David S said: I've heard it's rare for European athletes to run on school teams like we do in the US...
it is not that it is rare for schools to have teams, it is that the way it is organised is very different from the US.
1. schools do not, for the most part, have coaches, or tracks of their own. some will, but these will usually be what we call public schools, but because we use language differently to you that actually means they are private schools that their parents pay for. students at state funded schools will normally rely on whatever public facilities are available in their area.
2. athletes join clubs, and represent their clubs in various age-appropriate leagues. they can additionally be selected by their school to run in dual meets with other schools, and in two levels of championship races against other athletes of their age.
level 1 is at county level, which is kind of analogous to state champs for US high schoolers.
level 2 is the national schools (English schools, Scottish schools and Welsh schools all have their own championships).
the relationship between clubs and schools is apparently designed to cause friction. many clubs spend a lot of time and effort developing their youngsters and not unreasonably expect some return on that investment with the athlete representing them at their league meets. there is frequently resentment when school meets clash with club fixtures or the club coach thinks the school meet is not appropriate for the athlete's needs. whether this works or not depends a lot on the personalities involved. add needy parents into the mix and you can frequently have a volcano on your hands.
cheers.