Physical Education
Subject Introduction
By the time students leave our school, we want them to be confident, resilient individuals who understand the value of physical education in their lives. We aim to equip them with the skills and mindset to lead active, healthy lifestyles and to carry the lessons learned in PE into all areas of life.
In every lesson, we encourage students to have high expectations of themselves and others. Our goal is to create a positive and inclusive environment where all learners can participate, enjoy themselves, and experience success regardless of their starting point or skill level.
We focus on developing core, transferable skills such as resilience, confidence, problem-solving, teamwork, leadership, officiating, and time management. These attributes not only support achievement in sport but also prepare students for life beyond school. To expand students’ cultural capital, we introduce a wide range of sports from around the world. This helps learners explore new interests, respect diverse traditions, and engage more deeply with global perspectives.
Above all, we aim to inspire a lifelong love of physical activity. Through our curriculum, students gain the knowledge to make informed choices about their health and wellbeing- physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally. We want them to leave school motivated, empowered, and ready to embrace the benefits of an active lifestyle.
core pe
During year 7 core PE aims to:
• Bridge gaps in physical literacy from primary school.
• Build confidence in core movement and teamwork.
• Learn and build on fundamental movement skills: running, jumping, throwing, catching
• Learn and build on agility, balance, coordination (ABCs)
• Start to introduce basic team games and rule understanding
• Learn about safe movement, spatial awareness, and body control
• Introduce correct warm-ups, cool-down, and body awareness
• Start to show respect for rules, equipment, and peers
• Learn to win and lose respectfully
During year 8 core PE aims to:
• Develop personal, emotional, and social skills through sport and physical activity
• Embed values that support lifelong learning
• Apply skills in small-sided/conditioned games
• Have students show teamwork, cooperation, and leadership in sport
• For students who cannot actively participate, have roles beyond playing eg: officiating, warm-ups, planning
• Link the schools' co-operative values (below) to lessons
• Resilience: managing challenges and setbacks
• Self-help: responsibility for kit, organisation, and effort
• Self-responsibility: ownership of learning and behaviour
• Communication: teamwork, listening, and leadership
• Respect: for people, rules, and space
• Democracy: shared decision-making and inclusion
• Equality & Equity: fair opportunities and supporting all abilities
During Year 9 core PE aims to:
• Apply tactical awareness and strategic thinking in competitive and cooperative contexts
• Explore attacking/defending principles: width, depth, support, pressure
• Have students think about reading play and making decisions under pressure
• Have students adapt tactics based on opponent and situation
• Have students show peer coaching and leadership in team games
• Use self-assessment and reflection on performance
• Refine sport-specific techniques
During year 10 Core PE aims to:
• Promote autonomy in fitness and health choices.
• Build a personal understanding of physical and mental wellbeing.
• Expose students to a wide variety of activities
• Have students understand the link between activity and long-term health
• Break down barriers to participation and building confidence
• Show and promote the importance of regular exercise for mental health
• Teach Lifestyle-related illness prevention (obesity, stress, inactivity)
During year 11 Core PE aims to:
• Support students in becoming independent, lifelong participants in physical activity.
• Emphasise ownership, enjoyment, and long-term health
• Bring awareness to mental health and self-care through movement
• Reflect on habits, motivation, and personal wellbeing
• Increase choice in PE content, focusing on student autonomy
GCSE PE
The department currently follow the OCR specification for GCSE Physical Education. The course provides students with the knowledge and understanding of sports performance; how and why the body works in physical activity, how to improve your performance, ethical issues in sport including drug use and the consequences of inactivity and poor diet.
The course is assessed both practically (30% of final mark), with performance graded in 3 sports, and theoretically (60% of final mark) in 2 x 60 min written examinations. Additionally, students will also carry out a project where they analyse their performance and fitness in a chosen activity, plan and implement an action plan in order to improve (10% of final mark).
In Year 9, 10 and 11 students will attend their core PE practical lessons focusing on individual skills and techniques, and also how they are applied within the game/competition. Students will also attend 2 theoretical lessons in order to develop the knowledge and understanding of the course content.
This specification is particularly suitable for students who wish to continue their studies in further education and for those who are interested in sport and exercise related career opportunities.
Cambridge National Sports Studies
The department added the OCR Cambridge National Sports Studies course in September 2018 in order to stretch the students who wish to focus more on the Sports Industry. The Certificate gives learners the opportunity to develop sector-specific knowledge and skills in a practical learning environment. By completing the three units, students will:
- Explore a range of topical and contemporary issues in sport.
- Develop skills, techniques and use of tactics/ strategies in both an individual and a team sporting activity, as well as their understanding of the rules to allow them to act in a number of officiating roles within an activity.
- Develop knowledge, understanding and practical skills required to be an effective sport leader and plan, deliver and review safe and effective sporting activity sessions themselves.
- Develop knowledge and understanding of careers available in sport.
- Develop knowledge and understanding of sport and the media.
The course is assessed both practically and theoretically, with internal and external assessment. The course consists of one examination unit; Contemporary Issues.
In Year 9, 10 and 11 students will attend 2 lessons focusing on the application of skills in a sporting context, as well as developing the knowledge and understanding of the course content in their coursework/ examination.
This specification is particularly suitable for students who wish to continue their studies in further education and for those who are interested in sports industry and careers within this sector.
