By . Laura Clark . Schoolgirls should be able to dry their hair after PE lessons and wear tracksuits instead of traditional short skirts to encourage them to take more exercise, a sports chief declared yesterday. Young British women are among the least active in Europe with only six per cent taking the recommended level of exercise, warned Jennie Price, chief executive of Sport England. Schools should consider making radical changes such as installing cubicles and hairdryers in changing rooms and allowing up to 15 minutes extra time for girls to ‘reconstruct’ themselves after PE. They should also consider scrapping short gym skirts and allowing girls to wear clothes they feel comfortable in. Scroll down for video . Schoolgirls should be encouraged to do exercise by schools installing hairdryers and changing cubicles, the head of Sport England has said. They should also get 15 minutes extra to 'reconstruct themselves' she added . Addressing heads of girls’ schools, Mrs Price said research for Sport England, the Government’s grassroots funding agency, suggested that girls felt self-conscious and unfeminine in school PE lessons. Many also wanted dance or keep fit classes such as Zumba instead of traditional team sports. Schools should introduce as wide a range of sports as possible – including niche sports such as fencing and rowing - to draw girls in, she said. Mrs Price told the annual conference of the Girls’ Day Schools Trust (GDST) that British women aged 15 to 24 were 19th out of 28 nations for the amount of exercise they did, according to European Commission figures. Just six per cent exercised or played sport at least five times a week – the official recommended level to bring a range of health benefits. In contrast, British men were third in Europe, with 34 per cent physically active five times a week. Among women, participation in Britain was behind countries often regarded as more ‘traditional’ such as Spain and Ireland, as well as those such as Sweden where equality was strongly promoted. ‘There is a significant issue in terms of girls’ participation,’ said Mrs Price. Barriers to taking part included girls being ‘really preoccupied about how they look’, particularly in a social media age. Jennie Price said barriers to girls taking part in sports included them being 'really preoccupied about how they look', particularly in a social media age . Girls ‘Tweet and Instagram constantly’, giving a feeling of ‘being on show’. But Mrs Price, the first female chief executive of Sport England, said it was important for girls to be able to ‘reconstruct’ themselves after taking part in physical activities at school. She said she had visited a mixed comprehensive in Hull where girls played the same amount of sport as boys – which was ‘almost unheard of’ in schools. It had put in hairdryers and plugs for hair tongs or other gadgets for girls to use after PE. ‘One of the ways they’ve done it is in the girls’ cloakroom, they asked them what they wanted and they said cubicles, hairdryers and plugs and 15 minutes after the session please so we can comb our hair and get ourselves looking how we looked when we went in,’ said Mrs Price. They wanted to ‘emerge from it how we feel comfortable’. ’It is so easy to pooh-pooh that, but they found that was one of the things that gave them parity, and really drew girls in.’ She added: ‘The ability for a girl in particular - and particularly if she’s 14, 15, 16 - to reconstruct herself after that flinging herself on the floor moment, thinking “thank god that’s over” or “I had a great time”, is incredibly important.’ Mrs Price added that short skirts could be replaced by jogging bottoms. ‘I don’t know anybody who really loves the short skirt but allowing them to wear things that they are comfortable in, talking to them about what they are comfortable in, is very, very important,’ she said. Helen Fraser, chief executive of GDST, which runs 24 private girls’ schools and two state academies, told the conference that a revival of ‘warrior women’ in popular culture was helping to inspire a new generation to become physically active. These included Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xena Warrior Princess and more recently Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games or Tris Prior in the Divergent series. ‘It is heartening to see fictional heroines who can hold their own in a fight, who endure physical hardship and aren’t just waiting to be rescued by a hero on a white charger.’
Installing hairdryers in changing rooms would encourage girls to exercise .
Schools should also scrap short gym skirts so they feel comfortable .
Should be given an extra 15 minutes to get ready after PE .
Suggestions made by Jennie Price, chief executive of Sport England .
