BLUE knickers and short pleated skirts are the cause of a schoolgirl rebellion against sports, according to a Government report.

The report, Girls in Sport, which was researched by the Youth Sport Trust, found that 40 per cent of girls aged between 12 and 18 had abandoned games lessons once they reached their teens.

The reasons given included feeling self-conscious in their traditional "knickers and gym skirts", finding the competition intimidating, wanting a greater choice of activities and a lack of value being attached to girls' sport in schools.

As a result of the report, a Girls in Sport programme has been developed to transform teaching styles and activities, to make sure girls have a more positive experience of sport.

But girls at The Chase say that, as far as they are concerned, the report is rubbish.

The Malvern school is renowned for its sporting excellence and pupils there are encouraged to take up sport at all levels.

For example, a former pupil 20-year-old Ceris Gilfillan, represented Britain in the cycling events at the Sydney Summer Olympics.

Chase pupils Amy Forsyth and Jo Churchfield are 15-years-old who enjoy all types of sport activities. On Friday, they were awarded medals as grand finalists in the Millennium Youth Games hockey competition.

Amy said she is not put off at all by the traditional gym outfit.

"It's not a problem here because we can wear tracksuits if we want," she said.

"We can generally play the sports that we want to play because there are so many options."

Jo said she doesn't think that girls are put off doing sports at The Chase.

"I love playing sports. It's seen as a cool thing to do and we're successful," she said. "There are a lot of clubs here and most of our lunchtimes are taken up by playing sports. It's what we want to do and we don't get any ridicule from boys. I think they quite like it."

Kayleigh Forsyth, aged 13, said most of the girls at the school don't care about what they're wearing.

"I think it's a bit pathetic if girls drop out just because of the clothes. You do the sport for the game, it doesn't matter what you're wearing," she said. "But if girls feel more comfortable about playing sports if they're wearing trousers then they should be allowed to wear them,"

Jessica Bayly from Year 9, said she plays as many sports as possible.

"I play everything here and it teaches you how to be organised and that you need to be responsible for you actions, turn up to matches on time, that sort of thing," she said.

Jo Yorke, aged 14, said she has grown up doing sport because her family is keen on it.

"When you come to a school like this you get to improve yourself," she said. "Rather than just going out and playing games you are helped by the teachers and people around you to work hard at sports."

She said some girls might be put off sport because of the emphasis on winning and the competitiveness of games.

"But here it's about the fun of playing games that's important," she said.

Steph Vincent, aged 14, said she could think of very few girls who didn't like playing games at the Chase.

"We have quite a range of sports here and mixing with the boys is not a problem," she said. "I think girls have more of a problem at other schools with sports. But here, because we're good, we want to carry on reaching targets and the competition adds to the thrill. I think I will always be interested in sports."

Jane Powell, head of PE, said there are always plenty of girls wanting to take part in games at The Chase.

"If you come to a Year 7 hockey practice you'll find 40-50 girls out there," she said. "I think part of the reason is that there is very little to do in Malvern after school, there are very few distractions so the girls turn to sport."

"When I see reports like this I assume they must be true but the thing is, they don't apply to The Chase. I've got a good team who put in a lot of time and effort and we all play sports outside school, which I think might help because we provide role models for them.

"It's interesting that the girls here found it hard to think of friends who don't enjoy sport. We operate on encouragement here and my driving force hasn't been the talented pupils, but those who wouldn't necessarily enjoy sports. If we can get them on side, then that's encouraging."