A SPORTS leader in York has made a desperate plea to the education secretary not to withdraw funding for school sport partnerships.

Keith Davies, development manager of Jorvik School Sports Partnership, invited Michael Gove to visit York and see the impact his decision would have on school sport activities.

He said the number of pupils involved with community clubs had soared by 17 per cent since the formation of sports partnerships in 2006 and there was also greater sporting competitiveness between schools.

Mr Davies said the partnerships had also enabled pupils to get involved in sports leadership, which had a positive impact both on the individual and on community clubs.

He said: “I urge Mr Gove to rethink his position on school sports partnerships. If he will not listen to sporting stars and professionals, if he will not listen to the hundreds of head teachers and thousands of school teachers then, as education secretary, please listen to the young people.

“I would welcome him to address the issue of never visiting a school sports partnership. I would relish the opportunity to show him the good work of the sports partnership in York and introduce him to the head teachers, teachers, pupils and partnership staff for him to see first-hand what he is destroying with a sweep of his pen.” In York, there are two school sport partnerships – Ebor, which includes York High, Millthorpe, Manor CE and All Saints, and Jorvik, which includes Archbishop Holgate CE, Burnholme, Joseph Rowntree, Huntington, Canon Lee and Fulford. Each costs about £240,000 a year to run.

All city state schools are included in one or the other and they work by allowing secondary school sports teachers time out to go to primary schools to share their specialist knowledge and teach the children sport.

The partnership also allows older children at secondary level to go into primary schools and help teach younger children.

The Government is looking to make £160 million in savings nationally by axing the partnerships.