NORTH-East Olympic legend Jonathan Edwards has blasted the Government’s handling of school sport – warning a new scheme will lower standards.

Giving evidence to MPs, the gold medal-winning triple jumper attacked the controversial scrapping of school sports partnerships (SSPs) as “a very bad move”.

Mr Edwards said their replacement – an annual grant to every primary school, of around £10,000 – would result in more “patchy provision” than if the partnerships had survived.

He also criticised the failure to measure sports teaching in schools, after Education Secretary Michael Gove axed an annual survey that recorded how much pupils are doing.

And he suggested school sport leaders – who also gave evidence to the inquiry – were unable to speak out, because they depended on Government funding.

Mr Edwards, who lives in Newcastle, said of the demise of the SSPs: “It was a very bad move in my opinion and not well thought through. Many people were incredulous.

“The SSPs did a fantastic job. There is a greater chance of patchy provision with this sport premium going out individually to schools. If schools join together they can provide something more strategic.”

The criticisms, to the education select committee, come two months after David Cameron pledged £150m a year to “inspire the Olympic and Paralympic stars of the future”.

The ring-fenced cash would pay for every pupil to take part in sport with a PE teacher or a specialist coach, the prime minister pledged.

But critics were quick to point that ministers had scrapped a similar scheme – the £162m a-year SSPs – in 2010, triggering huge criticism.

The SSPs had paid for PE teachers to co-ordinate sports tuition and inter-school events and for smaller primaries, without specialist sports teacher, to share staff.

As a result, the total number of days PE teachers are released across the North-East and North Yorkshire plunged by 54 per cent, local authority figures revealed last year.

Mr Edwards, who is now an athletics commentator, urged ministers to give the same priority to measuring sport in schools as they gave to academic subjects.

When one MP pointed out that school sport co-ordinators had not made such strong criticisms, Mr Edwards added: “They have got more to lose – I can sit here independently.”