Polly - separation of School and State. Not as crazy as it sounds. Plenty of countries don't allow sports to dominate school life.
I had absolutely no idea that this sort of thing went on. Australia is renowned for being "sports mad" and generally or should I say just about always values its athletes over academics in adult life. Ironically this isn't the case at school, they are pretty much on a par. We don't have "red shirting" here and I really feel for you guys and the challenges it presents. As if the journey through school with GT kids isn't hard enough!
