'We want to stop girls from dropping out of sport'

Two school pupils have urged any girls considering dropping out of sport due to concerns around PE kit or periods to know they are not alone.

Grace and Mollie, from Maghull High School, have taken part in a BBC Bitesize documentary looking at how such fears are among the factors behind some girls dropping out of sport.

The Women in Sport charity has said around around 64% of girls drop out of sport by the time they reach the age of 16.

Grace and Mollie said their message to fellow girls was that "we are all going through this at the end of the day" and anyone with concerns should speak to friends or a trusted adult.

Girls In PE: Breaking Down the Barriers, presented by Kimberley Boak, examines what is being done to counteract this issue and to encourage more girls to keep doing sport.

Speaking to BBC Radio Merseyside, Grace and Mollie said they wanted to help overcome the taboo that still exists around discussing periods in sport.

Mollie, who plays football, said she felt girls needed to have more confidence and to overcome any barriers and believe they can take part in sport.

"You shouldn't let it bother you. Don't let it become a barrier," she said.

"Just think to yourself, everyone is going through it and it's not [only you] even though it might feel like it."

Grace said she felt there was a lack of confidence within girls' PE at her school.

She said that, by talking about this, she and Mollie were "stepping out of both of our comfort zones and advocating for it as it is a powerful message".

She urged girls to talk to their friends or a trusted adult at school if they had any concerns about taking part in sport.

Team GB hockey player Tess Howard said the documentary looked at how barriers affecting girls in the UK were being broken down.

She said it was about "realising that at some point we will all likely start our period and so it doesn't mean that you can't participate [in sport]".

Howard said Lioness Beth Mead had spoken about being on her period when she played in the Euros earlier this year "and obviously we know how that went - very well, so it's about creating solutions".

"I have been campaigning for choice and inclusion in PE kits for probably the past three years and in my own sport as well, and we now have the choice to wear shorts in hockey," she said.

Prof Kirsty Elliott-Sale from Manchester Metropolitan University's Institute of Sport said it was important that period products were readily available in schools and that bathroom breaks were factored in when girls were playing sport outdoors.

"If we are all on the same page and it's no longer a taboo and if there is no stigma then I think that is really going to help," she said.

Lorraine Warwick-Ellis, who has been training the under 16s team at Ella Toone's former club, Astley and Tyldesley FC, said it had folded due to girls dropping out.

She said she felt a number of factors were behind this, including the added issue of some girls choosing to drop sporting activities due to doing GCSEs.

In terms of sports kit, she said many league teams were wearing black shorts but even this was not compulsory and girls could wear whatever they felt comfortable in, such as leggings.

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