Despite the national policy focus on the so called ‘drop off at 16', our survey work consistently confirms a trend for a reduction of between 30-50% in levels sports participation among year nine pupils as compared to those in year six.

In our most recent (2009) survey of over 1,300 young people; at year six, 28% were found to participate in sporting activities on a daily basis, by year nine, however, this had reduced to only 14%.

Since 2002 when we introduced the KKP Strata Survey, we have collected participation data from over 200,000 young people in over 100 local authorities (in England, Wales and Northern Ireland) to gather this type of evidence and help implement change. We are, in both volume and qualitative research terms - a leading sports industry authority on youth participation research.

Our findings also confirm the plunge in self perceived levels of health of young people when they reach the age of 13-14. This tends to manifest itself in a lack of participation (apart from in PE lessons) and a very substantial decrease in their enjoyment of sport. In the survey cited above, at Year Six, only 9.6% of young people reported not enjoying taking part in team games, by Year 9 the proportion had increased to 19.6%, a rise of over 100%.

It is not at all surprising to read that boys are more likely than girls to participate in extracurricular and club activities relating to sport and physical activity. KKP's 2007 survey of over 17,000 13-14 year olds across Greater Manchester found that:

• Only half as many girls (31.8%) as boys (60.3%) of boys currently attend a local club, team or organised activity for sport and physical activity.
• 52.1% of boys take part in sport and physical activities of moderate intensity for at least one hour five times a week or more, compared to 35.0% of girls - a difference of nearly 50%.

Insight like this should prove invaluable but one has to ask how much robust data like this is out there, and more importantly how is it being used to influence change and practical action.

As the saying goes "the proof is in the pudding" (obviously a light, low calorie dessert). We place a strong emphasis on providing not only an intelligence base but also resources and support to enable our clients drive local policy change, influence stretch targets and underpin and drive local area agreements.

"KKP's Strata Survey is a vital tool in informing future plans for the partnership, and the data provided is essential in evaluating the success of the work in schools and the community. It also crucially identifies areas for improvement or focus, and fits well with other monitoring and evaluating systems." (Dean Gilmore, PDM, Salford North School Sport Partnership)

As lead partner of the National Sports Conference at LIW this year, we shall be presenting a cross-section of our research findings and discussing how these have been put to good use at LIW, delivering sessions on using knowledge to prevent the drop off in participation among young people.

As is our style, we will take some of today's givens to task and, use data from studies conducted across the UK to explode some of the modern myths about sports participation. For a front row seat or an opportunity to heckle or catch me out, come along to the NEC on Wednesday 23rd September. Don't miss out on this opportunity to catch these pearls of wisdom first hand... priceless - well actually its FREE (just register at http://www.cts-online.co.uk/shows/liw09/)