Simon Clegg, the former chief executive of the British Olympic Association, talks about young people, independent education and sport.

Within the British Olympic Association, the basis of the bid to bring the Olympics to London in 2012 was a very clear understanding that nothing had the potential to move sport higher and more quickly up both the political and social agendas in this country. 

We have undoubtedly achieved the former: sport has never had such a place at the high table of government. The massive investment in the regeneration of the East End of London, the additional £300 million that the government have made available for high performance sport to help achieve success in 2012, means that we have achieved our political goals - although we do also need to recognise that sport will fall down the political agenda after 2012 when there will be more important things that we as a nation need to address and that the government will need to address on our behalf. 

But the real challenge is how we move sport up the social agenda. If the closest the kids in Glasgow and Belfast get to the Olympic Games in 2012 is watching it on a television screen then I think we have failed a whole generation. I think we really do need to use this vehicle that we have got over the next two years to ensure that there is proper engagement to drive sport up the social agenda - because that is the real legacy of the Olympic Games. It is not about the infrastructure that we leave down in one part of London, the legacy should be how we have changed people's lives in a way that would otherwise take generations to achieve.  

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