Physical Education

To develop a love for sports/physical activity through improving fitness, understanding of rules and regulations, developing key skills of teamwork, communication, leadership and sportsmanship to enable students to keep fit in order to lead a healthy, active lifestyle and/or play sports to a higher level.

Key Stage 3

Course Details

The aims of the Physical Education National Curriculum are to ensure that all pupils develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities, that they are physically active for sustained periods of time, they engage in competitive sports and activities and that they lead healthy, active lives.

Course Description

Students will participate in 2 x 1 hour core PE lessons every week from year 7-11.

PE lessons aim to develop their love of sport and physical activity, develop the fitness and skills, and an understanding of the rules and regulations of sports, as well as communication, teamwork, leadership and sportsmanship to enable them to keep fit in order to lead a healthy active life and play sports to a higher level.

The Physical education curriculum allows students to experience practical participation in the following areas:

Athletics
Dance
Fitness
Games – such as netball, football, rugby, basketball, tennis, table tennis, cricket and rounders.
Gymnastics and trampolining
Swimming

Students will develop their skills and techniques in each activity and start to apply them in competitive games and events. They will also be provided with opportunities to participate in inter-form competitions where they will develop personal qualities such as teamwork, communication and commitment. They will also begin to understand what makes a performance effective and learn about the fitness requirements of different activities. Students will also develop the ability to prepare themselves for, and recover effectively from, physical activity through warming up and cooling down. Throughout each year, students will be introduced to some of the theoretical knowledge required for GCSE PE to help them understand the importance of physical activity to their health and well-being.

Students are also provided with opportunities to progress their skills further through a wide range of extra-curricular sports clubs available at break, lunchtime and after school, where they may be selected to represent the school in fixtures and competitions.

Programme of Study

Year 7

Throughout year 7 the focus of PE lessons will be creating a love for physical education.
Through games activities such as netball, basketball, rugby, football, rounders, cricket, tennis and table tennis, students will develop the core skills, basic fitness and understanding of the main rules needed to compete in a game.
In gymnastics, they will develop the basic components of a routine, focusing on using the core skills.
In swimming, students will develop the correct, and more efficient techniques for body position, arms, legs and breathing for the main strokes.
In dance, students will develop set motifs, understanding how to incorporate variations in space, levels, unison, canon and timing.
Through their fitness lessons, students will develop an understanding of the components of fitness and how to train to improve their fitness, so they can improve their performance in a variety of sports.
In athletics, they will cover the three disciplines of running, jumping and throwing, developing basic techniques and an understanding of the rules of each event.

Year 8

Throughout year 8 the focus of PE lessons will be broadening sporting experiences.
Through games activities students will develop their performance of core and advanced skills, improving their understanding of how to apply them tactically to outwit opponents.
In gymnastics they will develop routines to include travel, shaped and twisting jumps and rotations onto and over equipment.
In swimming students will improve the efficiency of technique for body position, arms, legs and breathing in preparation for competitions in the main strokes.
In dance students will develop an understanding of how to choreograph a dance around a stimulus, focusing on body posture/alignment, tension and use of space, levels and flight.
Through their fitness lessons, students will develop an understanding of how to improve their fitness using a variety of methods, incorporating the FITT principles of training.
In athletics students will focus on developing their speed/power and distance of their runs/jumps/throws, understanding how to adapt their approach, execution and follow through to improve their performance.

Assessment

Students will be awarded a level they are working at on each sport/activity they take part in during their PE lessons throughout each year. An average of their levels across the sports will be reported home 3 times a year.

Assessments are based on the 4 levels, and whether they are beginning to perform those skills, performing them sometimes, frequently or consistently.

Acquiring– students can perform some core skills in isolation with some consistency
Developing– students can perform most core skills in isolation with good consistency
Applying– students can perform all core skills and some advanced skills in a variety of situations (against a partner, under pressure, in a sequence) with very good consistency
Mastering– students can perform all skills in competitive situations (in a game/match/routine) with excellent consistency

Home Learning

Students are encouraged to take part in sports clubs both in and out of school to develop their sporting performances further, and practice applying their skills in more competitive situations.
A list of sports clubs that students can take part in at school during break times, lunch times and after school is updated regularly.
If you would like to support your child further by joining sports clubs outside of school, please do not hesitate to contact the PE department for suggestions of suitable local clubs.

Where can Physical Education take you

Further Study

GCSE PE
BTEC Sport

Careers

How parents can support their child’s learning

Encourage your child to exercise regularly – at least 30 minutes per day
Support your child’s interest in a sport or physical activity by encouraging them to take it up as a club in or out of school.
Watch sporting events with your child to support them with their interests

Useful Links

BBC Sport – https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport
Football – FA – http://www.thefa.com/
Netball – England Netball – https://www.englandnetball.co.uk/
Rugby – RFU – https://www.englandrugby.com/
Tennis – LTA – https://www.lta.org.uk/
Gymnastics – British Gymnastics – https://www.british-gymnastics.org/
Table Tennis – Table Tennis England – https://tabletennisengland.co.uk/
Swimming – British Swimming – https://www.britishswimming.org/about-us/
Athletics – England Athletics – https://www.englandathletics.org/
Volleyball – Volleyball England – http://www.volleyballengland.org/

Key Stage 4

Course Details

GCSE PE (9-1), OCR – J587

Specification – https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/234822-specification-accredited-gcse-physical-education-j587.pdf

Course Description

The GCSE PE course requires students to develop their knowledge and understanding of physical education, physical activity and the importance of leading a healthy and active lifestyle, both through classroom study and through practical performance.

