Published in the book titled Physical Education and Sport in Independent Schools edited by Malcolm Tozer.
Abstract
This essay examines the schooling of all members of Team GB for the summer Olympic Games of 2016 at Rio de Janeiro, and compares the contribution of its privately educated and state educated members in terms of performance in competition and medals won. It is a sequel to ‘One of the Worst Statistics in British Sport, and Wholly Unacceptable’: The Contribution of Privately Educated Members of Team GB to the Summer Olympic Games, 2000–2012, published in The International Journal of the History of Sport in 2013. On-line research using the websites of schools, sports associations, governing bodies of sport, Olympic associations and the media, together with biographies of sportsmen and sportswomen, provided information about each team member’s schooling, sporting background and Olympic record. The findings for 2016 are compared to those for the Olympic Games of 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012. Assessment of the contribution of these schools to Team GB at recent summer Olympic Games – and to international sport in general – by politicians, sports leaders and physical education lobbyists has largely been informed by speculation. This essay provides the facts.
