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He also said that the £1.5 billion investment into school sport since 2002 - roughly five times the amount invested in developing medal winners in the same period - was beginning to reap the same rewards as those seen in elite sport.

Burnham's comments came as Sport England announced the first phase of government plans to offer young people more sport outside of school. The £36 million 'Sport Unlimited' scheme is designed to attract into sport those young people who do not take part in sport regularly.

It will set up 4000 taster sessions across England in non-traditional sports, including cycling, sailing, kayaking, American football and dodgeball. The nationwide scheme will be available from the beginning of this new school term.

Sport England

Sport England today announced a £36 million investment in ‘Sport Unlimited’ - a nationwide initiative to get more children and young people taking part in sports

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Extra investment

The fund is part of the £100 million extra funding for young people's sport announced by Prime Minister Gordon Brown last year, bringing total investment into school sport over the next three years to £780 million. The extra investment was put in to offer all 5-16 year olds five hours of government funded sport a week, two in school and three out. All 16-19 year olds will be offered three hours of out of school sport a week.

Andy Burnham said: "The UK School Games are the pinnacle of the school sport system and shows how a culture of competition and excellence has been reintroduced to our schools. Since Beijing it is has become widely acknowledged both here and abroad that we now have a world class system for developing medal winners. But rivals like Australia are not just looking at our elite sport system anymore. Outside Britain they are now also acknowledging the giant leaps we have made in school sport.

"Despite these improvements, it still feels like some people are stuck in a time warp when it comes to their perceptions of school sport in this country. It's not the eighties any more. School playing fields aren't being sold off left, right and centre. PE is not being abandoned from the timetable and competition is no longer a dirty word. In fact there has been a dramatic and unparalleled transformation of school sport that emulates the transformation of elite sport in Britain."

"Today's announcement by Sport England is further proof of that and builds on our Olympic medal success. School sport has undergone a radical overhaul since 2002. There are now more coaches, more facilities, more varied sports and more competition. By 2011 we will have achieved the ultimate ambition that every child will be offered five hours of quality sport a week. That will include coaching and competition for all. By the time the Olympics start in 2012 I'm confident our school sport system will lead the world."