ObjectivesTo establish pupil fitness levels, and the relationship to global norms and physical education (PE) enjoyment. To measure and describe physical activity (PA) levels during secondary school PE lessons, in the context of recommended levels, and how levels vary with activity and lesson type.MethodsA cross-sectional design; 10 697 pupils aged 12.5 (SD 0.30) years; pupils who completed a multistage fitness test and wore accelerometers to measure PA during PE lessons. Multilevel models estimated fitness and PE activity levels, accounting for school and class-level clustering.ResultsCardiorespiratory fitness was higher in boys than girls (ß=−0.48; 95% CI −0.56 to −0.39, p<0.001), within absolute terms 51% of boys and 54% of girls above the 50th percentile of global norms. On average, pupils spent 23.8% of PE lessons in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), and 7.1% in vigorous PA (VPA). Fitness-focused lessons recorded most VPA in co-educational (ß=1.09; 95% CI 0.43 to 1.74) and boys-only lessons (ß=0.32; 95% CI −0.21 to 0.85). In girls-only lessons, track athletics recorded most VPA (ß=0.13; 95% CI −0.50 to 0.75) and net/wall/racket games (ß=0.97; 95% CI 0.12 to 1.82) the most MVPA. For all lesson types, field athletics was least active (ß=−0.85; 95% CI −1.33 to −0.36). There was a relationship of enjoyment of PE to fitness (ß=1.03; 95% CI 0.83 to 1.23), and this relationship did not vary with sex (ß=−0.14 to 0.23; 95% CI −0.16 to 0.60).ConclusionsPE lessons were inactive compared with current guidelines. We propose that if we are to continue to develop a range of sporting skills in schools at the same time as increasing levels of fitness and PA, there is a need to introduce additional sessions of PE activity focused on increasing physical activity.Trial registration numberNCT03286725.

Background: The randomised controlled trial (RCT) design is increasingly common among studies seeking good quality evidence to advance educational neuroscience, but conducting RCTs in schools is challenging. Fit to Study, one of six such trials funded by the Education Endowment Foundation and Wellcome Trust, tested an intervention to increase vigorous physical activity during PE lessons on maths attainment among pupils aged 12-13. This review of designing and conducting an RCT in 104 schools is intended as a resource on which researchers might draw for future studies. Method: We consider intervention design and delivery; recruitment, retention, trial management, data collection and analysis including ethical considerations and working with evaluators. Results: Teacher training, intervention delivery and data collection during large-scale RCTs require a flexible approach appropriate to educational settings, which in turn entails planning and resources. Conclusion: Simple interventions, with few outcome measures and minimal missing data, are preferable to more complex designs.

Background Pupils in secondary schools do not meet the targets for physical activity levels during physical education (PE) sessions, and there is a lack of data on the vigorous physical activity domain (VPA) in PE known to be positively associated with cardio metabolic health While PE session intensity depends on a variety of factors, the large majority of studies investigating these factors have not taken into account the nested structure of this type of data set. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between various factors (gender, activity type, class location and class composition) and various activity levels during PE classes in secondary schools, using a multi-level statistical approach. Methods Year eight (12–13 years old) adolescents (201 boys and 106 girls) from six schools were fitted with accelerometers during one PE session each, to determine the percentage (%) of the PE session time spent in sedentary (SPA), light (LPA), moderate (MPA), vigorous (VPA) and moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA) intensity levels. Two- and three-level (pupils, n = 307; classes, n = 13, schools, n = 6) mixed-effect models were used to assess the relationship between accelerometer-measured physical activity levels (% of class time spent in various activity levels) and gender, activity type, class location and composition. Results Participants engaged in MVPA and VPA for 30.7 ± 1.2% and 11.5 ± 0.8% of PE classes, respectively. Overall, no significant association between gender or class composition and PA was shown. A significant relationship between activity type and PA was observed, with Artistic classes significantly less active than Fitness classes for VPA (5.4 ± 4.5 vs. 12.5 ± 7.1%, p = 0.043, d :1.19). We also found a significant association between class location and PA, with significantly less time spent in SPA (24.8 ± 4.8% vs. 30.0 ± 3.4%, p = 0.042, d :0.77) and significantly more time spent in VPA (12.4 ± 3.7% vs. 7.6 ± 2.0%, p = 0.022, d :1.93) and MVPA (32.3 ± 6.7% vs.24.8 ± 3.8%, p = 0.024, d :1.33) in outdoors vs. indoors classes. Conclusions The results suggest that class location and activity type could be associated with the intensity of PA in PE. It is essential to take into account the clustered nature of this type of data in similar studies if the sample size allows it.