Boris Johnson has called for more PE in schools, despite the fact that Britain recently plummeted in international league tables for reading, science and maths.
The mayor, something of a self-appointed figurehead for the Games, has in recent weeks been extolling the virtue of sports on the back of Team GB’s huge success in the Olympics.
On Thursday, BoJo called for children to do “two hours a day” of school sport in an effort to build on the legacy of London 2012.
The mayor also suggested revamping the notion of the ‘Big Society’, saying that he would like to see Team London volunteers, who have already been CRB-checked, "mobilised" after the Games to "train kids up" in sports.
"I think the government totally understands people's appetite for this, they can see the benefits of sport and what it does for young people,” he said. “I think they understand very, very clearly the social and economic advantages."
"I would like to see, frankly, the kind of regime I used to enjoy - compulsory two hours sport every day... I've no doubt that is the sort of thing that would be wonderful for kids across this country.
He added: "I think it is of profound importance for the happiness and success of this country that we have more sport in schools."
However, the notion of allocating two out of the seven school hours a day to sports will dishearten campaigners looking for an improvement in basic academic standards, particularly when secondary school pupils in the UK are increasingly falling behind their international counterparts.
According to Pisa (Programme for International Students Assessment), the UK does not even make the top 10 when it comes to reading skills, with science and maths performing no better.
The move by Johnson may well be viewed by Downing Street as another point of antagonism between the Mayor’s office and Number 10, especially as the government has recently been criticised for scrapping the two-hours-a-week compulsory target for sports in schools.
On Thursday, Boris emphasised that the widening participation in sport after the Games was of "profound" importance, and claimed that ministers "totally understand" the public's renewed appetite for sport and the social and economic advantages it could bring.
However, when asked about the two-hours-a-week target, he said: "I would like to see two hours a day."
Prime Minister David Cameron warned on Wednesday there would have to be a "big cultural change" in schools if Britain was to build a successful sporting legacy in the wake of the London Olympics.
Cameron defended the decision to cut targets for two hours a week of school sport, arguing that Labour's approach had been counter-productive.
"If you just simply sit there in Whitehall and set a target but don't actually do anything to help schools meet it, you are not really solving the problem," he told London's LBC 97.3 radio station.
"By just saying 'Look, I want you to do this many hours a week' some schools think 'Right, as I've hit that minimum requirement, I've ticked the box and I can give up.'"
"Frankly, if the only problem was money, you'd solve this with money," he said.
"The problem has been too many schools not wanting to have competitive sport, some teachers not wanting to join in and play their part."
His comments drew an angry response from teaching unions who pointed to cuts to the School Sport Partnership and the continued sell-off of school playing fields, despite coalition promises that they would be protected.
On Friday, school sports provision came under fire from Lord Moynihan, chairman of the British Olympic Association, who said private-school dominance of the 2012 Games was "unacceptable".