A SPORTS adviser today urged schools to be tougher on pupils to help create the Olympic stars of the future.

And he warned teachers not to allow sport to become a "service industry to the rest of the curriculum".

Lancashire County Council physical education adviser Glen Beaumont spoke out amid concerns raised by the education watchdog Ofsted that more needs to be done to spot athletic high flyers among people of school age.

He said PE was getting bogged down as a subject with other initiatives, including literacy and numeracy, while too little emphasis was being placed on technical excellence.

Mr Beaumont is responsible for a team of school advisers who help support PE teachers in schools across East Lancashire deliver the curriculum and good sports education.

He said: "We all have to be wary of PE becoming a service industry for the rest of the curriculum as PE is swept into the larger agenda of citizenship and getting hung up on learning skills such as initiative, teamwork, co-operation as well as literacy and numeracy. It is technical ability which makes champions.

"We are certainly gaining momentum at spotting talent and increasing the position of sport.

"We rely on PE teachers' expertise and them developing good links with clubs to refer pupils with special skills.

"It is laudable to study citizenship and I can accept where it is coming from, but we must not lose sight of what sport is all about."

The Department for Education and Skills has heralded several new initiatives over the last year to help engage boys in study and narrow an academic gender gap. Sport has played a key role in this through the Playing for Success scheme.

Football and other sports are used to boost skills and motivation among pupils. Four national evaluations have found significant improvements in literacy and numeracy skills, ICT skills, attitudes to learning, and self-esteem.

Feedback from teachers, parents and pupils has been overwhelmingly positive, according to education chiefs.