Debates surrounding youth participation in governance have permeated a range of fields in the last
two decades. This commentary is predominately situated in education and civic participation domains,
with sporting domains remaining largely under researched. Indeed, this research becomes sparser
when considered in school physical education and sport. In this paper, we consider the position of the
student within decision-making processes in the physical education curriculum in English secondary
state-schools. The paper reports on survey data from 288 English secondary state-schools exploring
students’ involvement in decision-making related to the PE curriculum. Findings show considerable
numbers of the schools reported no contribution from students to the physical education curriculum
(n=54), and processes that were in place were problematic. Drawing on the legal framework of The
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, we argue that the lack of student voice in the physical
education curriculum presents a contemporary policy concern within the English education system
that requires further investigation