This year, 116,038 pupils from 1,000 schools in Wales took part in the 2022 Sport Wales School Sport Survey. This document shares the data by Ethnic Background, highlighting key figures and patterns.
We’ve structured this around the Vision for Sport in Wales: ‘An active nation where everyone can have a lifelong enjoyment of sport’. We want as many people as possible to be inspired to be active through sport, where everyone feels able to take part no matter their sporting background, in a sporting landscape that responds to the needs of people at different stages of their life, to create a wide range of positive experiences.
Active Nation
The Vision for Sport in Wales is to create an active nation. We want as many people as possible to be inspired to be active through sport. This section explores participation by frequency, setting and sports, as well as volunteering.
- Participation in sport outside of the curriculum three or more times per week (Future Generations Indicator 38) varies between pupils from different ethnic backgrounds.
Table 1: Participation in sport outside of the curriculum three or more times per week, by ethnic background.
| Ethnic Background | Participation in sport outside of the curriculum three or more times per week |
| White | 41% |
| Mixed or multiple ethnic group | 43% |
| Asian | 30% |
| Black | 38% |
| Other ethnic group | 33% |
- Across all ethnic groups, pupils are more likely to participate in community club sport once a week than in extracurricular sport.
Table 2: Participation in sport at least once a week in different settings, by ethnic background.
| Ethnic Background | Participation in extracurricular sport at least once a week | Participation in community club sport at least once a week |
| White | 40% | 58% |
| Mixed or multiple ethnic group | 42% | 56% |
| Asian | 35% | 43% |
| Black | 46% | 49% |
| Other ethnic group | 37% | 46% |
- The top sports that pupils with a white ethnic background participate in a community club setting at least once a week are football, swimming and rugby.
- The top sports that pupils with a mixed or multiple ethnic background participate in a community club setting at least once a week are football, swimming, and running or jogging.
- The top sports that pupils with an Asian ethnic background participate in a community club setting at least once a week are football, swimming, and karate.
- The top sports that pupils with a black ethnic background participate in a community club setting at least once a week are football, swimming and basketball.
- The top sports that pupils with any other ethnic background participate in a community club setting at least once a week are football, swimming, and boxing.
- 24% of pupils with a white ethnic background, 26% with a mixed or multiple ethnic background, 19% with an Asian ethnic background, 28% with a black ethnic background and 23% with any other ethnic background volunteer or help with a sport at school or in their community.
Everyone
The Vision is for everyone. From people who don’t see themselves as sporty to people who win medals, across all demographics. This section explores participation within Regional Sport Partnerships.
Table 3: The percentage of pupils who participate in sport three or more times per week, by ethnic background and Regional Sport Partnership.
| White | Black | Asian | Mixed or Multiple Ethnic Group | Other | |
| Central South | 42% | 38% | 30% | 42% | 32% |
| Mid Wales | 41% | - | - | 38% | - |
| West Wales | 43% | 40% | 31% | 46% | 29% |
| Gwent | 39% | 38% | 29% | 39% | 38% |
| North Wales | 40% | 37% | 34% | 47% | 38% |
Lifelong
The Vision is for life. It responds to the needs of people at different stages of their life. This section explores demand and motivators/enablers to do more sport.
- 55% of pupils with a white ethnic background, 54% with a mixed or multiple ethnic background, 65% with an Asian ethnic background, 57% with a black ethnic background and 62% with any other ethnic background have unmet demand for sport.
- The top three sports in latent demand for pupils with a white ethnic background are swimming, basketball, and cycling.
- The top three sports in latent demand for pupils with a mixed or multiple ethnic background are basketball, swimming, and football.
- The top three sports in latent demand for pupils with an Asian ethnic background are basketball, cycling and badminton.
- The top sports in latent demand for pupils with a black ethnic background are basketball, swimming, cycling and football.
- The top three sports in latent demand for pupils with any other ethnic background are basketball, swimming, and cycling.
- Pupils with a black ethnic background are more likely to think PE lessons and sport help them ‘a lot’ to have a healthy lifestyle.
FOOTNOTE: Unmet demand refers to those who do not participate in sport three or more times a week, yet have a demand to do more sport.
Table 4: Percentage of pupils that think PE lessons and sport help them ‘a lot’ to have a healthy lifestyle, by ethnic background.
| Ethnic Background | Percentage of pupils that think PE lessons and sport help them ‘a lot’ to have a healthy lifestyle. |
| White | 52% |
| Mixed or multiple ethnic group | 50% |
| Asian | 50% |
| Black | 58% |
| Other ethnic group | 46% |
- The 2022 School Sport Survey asked pupils to select responses to the question ‘I would do more sport if…’. The top three selected responses from pupils with white, mixed or multiple ethnic, Asian, and any other ethnic background are ‘If there were more sport opportunities that suited me’, ‘If I had more time’ and ‘If I was more confident’. The top three selected responses from pupils with a black ethnic background are ‘If there were more sport opportunities that suited me’, ‘If I had more time’ and ‘If it was easier to get to’.
Enjoyment
The Vision focuses on creating a wide range of positive experiences so everyone can enjoy sport. This section explores enjoyment and confidence.
- Across all ethnic backgrounds, pupils enjoy PE more than extracurricular and community club sport.
Table 5: Enjoyment of sport in different settings, by ethnic background.
| Ethnic Background | Enjoyment of PE ‘a lot’ | Enjoyment of extracurricular sport ‘a lot’ | Enjoyment of community club sport ‘a lot’ |
| White | 57% | 40% | 49% |
| Mixed or multiple ethnic group | 56% | 40% | 43% |
| Asian | 53% | 33% | 33% |
| Black | 64% | 45% | 44% |
| Other ethnic group | 54% | 35% | 37% |
- Confidence in trying new sports varies between pupils with different ethnic backgrounds.
Table 6: Percentage of pupils who are ‘very confident’ in trying new sports, by ethnic background.
| Ethnic Background | Percentage of pupils who are ‘very confident’ in trying new sports |
| White | 27% |
| Mixed or multiple ethnic group | 30% |
| Asian | 24% |
| Black | 41% |
| Other ethnic group | 29% |
- Pupils with a black ethnic background are more likely to feel that their ideas about PE and school sport are ‘always’ listened to.
Table 7: Percentage of pupils who feel their ideas about PE and school sport are ‘always’ listened to, by ethnic background.
| Ethnic Background | Percentage of pupils who feel their ideas about PE and school sport are ‘always’ listened to |
| White | 15% |
| Mixed or multiple ethnic group | 15% |
| Asian | 13% |
| Black | 19% |
| Other ethnic group | 14% |