Students have three one-hour GCSE PE lessons, in addition to their two compulsory one-hour lessons in core PE. Two lessons each week are in a classroom, with written homework set on a weekly basis. In GCSE PE students work in mixed-gender groups.

Students should already enjoy their PE lessons and have an interest in studying about the importance of leading a healthy and active lifestyle.

It is imperative that students take part in sports competitively both in and out of school as they have to keep a record of all competitive matches / events they take part in for 3 sports for their practical assessment.

In order to achieve higher grades in the practical assessment, students should be competing in at least 1 of their sports outside of school, and a minimum of 3 sports in school, representing the school in fixtures.

Programme of Study

The course contains 3 sections:

1) Physical Factors Affecting Performance

Skeletal system
Muscular system
Respiratory system
Cardiovascular system
Short and long-term effects of an active, healthy lifestyle
Aerobic and anaerobic exercise and training
Components of fitness
Principles of training
Methods of training
Prevention of injury

2) Socio-cultural Issues and Sport Psychology

3) Performance in Physical Education

Students will be assessed in three sporting activities.
At least one of the performances must be in a team activity and at least one must be an individual activity.
You cannotbe assessed in the same sport twice e.g. Table Tennis as an individual and as a team performance.
Students will also complete an ‘Evaluating and Applying Performance’ written task. In this, students will need to evaluate the performance of a sportsperson, identify strengths and weaknesses and explain how they would improve the performance level using a range of different techniques

Assessment

Students will be assessed on each of the 3 sections of the course by:

1) Physical Factors Affecting Performance Exam

60 marks
1 hour
30% of overall GCSE grade

2) Socio-cultural Issues and Sport Psychology Exam

60 marks
1 hour
30% of overall GCSE grade

3) Performance in Physical Education

80 marks
40% of overall GCSE grade
- 3 sports – 10% each (1 individual, 1 team, 1 either)
- 1 x AEP – 10 %
The practical assessment of 3 sports takes place throughout the course, with the final assessment in February/March of year 11.
Students may then be selected to attend the external practical moderation after March 31^st.
Students will need to provide evidence of all the matches/competitions they have competed in throughout the course for each sport (both in and out of school).
Students being assessed in the following sports will also need to provide video evidence of key skills, and their performances in competitions.
- boxing, equestrian, kayaking, rock climbing, swimming, skiing/snowboarding
Students will also complete an EAP through the summer of year 10, into year 11 where they will have 14 hours in class to assess the fitness and skill requirements of a chosen sport, evaluate their own / a partners’ performance in that sport and create a training programme to improve a chosen skill. These will be externally assessed by the practical moderator from 31^stMarch in year 11

Home Learning

Students will be given homework tasks each week to complete, these will be set on Google classroom and include activities such as:

Create a poster to show the structure and function of a body system
Complete a quiz on show my homework to check understanding of a topic
Answer exam questions on a topic
Research a specific topic, such as the effects of exercise on the cardiovascular system
Create a presentation to deliver in class on a topic such as the characteristics of a skill

As well as completing the weekly homework tasks, students should be reading through their class notes after each lesson to check what they understood, so they can ask their teacher questions or for more help if needed, as well as to help them store the information learnt in their long term memory.

To help them with revision for the exams, students should create revision resources for each topic as they are learning them, rather than leave it all to the end, as this will save them time in year 11, and also help store the information in their long term memory as they will be recalling it more regularly.

Where can Physical Education take you

Further Study

A level PE
BTEC Sport level 3
Degrees in Sport Science, Sports Coaching, Sports Journalism, Physiotherapy, Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies, Business Administration and Management

Careers

How parents can support their child’s learning

Ask your child to describe what they learnt in their lesson
Get your child to teach you something they learnt today, see if they can help you remember it, as this will help ensure they understand it and consolidate their own learning.
Get your child to regularly create revision posters / flashcards to help recap information
Use your child’s workbooks / revision posters / flash cards to ask them questions and test their knowledge / help them to revise it regularly e.g. on a car journey, whilst making/eating dinner.
Encourage your child to take part in sports clubs in and out of school and support them with it
Watch sports matches / events with your child, and ask them questions that would relate to GCSE PE theory, such as; which muscles are the athletes using in that skill?; which components of fitness are important for that athlete?; what kind of training would you need to do to improve your fitness and skills for that sport?; What are (athlete’s names) strengths and weaknesses in their performance.

Useful Links

BBC Bitesize – https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/examspecs/ztrcg82
GCSE Pod – https://www.gcsepod.com/
Brian Mac – Fitness Tests – https://www.brianmac.co.uk/eval.htm
Glossary of terms – https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/281625-glossary-of-terms.pdf
OCR GCSE book (9-1) PE Second Edition – amazon.co.uk/OCR-GCSE-9-1-PE-Second/dp/1471851729
Teach PE.com – revision quizzes – https://www.teachpe.com/gcse-revision-quizzes

Term Dates News Policies Accessibility Statement Work With Us

High Oaks, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 6DR | Tel: 01727 853047 | Email: admin@townsend.herts.sch.uk