“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
– Muhammad Ali
The PE Faculty aims to support each student in finding a sport or activity that they can continue to participate in long into their adult lives.
Physical Education Department Objectives
Our aim is to deliver an inspiring and engaging curriculum that encourages students to live a healthy and active life. We deliver a wide curriculum of sporting activities and qualifications to provide a diverse experience in sport, while building the personal attributes of each student.
We achieve this by;
- Creating a curriculum program that enables student to develop competency in sports that are invasion, net and wall and aesthetic based. Where they can advance their skills while engaging in competitive sport.
- Building the whole student through roles of responsibility and leadership in lessons to advance their soft skills.
- Opportunities for competition and enrichment are offered within the curriculum and beyond, in both team and individual activities.
In physical education we aim to ensure that all students:
- Develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities
- Are physically active for sustained periods of time
- Engage in competitive sports and activities
- Lead healthy, active lives
PE kit will be needed for every lesson, even if you are ill or injured. This is because students will have a role within the lesson even if they are not a performer. They will be a coach, referee or official.
Key Stage 3
At Key stage 3, students have 3 x 75 minute lessons of PE over a 2 week cycle. During lessons students experience a dynamic and varied curriculum. PE lessons are taught in same gender groups of mixed ability. Throughout Key stage 3 students will also be taught elements of the GCSE PE course in their practical lessons.
The sporting activities undertaken by each year group at Key stage 3 are as follows:
Year 7 Girls
- Rugby, Netball, Badminton, Gymnastics, Athletics, Volleyball and Rounders.
Year 7 Boys
- Rugby, Basketball, Badminton, Gymnastics, Athletics, Volleyball and Cricket.
Year 8 & 9 Girls
- Rugby, Netball, Volleyball, Badminton, Gymnastics/ Trampolining, Athletics and Rounder’s.
Year 8 & 9 Boys
- Rugby, Basketball, Badminton, football, Fitness/Kinesthetics, Athletics, Volleyball and Cricket.
Key Stage 4
Physical Education (Core Subject)
At Key stage 4 students continue to have 3 x 75 minute lessons of PE over a 2 week cycle. Each term students are given options to select the sports they would like to participate in per Term.
- The sports options at key stage 4 are:
- Year 10 and 11 Girls: Badminton, Volleyball, Netball, Basketball, Dance, Trampolining, Rugby, Dodgeball, Table tennis, Athletics, Handball, Rounders and Fitness .
- Year 10 and 11 Boys: Badminton, Volleyball, American Football, Dodgeball, Basketball, Football, Athletics, Cricket, Fitness, Table Tennis, Rugby, ultimate Frisbee, Handball.
At the end of year 8 pupils have the option to study a qualification in sport, as an addition to core PE. Students have the option to study Sport Science and BTEC Sport, which can lead onto studying A-level PE and BTEC PE.
GCSE Sport Science
Year 9 Foundation Year
You will learn:
- The structure and function of the body systems.
- Advance skill and game development of practical abilities in a range of activities, taken from the areas of Invasion Games, Net/Wall Games and Individual and Striking/Fielding Games.
- The creation of movement in sport, through understanding of levers, axis and planes.
- The relationship between health and fitness and the impact of exercise.
Year 10 and Year 11
Key GCSE Content:
- Mastering the execution of skills and game play in a range of activities taken from areas of invasion and net/wall games as well as outdoor education activities such as rock climbing and kayaking.
- An introduction to specialise in training methods and styles and types of fitness testing.
- Knowledge of the human body and how it responds to exercise.
- Understanding of social factors affecting sports participation.
90 mark Written Exam
36% of qualification
Fitness and Body System
- Topic 1: Applied Anatomy and Physiology
- Topic 2: Movement and Analysis
- Topic 3: Physical training
- Topic 4: Use of Data
70 mark Written Exam
24% of qualification
Health and Performance
- Topic 1: Health, Fitness and wellbeing
- Topic 2: Sport Psychology
- Topic 3: Socio-cultural influence
- Topic 4: Use of Data
105 mark Practical Assessment
30% of qualification.
The assessment consists of students completing three physical activities from a set list.
One must be a team activity and the other must be an individual activity and the final activity can be a free choice.
20 mark Coursework
10% of qualification.
Students have to produce and execute a Personal Exercise Program (PEP) and analyse/evaluate their performance in a written report.
BTEC Technical Award
Year 9 Foundation Year
Students will learn the fundamentals of how the cardiorespiratory system and musculoskeletal system work, identifying how this directly relates to sport. This will link in with injuries sustained and how rehabilitation can assist the sports performer.
