The POOREST pupils in Ceredigion are 26 per cent less likely to play regular sports outside school than their wealthier counterparts, a study has found.

National body Sport Wales released the results of its School Sport Survey 2022, which will go before Ceredigion County Council cabinet next week.

The study, which surveyed more than 2,762 school children in Ceredigion, found that last year youngsters in the county tended to play more sport than the Welsh and Mid Wales average.

But only 18 per cent of the region’s school pupils in the poorest demographic played regular sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week.

This is almost half the national average for the same demographic (32 per cent) and lower than that for mid Wales (27 per cent). It is also far less than those in the wealthiest group (44 per cent).

The report also found 40 per cent of pupils in Ceredigion participate in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times per week.

In Ceredigion, the most popular sport for boys was football and the most popular sport for girls was running or jogging.

A report to go before the county council’s cabinet next week said: “There has been a significant negative impact nationally on all performance indicators since 2018. Physical activity levels increased steadily from 2011 to 2015 and again to 2018. Since 2018, many indicators have decreased by 10 per cent or more in Ceredigion and nationally. This has been attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic by Sport Wales.

“There are similar patterns ... with regards to gender participation with boys generally being slightly more active than girls. Community Club participation remains ... higher than both regional and national levels.”