are neglected'

GREEN-painted, high metal bars surround St Laurence O'Toole's girls' school in Dublin's north inner city.

There are no sports facilities here . . . no sports hall, no playground . . . and the teachers do not even have a staff room.

"Infant pupils [up to first class] stay indoors for lunch as there is nowhere for them to play, while the rest of the children go home for their half-hour break, " said Aodhan O Riordain, a teacher in the school and a local councillor.

"The children who are not old enough to go home for lunch end up staying in the same seat from 9am until 2.30pm so they lose out on both physical activity and social interaction with their school colleagues. Educationalists will tell you that you need social interaction in the playground and you can learn more in the playground than you do in the classroom."

Despite being bereft of sports facilities, O Riordain points out that the school won gaelic football competitions in Croke Park last year.

"We have to have PE classes and football training in a local city council hall, " he said.

"These are excellent children and they have a great sense of pride in their area but it would be so much better for them to get out of the classroom at break times. Outdoor sport is an essential part of a child's education.

"While our gaelic team has not been beaten in three years, not every child is sporty and they all need exercise and social interaction rather than just training in a local hall."

The school has Irish dancing, French and computer classes and organises an annual trip to France for pupils.

"There is a great spirit in the school and we offer a lot of different classes to children but we are restricted by the physical environment in which we teach, " said O Riordain.

From Malahide, the teacher was elected as a Labour Party councillor for the area in the 2004 local elections, having conducted his campaign on a platform of educational disadvantage in inner city schools.

"I wish every child had the best possible facilities but children in the city centre are persistently neglected because of where they are from, " he said.

"There are basic facilities that should be in any school and I am determined that we can turn this around and get these children what they deserve."

SPORTS STATISTICS
>> Over 75% of Irish primary schools have no sports hall
>> Over 45% of primary schools have no sports pitch
>> Over 400 primary schools have no access to a swimming pool
>> Students in one quarter of the schools surveyed receive less than an hour of PE per week
>> Over half of the schools surveyed had no indoor facilities whatsoever (Source: 2005 Fine Gael survey of 1,400 primary schools)
>> 3.8% of boys and 4.3% of girls in primary schools are obese
>> 15.7% of boys and 15.8% of girls in primary schools are overweight
>> Over 60% of children in fifth and sixth class in primary school watch two hours or more of television per day (Source: 2005 ESRI report 'School Children and Sport in Ireland')
>> 80% of schools surveyed in Donegal do not have a PE hall
>> 70% of schools in Kerry do not have a PE hall
>> 63% of schools in Clare do not have a PE hall
>> 14% of schools in Dublin do not have a PE Hall
>> Of the 86% of Dublin schools that have a PE Hall, more than 60% report that their facility is 'inadequate'