Course

Physical Education

Exam Board

OCR - click here for more information

For more information contact Head of Department:

Mrs J Cartlidge - jcartlidge@stedmunds.org

Brief introduction to subject:

Click here for more information about the course

Students are expected to allocate three hours per week to independent study on top of the two hours per week of set prep. This will include two pieces of assessed written work – normally based around examination questions. Students should conduct their own research, reading and investigation into areas of particular interest. They are encouraged to interact with the department google classrooms where articles, videos and events are publicised and discussed.

Students are encouraged to take DVDs and books from the extensive department library in order to extend their  knowledge of the subject beyond the specification.

The course will appeal to students who have a practical and/or academic interest in Physical Education. You should have a real desire to develop your theoretical knowledge of the subject and a willingness to develop practically both in terms of performance and analysis

Key Points:

• The specification demands that you are theoretically aware as well as practically competent
• You will need to take responsibility for developing your practical performance over a period of time
• You will have opportunities to develop your independent learning through research tasks
• Students can be truly engaged in their studies by becoming active investigators rather than passive learners both in  terms of the practical and theoretical content
• Students will develop knowledge and understanding of factors that enable them and others to be physically active.
• There are three discrete areas of theoretical study. You will need to be broad in your approach.

What our students say

“I chose A level P.E due to my passion for gymnastics as well as my interest in the subject from having done GCSE P.E. Not only have I been able to improve my gymnastics skills from applying theory from the anatomy and physiology module, but I have enjoyed learning about the sociological origins of sport and how it evolved from the early 1800s. The P.E staff at St Edmund's are extremely helpful and very friendly, through private interventions and monitoring of practical performance I have been able to maximise my marks in exams and prove my grades. There are many links with P.E and other subjects such as biology and psychology, therefore it was definitely an effective A level choice to explore if this topic area was the right direction I wanted for my future.”

“I find the scientific side of the course fascinating; the way our body adapts to enable us to exercise is amazing.”

“I love the way we learn. No two lessons are ever the same – I’ve had to teach the whole class and role play a red blood cell!”

“I loved the Upper Sixth coursework; analysing my own performance was really interesting.”

“PE students tend to be competitive and the teachers regularly call upon this to push us to achieve our potential.”

Examples of engaging and proactive PE learning