There is ongoing debate among educators and in the community about the status of school physical education (PE), particularly in relation to more vocationally-oriented learning areas. Against a backdrop of rising youth obesity, diminishing curriculum time for PE represents a serious public health issue. This study investigated the relationships between PE curriculum time and literacy and numeracy standards in South Australian primary schools. Schools (n= 117) were surveyed on average time spent on PE (PE[subscript time]), and salient demographic characteristics. Average literacy and numeracy scores from a standardized statewide assessment system (State LaN), were obtained from government records. Regression modelling assessed the relationship between PE[subscript time] and State LaN scores, independent of socioeconomic status (SES), percentage of children of non-English-speaking background (NESB), geographic location, staff age structure, and staff PE training. PE[subscript time] was unrelated to literacy and numeracy attainment, after control for demographic variables. There was a strong positive relationship between SES and academic attainment, while a higher proportion of younger staff predicted lower academic attainment. There was no evidence that schools with relatively high PE[subscript time] are disadvantaging students in the traditionally academic subjects. (Contains 2 tables.)