The PE Department at Alderbrook is a vibrant, prominent and popular subject area within the school. The Department currently consists of eight members of staff, who have a diverse range of sporting experiences and specialisms. Consequently, the Department is well equipped to deliver a broad, inclusive and varied curriculum that develops pupils who enjoy and appreciate sport and physical activity. This is achieved through developing both generic and sport specific skills and technique. Alongside this there is a great emphasis on building knowledge of fitness and healthy lifestyles, as well as, desirable personal attributes such as a positivity, integrity, reliability and motivation.
The school is well equipped with Sports Facilities. These include a Sports Hall, Fitness Suite, Gym, Dance Studio, Tennis and Netball Courts, as well as, Football, Rugby and Cricket pitches. The school also has links with local sports providers. For example, Tudor Grange Leisure Centre which hosts the Schools Athletics Championship.
The Department runs a plethora of representative teams as part of an extensive extra-curricular programme. Students and staff alike take a great deal of pride in these teams and it is possible to keep up to date with fixtures and results via the Alderbrook School PE Twitter feed.
PE Kit:
As a department we set very high standards with PE kit. It is an expectation for a student to arrive to PE lessons fully prepared for the activity being undertaken to ensure that safety is paramount at all times. Students who are injured or prevented from taking part in an activity are expected to wear PE kit so they can still contribute to their learning in other ways such as: leader, coach or official.
Year 7
On arrival at Alderbrook School, students in Year 7 carry out a base line assessment programme across a broad range of activity areas. Students benefit greatly by becoming familiar with the demands of the subject and experiencing the breadth of study, whilst staff are able to gather data that can be used to set the students into ability based groups.
Year 7 and 8
Across Year 7 and 8, pupils participate in a wide range of activities throughout the year, such as:
| Games Based | Non Games Based | Summer Activities |
| Rugby | Fitness | Athletics |
| Football | Gymnastics | Tennis |
| Netball | Badminton | Rounders |
| Hockey | Capture the Flag/Dodgeball | Cricket |
| Basketball | Dance | Softball |
| Volleyball | Team Building | |
| Handball | Trampolining |
At Alderbrook, we believe PE should offer a learning opportunity regardless of ability level or activity. Students will be set in ability groups to allow students to be challenged in lessons that are tailored to suit the requirements, needs or interests of similar ability levels. Consequently, this not only raises achievement but also the student’s enjoyment of PE at school.
Generally, the duration of these activities is one half-term. Each activity is continually assessed and related to their threshold which relates to both the student’s practical and academic abilities to ensure progress is being measured across different activity areas. Attainment data is used to assist with setting, lesson planning and predicted grades at GCSE /Cambridge National level.
All pupils continue to receive 2 hours of PE per week. During these lessons they will follow a curriculum broadly similar to that in Key Stage 3, with more freedom to specialise in their preferred areas of interest.
GCSE PE
Examination Board:
AQA
Assessment
Paper 1: The human body and movement in physical activity and sport
Written exam: 1 hour 15 minutes (78 marks) – Each paper has a combination of multiple choice, short answer and two long answer questions.
30% of GCSE
Paper 2: Socio-cultural influences and well-being in physical activity and sport
Written exam: 1 hour 15 minutes (78 marks)
30% of GCSE
Non-exam assessment: Practical performance in physical activity and sport
Practical performance in 3 different physical activities in the role of player/performer (one in a team activity, one in an individual activity and a third either in a team or in an individual activity. (75 marks)
30% of GCSE
Analysis and Evaluation
A written piece of coursework based on strengths and weaknesses of a practical performance in one of the chosen activity areas. Highlighting how the performance could be improved. (25marks)
10% of GCSE
What Will You Learn?
Subject content
Applied anatomy and physiology
Health, fitness and well-being
Who Is This Course For?
This course is suitable for students aiming to develop mastery in a number of different physical activities, and so it is essential that students are already competing regularly and competitively in a number of activities prior to starting the course. It is also essential that students have a firm interest in the physiological and psychological factors that impact, sport as well as, the socio cultural influences that affect people’s involvement in physical activity.
Level 2 Certificate
Cambridge Nationals
Examination Board:
OCR
Assessment:
Cambridge Nationals in Sport is targeted at 13-16 year olds in a school environment. It is available as an Award and a Certificate, with the Certificate being the same size as a GCSE. They use both internal (teacher assessed) and external (exam board assessed) assessments.
What Will You Learn?
The course unit are:
Contemporary issues in sport –written paper 1 hour
Developing sports skills – internally assessed and OCR moderated
Sports Leadership – internally assessed and OCR moderated
Sport and the media – internally assessed and OCR moderated
Who is This Course For?