By . Laura Clark . Schoolgirls should be able to dry their hair after PE lessons and wear tracksuits instead of traditional short skirts to encourage them to take more exercise, a sports chief declared yesterday. Young British women are among the least active in Europe with only six per cent taking the recommended level of exercise, warned Jennie Price, chief executive of Sport England. Schools should consider making radical changes such as installing cubicles and hairdryers in changing rooms and allowing up to 15 minutes extra time for girls to ‘reconstruct’ themselves after PE. They should also consider scrapping short gym skirts and allowing girls to wear clothes they feel comfortable in. Scroll down for video . Schoolgirls should be encouraged to do exercise by schools installing hairdryers and changing cubicles, the head of Sport England has said. They should also get 15 minutes extra to 'reconstruct themselves' she added . Addressing heads of girls’ schools, Mrs Price said research for Sport England, the Government’s grassroots funding agency, suggested that girls felt self-conscious and unfeminine in school PE lessons. Many also wanted dance or keep fit classes such as Zumba instead of traditional team sports. Schools should introduce as wide a range of sports as possible – including niche sports such as fencing and rowing - to draw girls in, she said. Mrs Price told the annual conference of the Girls’ Day Schools Trust (GDST) that British women aged 15 to 24 were 19th out of 28 nations for the amount of exercise they did, according to European Commission figures. Just six per cent exercised or played sport at least five times a week – the official recommended level to bring a range of health benefits. In contrast, British men were third in Europe, with 34 per cent physically active five times a week. Among women, participation in Britain was behind countries often regarded as more ‘traditional’ such as Spain and Ireland, as well as those such as Sweden where equality was strongly promoted. ‘There is a significant issue in terms of girls’ participation,’ said Mrs Price. Barriers to taking part included girls being ‘really preoccupied about how they look’, particularly in a social media age. Jennie Price said barriers to girls taking part in sports included them being 'really preoccupied about how they look', particularly in a social media age . Girls ‘Tweet and Instagram constantly’, giving a feeling of ‘being on show’. But Mrs Price, the first female chief executive of Sport England, said it was important for girls to be able to ‘reconstruct’ themselves after taking part in physical activities at school. She said she had visited a mixed comprehensive in Hull where girls played the same amount of sport as boys – which was ‘almost unheard of’ in schools. It had put in hairdryers and plugs for hair tongs or other gadgets for girls to use after PE. ‘One of the ways they’ve done it is in the girls’ cloakroom, they asked them what they wanted and they said cubicles, hairdryers and plugs and 15 minutes after the session please so we can comb our hair and get ourselves looking how we looked when we went in,’ said Mrs Price. They wanted to ‘emerge from it how we feel comfortable’. ’It is so easy to pooh-pooh that, but they found that was one of the things that gave them parity, and really drew girls in.’ She added: ‘The ability for a girl in particular - and particularly if she’s 14, 15, 16 - to reconstruct herself after that flinging herself on the floor moment, thinking “thank god that’s over” or “I had a great time”, is incredibly important.’ Mrs Price added that short skirts could be replaced by jogging bottoms. ‘I don’t know anybody who really loves the short skirt but allowing them to wear things that they are comfortable in, talking to them about what they are comfortable in, is very, very important,’ she said. Helen Fraser, chief executive of GDST, which runs 24 private girls’ schools and two state academies, told the conference that a revival of ‘warrior women’ in popular culture was helping to inspire a new generation to become physically active. These included Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xena Warrior Princess and more recently Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games or Tris Prior in the Divergent series. ‘It is heartening to see fictional heroines who can hold their own in a fight, who endure physical hardship and aren’t just waiting to be rescued by a hero on a white charger.’
exercise, warned Jennie Price, chief executive of Sport England. Schools should consider making hairdryers in changing rooms and allowing up to themselves after PE. They should also consider scrapping short gym skirts and allowing girls to wear clothes they feel comfortable in. Scroll has said. They should also get 15 minutes extra