Children who practise archery do better at school
1 study · 80 archers measured
The summary today
There is one study, Turkish, from 2025, and it shows an association that only partly holds. Eighty children aged 9 to 14 are split into four groups, and those who do archery alone have the highest school average, 93.2 out of 100, against 84.6 for those who play other sports and 83.9 for those who play none (H = 20.96, p < 0.001). Two things hold the reading back, though. The advantage does not hold against the twelve children who combine archery with another sport, whose average is 89.8, since the significant difference remains only against the other sports and the inactive children. And the groups are not the same age: the archers are 11.2 years old on average and the inactive children 9.6, and the analysis does not account for age. It is a comparison made at a single point in time, so it cannot say whether archery raises marks or whether the families who take their children to archery are already different from the rest.
Also phrased as: "archery helps at school"; "archery and school marks"; "archery and academic performance"; "sport improves school results"
In practice
Parents are often told that archery teaches children concentration and discipline, and that this then shows at school too, in homework and in marks.
Evidence
-
2025
For Archers Published later
80 Turkish children aged 9 to 14 in four groups: the 28 who do archery alone have a school average of 93.18 out of 100, against 84.63 for the 24 who play other sports and 83.94 for the 16 inactive children (Kruskal-Wallis H = 20.962, p < 0.001).
Okçuluk Yapan ve Yapmayan Çocuklarda Dikkat Seviyesi, Reaksiyon Hızı ve Akademik Başarının Karşılaştırılması Okçuluk Yapan Çocuklarda Akademik Başarı · Gökçen Akyürek, Fatma Öztürk
-
2025
Context Archers Published later
The advantage does not hold against the 12 children who combine archery with another sport, whose average is 89.75: in the pairwise comparisons only archery alone against other sports and against inactive children come out significant.
Okçuluk Yapan ve Yapmayan Çocuklarda Dikkat Seviyesi, Reaksiyon Hızı ve Akademik Başarının Karşılaştırılması Okçuluk Yapan Çocuklarda Akademik Başarı · Gökçen Akyürek, Fatma Öztürk
-
2025
Context Archers Published later
The groups are not the same age: mean age 11.21 years for archery alone, 11.67 for archery plus another sport, 10.46 for other sports and 9.56 for the inactive children, and the analysis does not correct for age. Archers and inactive children are almost two years apart.
Okçuluk Yapan ve Yapmayan Çocuklarda Dikkat Seviyesi, Reaksiyon Hızı ve Akademik Başarının Karşılaştırılması Okçuluk Yapan Çocuklarda Akademik Başarı · Gökçen Akyürek, Fatma Öztürk
Status history
- 2025 Reported The only study on this record arrives: eighty Turkish children aged 9 to 14 split into four groups, and those who do archery alone have the highest school average, 93.2 against 84.6 for those who play other sports and 83.9 for the inactive children. Within the same study two things keep the status low: the advantage does not hold against children who combine archery with another sport, and the groups are not the same age, since the archers are almost two years older than the inactive children on average and age was not corrected for. A cross-sectional association goes no further than reported.
Related
Related articles
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). Children who practise archery do better at school (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/archery-school-performance
@misc{campagna2026_arcorendimentoscolastico,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {Children who practise archery do better at school},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/archery-school-performance},
note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
Follow this claim
RSS is an address you paste into a feed reader: each time this claim changes status, adds a year to its history or is revised, a new item appears there.
Registry updates by email
At most one email a month, sent only when something has changed: claims that change status, new claims, Lab predictions registered or resolved, new studies and new books.
Sign-ups are handled by Systeme.io, the service that runs the newsletter. Every email has a link to unsubscribe with one click.
Other claims in this domain
- ReportedA larger working memory does not make an archer more accurate3 studies · 79 archers measuredStatus since 2012
- ReportedA longer quiet eye improves shooting accuracy3 studies · 58 archers measuredStatus since 2017
- ReportedA mental profile tells archers apart from athletes in other sports only in part5 studies · 550 archers measuredStatus since 2018
- ReportedA mental training programme improves the elite archer's mood1 study · 16 archers measuredStatus since 2023
- ReportedA mental training programme reduces burnout in elite archers1 study · 16 archers measuredStatus since 2023