This course is for students who have strong interest in PE and might be considering a career in the sports and active leisure sector, rather than just to participate in sport as recreation. It will give students the opportunity to gain a broad understanding and knowledge of, and develop skills in, the sport sector, e.g. the health and fitness industry or sports leadership.
What Happens When You Finish? (Career Pathway)
Both of these examination courses provide the knowledge, understanding and skills for students to progress to: other level 2 vocational qualifications, level 3 vocational qualifications, such as Cambridge Technicals of BTEC Nationals, academic qualifications, such as A level in Physical Education and employment within the sports and active leisure industry, such as junior roles working in the health and fitness industry, for example, physiotherapy or sports nutrition.
Sport and fitness is a huge industry and you can be part of it. If you’re keen on sport you can make a healthy living from your passion. Whether that’s working for a football club, as a personal trainer at the local gym, or training to be a physiotherapist, there are lots of opportunities. From professional sport through to amateur teams and individuals who just want to get in shape, sport and fitness is a fast-growing business. Best of all, you could be in a career doing something that you love.
A-Level PE
PE Year 1
Paper 1: Factors affecting participation in physical activity and sport
Units Taught:
Section A: Applied anatomy and physiology
Section B: Skill acquisition
Section C: Sport and society
How it’s assessed in Year 13?
Written exam: 2 hours
105 marks
35 % of A-level
Types of Questions
Section A: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing (35 marks)
Section B: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing (35 marks)
Section C: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing (35 marks)
PE Year 2
Paper 2: Factors affecting optimal performance in physical activity and sport
Units Taught:
Section A: Exercise physiology and biomechanics
Section B: Sport psychology
Section C: Sport and society and technology in sport
How it’s assessed in Year 13?
Written exam: 2 hours
105 marks
35 % of A-level
Types of Questions
Section A: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing (35 marks)
Section B: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing (35 marks)
Section C: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing (35 marks)
What’s assessed
Students assessed as a performer or coach in the full sided version of one activity
Plus:
Written/verbal analysis of performance
. Internal assessment, external moderation
. 90 marks
. 30% of A Level
Sports Science, Sport, Exercise and Health Science, Sport and Leisure Management and Education.
Minimum grade 6 in GCSE PE or BTEC Distinction.
‘Sports do not build character, they reveal it.’
John Wooden
Alderbrook PE Department offers a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities for pupils. This includes representative teams that regularly compete and achieve success at Borough and County level. The Department also offers many opportunities for pupils to access sport at a recreational level. These Clubs are accessible to pupils before, during and after school hours.
Netball, Football, Basketball, Rugby, Badminton, Fitness, Cheerleading, Trampolining, Gymnastics.
Tennis, Rounders, Athletics, Cricket, Swimming, Table Tennis, Cross Country, Indoor Rowing, Rock Climbing, Cycling.
At Alderbrook we aim to provide enrichment opportunities for our pupils beyond those accessed in the curriculum. PE Staff dedicate a lot of time to ensuring pupils extend their sporting experiences through trips and events.
The Award’s objective is to develop young people’s personal skills and to broaden their range of experiences.
The school is a licenced centre that provides the opportunity for students to participate in this nationally recognised qualification. The award is open to students in Year 10, with places allocated using an application process.
There are four sections which involve learning a new skill; undertaking a service to others, for example, charity work; participating in physical recreation and undertaking expeditions in Blackwell Court and the Peak District.
Achievement in PE in an academic or practical form, often leads to pupils developing skills and qualities that are much sort after by further and higher education establishments as well as industries that extend past sports and leisure to business, engineering and even medicine.
For those pupils who aspire to following an academic route on leaving school, many Universities offer a wide variety of sports courses at degree level in the field of Sports and Exercise Sciences. Such a qualification can lead to careers in Sports Psychology, Physiotherapy, Sports Nutrition, Fitness Testing, Data Analysis, Coaching and Teaching.
The days when career opportunities in sport were limited to teaching or those few professional coaching and playing jobs are long gone. The rise of the Leisure Industry has stimulated a proliferation in the range of sports careers offered at local, national and international level. There has been a huge increase in jobs in coaching, developing and administrating sport across the spectrum of levels of sport.
Leisure jobs have turned keen exercisers and sports people into professional fitness instructors and sports business entrepreneurs. Private and public organisations provide a variety of jobs which aid people entering sport and activity at grass roots level right through to the highest level of international and professional sport.
As well as careers in sport and leisure many industries want skills and qualities which have been learned, developed and ingrained in the PE curriculum. Team work, problem solving, leadership, determination, perseverance, analysis, organisation and motivation. Industries looking for PE achievers include the Forces, Business and Sales.
Skills that can be gained from studying PE can be Personal Organisation, Tenacity, Collaboration and Flexibility.
For further information, please contact Mr J Scott
