With reference to the comment that "all of these games are now abruptly cut off when primary school is left behind and secondary school begun. Interestingly, this was not so in the international school at which I worked.":- I noticed when moving from working in a co-ed school to a single sex girls' school in 1990 that games were surviving well in the single sex school although they had not been present in the co-ed school; except for boys' football.

I also remember discussing play-space layouts with architects when looking to design a new co-ed school in 1997 and being told that girls did not require so much space but needed smaller, "alcove" spaces to sit and chat. The architects and Director of Education were quite surprised to know that girls were still happily playing skipping, tick and various other running games.

I must look at the book to see whether Steve Roud has looked at differences between types of school.