At the Alice Smith School Faculty of Physical Education we believe that there is a sport for everyone. The benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle are well documented and we try to offer a broad and balanced curriculum, with enjoyment at the heart of it, to encourage all students to continue taking part in physical activity long after they have left school.

We teach all Key Stages in mixed ability groups and ensure that all lessons are differentiated to cater for each individual pupil’s needs.

The key processes that underpin our curriculum delivery are;

Developing Skills in Physical Activity

• Refining and adapting skills into techniques
• Developing the range of skills used
• Developing the precision, control and fluency of their skills

Making and Applying Decisions

• Selecting and using tactics, strategies and compositional ideas effectively in different creative, competitive and challenge-type contexts
• Refining and adapting ides and plans in response to changing circumstances
• Planning and implementing what needs practising to be more effective in performance
• Recognising hazards and making decisions about how to control any risks to themselves and others

Developing Physical and Mental Capabilities

• Developing their physical strength, stamina, speed and flexibility to cope with the demands of different activities
• Developing their mental determination to succeed

Evaluating and Improving

• Analysing performances, identifying strengths and weaknesses
• Making decisions about what to do to improve their performance and the performance of others
• Acting on these decisions in future performances
• Be clear about what they want to achieve in their own work and what they have actually achieved

Making Informed Choices About Healthy Active Lifestyles

• Identifying the types of activity they are best suited to
• Identifying the types of role they would like to take on
• Making choices about their involvement in healthy physical activity

Year 7 to 9 follow a foundation course of activities that progress from learning the basic skills of all the sports , through to playing the full recognised versions of the game. They follow each acivity for half a term.

Each pupil is assessed by the UK national curriculum levels and approximately they should reach the following levels by the end of each year;

• Year 7 – Level 4
• Year 8 – Level 5
• Year 9 – Level 6

Each student is tracked over the key stage and assessed in each area of activity, the final level is decided by a best fit model that takes into account the students strengths.

At Key Stage 4 and 5 all pupils are given a choice of activities that they want to follow. These build on the work of the previous three years and are far more rooted in refinement of skills within full game situations. They must follow two activities over Year 10 and 11, the others are their choice. In Key Stage 4 pupils are given the opportunity to follow newer courses such as sports leadership and yoga.

Paper 1: Written Paper: 1 hour 45 minutes — 40%
This paper is in three parts:

• Part I — multiple-choice questions
• Part II — short-answer questions
• Part III — scenario questions.

Candidates will be expected to attempt all the questions in each part of the paper. The specification content for this paper covers the Factors Affecting Participation and Performance and is divided into three sections:

A. Exercise and Training
B. Safety Aspects and Risk Assessment in Physical Activity and Sport
C. Applied Anatomy and Physiology.

All three sections will be covered in each part of Paper 1.
The short answer questions will require the following style of response: the labelling
of diagrams; the supplying of missing information; the interpretation or the
presentation of information on graphs, and factual recall.

Where candidates are asked to explain, marks will be awarded for the provision of
accurate reasons to support the explanation.

The scenario questions will enable candidates to apply their understanding of the
theoretical content to a specific case study, linking different areas of the
specification.

Paper 2: Practical activities — 60%
Candidates will be required to offer four activities for assessment and to complete
an Analysis of Performance in one of these activities.

Unit 1: The social basis of sport and recreation
Section A: UK and the European context
Section B: Issues in Sport: The Olympic Case Study

Unit 2: Enhancing performance
Section A: Acquiring Skill
Section B: Option A – Practical Application
or Option B – Research Project
Section C: Performance: Analysis and Provision

Unit 3: Exercise and training

Unit 4: Global trends in international sport
Section A: Differing Cultures
Section B: Synoptic Analysis of Trends in International Sport

Unit 5: Refining performance
Section A: Factors Affecting Performance
Section B: Personal Exercise Programme
Section C: Option A – Practical Performance
or Option B – Investigative Study

Unit 6: Scientific principles of exercise and performance
Section A: Exercise and Energy Systems
Section B: Option A – Sports Mechanics
or Option B – Sports Psychology
Section C: Synoptic Analysis of Scientific Principles

www.physicaleducation.co.uk
www.pe4u.co.uk
www.edexcel.org.uk