Year 10 and Year 11
- The structure and function of the body systems and its impact on sport.
- Understand how to develop a training program to improve an individual's performance.
- Assess and evaluate sports performance and apply the principles to advance progress.
Understanding the Body and the Supporting Technology for Sport and Activity
Internally assessed assignment
- the physiological impact of the cardiorespiratory and the musculoskeletal system on a participant’s engagement in sport and activity.
- the different common sporting injuries, the causes and the related management and rehabilitation
- different technologies, how they enhance sport and activity, and how they support rehabilitation
- elements that are considered most important in leadership, including organisation, communication and problem-solving skills
- the physiological and psychological benefits that participants can gain as a result of their engagement in sport and activity
- processes that underpin effective ways of working in the sport sector, such as planning, delivering and reviewing a sport or physical activity session to a variety of target groups.
The Principles of Training, Nutrition and Psychology for Sport and Activity.
70 mark written exam
This component requires learners to apply knowledge and understanding to plan a fitness-training programme and to recommend nutritional guidance for participants to improve fitness and performance.
Applying the Principles of Sport and Activity.
Internally assessed assignment and leadership project
Components of the unit:
- Understand the fundamentals of sport and activity leadership
- Planning sessions for target groups
- Delivering and reviewing sessions for target groups
Key Stage 5
BTEC Level 3 Sport
The BTEC Sport course covers topics such as:
- Anatomy and Physiology
- Fitness training and programming
- Professional development in the Sports industry.
Pathways also exist to provide a more directed career route; these are Sports Psychology and Sports Leadership. We have an outstanding pass rate on this course with 100% of our students attaining Distinction* in 2017 and Distinction to Distinction * in 2018.
Many of our students chose to study Sports Science at higher educational institutions, and out of those that have applied 100% have successfully gained places. Students have gone on to study degrees and foundation courses at such places as Loughborough, Brunel, St Mary’s, University of Bath and the University of Birmingham. Alternatively our students go onto do apprenticeships in sport, where they have gone onto become exceptional coaches and teachers.
Unit 1: Anatomy and Physiology
External assessed exam
80 mark exam
Learners explore how the skeletal, muscular, cardiovascular and respiratory systems function and the fundamentals of the energy systems.
- AO1 Demonstrate knowledge of body systems, structures, functions, characteristics, definitions and other additional factors affecting each body system.
- AO2 Demonstrate understanding of each body system, the short- and long-term effects of sport and exercise on each system and additional factors that can affect body systems in relation to exercise and sporting performance
- AO3 Analyse exercise and sports movements, how the body responds to short-term and long-term exercise and other additional factors affecting each body system
- AO4 Evaluate how body systems are used and how they interrelate in order to carry out exercise and sporting movements
Unit 2: Fitness Training and programming or Heath, Sport and well-being
Externally assessed exam.
60 mark exam
Learners explore client screening and lifestyle assessment, fitness training methods and fitness programming to support improvements in a client’s health and well-being.
Students are given a case study a week before the exam to carry out preparatory work. The students then have to interpret lifestyle factors and health screening data from a scenario, in order to develop and justify a training program and provide nutritional advice.
- AO1 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the effects of lifestyle choices on an individual’s health and well-being
- AO2 Apply knowledge and understanding of fitness principles and theory, lifestyle modification techniques, nutritional requirements and training methods to an individual’s needs and goals
- AO3 Analyse and interpret screening information relating to an individual’s lifestyle questionnaire and health monitoring tests
- AO4 Evaluate qualitative and quantitative evidence to make informed judgements about how an individual’s health and well-being could be improved
- AO5 Be able to develop a fitness training programme with appropriate justification
Unit 3 : Professional Development in the Sport Industry
Learners explore the knowledge and skills required for different career pathways in the sports industry. Learners will take part in, and reflect on, a personal skills audit, career action plan and practical interview assessment activities.
- Understand the career and job opportunities in the sports industry
- Explore own skills using a skills audit to inform a career development action plan
- Undertake a recruitment activity to demonstrate the processes that can lead to a successful job offer in a selected career pathway
- Reflect on the recruitment and selection process and your individual performance.
Unit 7: Practical Sports Performance
Learners study the skills, techniques, tactics and rules of selected sports through active participation in individual/team sports.
- Examine National Governing Body rules/laws and regulations for selected sports competitions
- Examine the skills, techniques and tactics required to perform in selected sports
- Develop skills, techniques and tactics for sporting activity in order to meet sport aims
- Reflect on own practical performance using selected assessment methods