Strength and conditioning coaches are rapidly becoming the latest must-have accessory for school sport. Their impact is evident. Emulating the elite game, players are getting bigger, stronger and faster. Schools without this specialist resource are deeply conscious of a shortcoming, and mobilising a campaign to redress the omission.

Athletic conditioning is, however, the fairy on the top of the tree. The bigger issue - the tree itself - is the culture of health and fitness within a school. This is where the biggest gain is possible, though it is less public. Its impact might go far beyond...

Most small children love running. They need little encouragement to do so. Primary, and prep, school playgrounds are full of the constant buzz of physical activity. PE lessons featuring running and athletic activities are enthusiastically pursued.

Fast forward ten years. The great majority of adolescents are reluctant runners. House Cross Country events rarely present a school at its best. Lessons with a substantial running component quickly categorise themselves into the compliant athletes, the reluctant runners and the early walkers.

And yet another ten years further on, many of the same people have returned to running....

There are two basic requirements for a Schools' Sevens competition. One is that the participants are schools and the other is that there should be seven players in the team. An infringement of either condition would appear to nullify the title.

However, no less a competition than the "National Schools Sevens" - widely known by the association with Rosslyn Park Rugby Club - though it has been quite some time since the finals were played there - is apparently unconcerned with these qualifications. The participation of educational institutions quite unlike schools is apparently welcomed by the organisers...