Physical Education

The Physical Education curriculum is designed to be accessible for all pupils. We have one 60 minute PE lesson per week where every child will gain the opportunity to learn new skills, experience a range of sports and enjoy themselves.

Course information: 

All Year groups will access a rotation of sports throughout the year. The foundations of the programme are based around offering students a balanced mixture of team, individual, developmental and lifesaving sports. These key components will create physically literate students who are able to enjoy and succeed in sport, whilst developing the key knowledge they require to lead healthy lives in the future. 

Year 7 – 11 

Term 1

• Swimming
• Athletic Development
• Invasion Games 

Term 2

• Athletic Development
• Basketball
• Tag Rugby
• Badminton

Term 3

• Athletic Development
• Athletics
• Softball/Rounders

We offer this age group the opportunity to take part in sport in an informal environment, encouraging them to pursue a sport of their choice. Many will opt to make use of the gym facilities and our coaching staff will be on hand to offer personalised programmes so that the pupils are using the equipment productively and appropriately.

This is built into our PE programme and allows all students to learn to move efficiently and functionally. It focusses on building physical resilience and the core movements that underpin athletic performance. 

The key physical elements, such as speed, power and coordination will all be developed and the students will be tracked through a selection of fitness tests every term to measure their progress and allow the coaching staff to give relevant and individual feedback. 

Athlete Development Programme

We are committed to providing top class support to our high performing athletes. Identified students who demonstrate sporting potential are invited to work 1:1 with our Head of Strength and Conditioning as part of our Athlete Development programme. Additional work with relevant Heads of Sport, ensure that the athlete is developing both physically, psychologically and technically throughout their time at Queen’s.

In order to push our pupils to achieve their potential, all of our identified athletes are brought into our Athlete Development Programme. Pupils will have access to: 

• Regular, relevant seminars on topics surrounding sport such as sport psychology, nutrition and careers in sport. 
• Weekly athletic development sessions, which will increase in number during the on-season. 
• Tracking of athletic performance, including weekly loading to help boost performance and reduce injury occurrence.
• Regular meetings and discussions with the Heads of Sport.
• Small group sessions and 1 to 1 coaching. 

Strength and Conditioning 

Mr Deven Bell is our head of Strength and Conditioning and  oversees our Athletic development programme, using his years of experience to develop training programmes for our students. He works closely with all students, through the PE programme or our Athlete Development programme, which targets our identified athletes. Deven uses his expertise to ensure that all students develop a high level of physical literacy and resilience to injury. His also works with all Heads of Sport to develop sport specific programmes for the pupils.

Students are given the option to study the AQA physical education course at GCSE. 

Why study PE? 

A GCSE in Physical Education is a great place to start your journey into finding out more about the many factors that impact upon our performance; be it our anatomy and physiology, our individual psychology, how we are taught or how the world around us plays a part in sport as a whole. 

It is a great foundation for moving on to an A level in PE or a BTEC in Sport. It is also suited to other subjects such as Biology, Psychology, Business and Geography. 

Career possibilities include Physiotherapist,, PE Teacher or Coach, Fitness Instructor, Sport Psychologist, Doctor, Leisure Centre Manager, Performance Analyst etc. 

Course information and assessment 

The course is both theoretically (60%) and practically (40%) assessed. 

The theory content is assessed by two 1 hour 15 minute papers worth 78 marks. 

Paper one: ‘The human body and movement in physical activity and sport’ 

• Applied Anatomy and Physiology, 
• Movement Analysis, 
• Physical Training 
• Use of Data. 

Paper two: ‘Socio-cultural influences and well-being in physical activity and sport’

• Sport Psychology, 
• Social-cultural Influences, 
• Health, Fitness and Wellbeing
• Use of Data.  

Both papers have a mixture of multiple choice, short and long answer questions. Paper one is taught in the first year of the GCSE, paper two in the second year. Both are examined at the end of year 11.

The practical assessment comes under the Non-Exam Assessment, which combines performance in three different sports with a written assignment on the analysis and evaluation of the student’s own performance in their specialist sport. Students must be able to perform competently in a team and individual sport, and in at least one other of either grouping. It is recommended that they should be representing Queen’s College in at least one sport. 

Students will have five lessons over the two week timetable, with three in the classroom for the theory and two with a practical focus. Lessons aim to deliver the content and allow students to apply their knowledge to sporting situations; preparing them fully for the assessments.
Practical lessons provide students with opportunities to progress further in their specialist sports, whilst also introducing newer sports and tactical concepts to allow for transfer of learning across activities, and a deeper understanding of a breadth of sports which can be used in the examinations. 

Further details of the GCSE content and assessed sports can be found here. 

A Level PE 

Students are given the opportunity to study the AQA physical education course at A level. 

Why study PE? 

At A level the theory builds on the GCSE foundation knowledge to provide more range and depth. This allows students to be in the best position to both choose and then start on a specialist career path.

Course information and assessment: 

The course is both theoretically (70%) and practically (30%) assessed. It is not a requirement to have taken a GCSE PE qualification in order to take this course.

The theory content is assessed by two, two hour papers worth 105 marks each. 

The first, ‘Factors affecting participation in physical activity and sport’ is divided into three sections: 

• Section A Applied Anatomy and Physiology
• Section B Skill acquisition
• Section C Sport and Society. 

Each section is worth 35 marks with a combination of multiple choice, short and extended answer questions. 

The second paper, ‘Factors affecting optimal performance in physical activity and sport’ is also divided into three sections: 

• Section A Exercise Physiology and Biomechanics
• Section B Sport Psychology
• Section C Sport and Society and Technology in Sport. 

As with paper one, all sections in paper two are worth 35 marks each with a combination of multiple choice, short and extended answer questions. Paper one is taught in the first year of the course, and paper two in the second year. Both papers are sat by students at the end of year 13.

The practical assessment comes under the Non-Exam Assessment, which combines performance in a specialist sport with a written assignment on the analysis and evaluation of the student’s performance in this sport. It is recommended that they should be representing Queen’s College in their specialist sport, as well as ideally playing the sport at club level.

Students have 10 lessons over the two week timetable. These lessons are taught by three staff with specialisms in the subject areas for each section of the paper. One of these lessons in year 13 is used to deliver and assist students with the written assignment for the Non-Exam Assessment. Lessons aim to deliver the content, with particular emphasis on the application of knowledge to sporting scenarios.

Career Progression: 

Most students who study A Level PE go on to University in areas such as Sport Science, Sports Coaching, Sport Psychology, Sports therapy/Physiotherapy or other science based degrees. 

• Rebecca Wilde has gone on from her A level in PE to graduate from a Sports degree at the University of Bath and has represented Great Britain in Rowing at the European Championships
• Naomi Wilde is currently studying Physiotherapy at Cardiff, having been awarded an A* for A level PE in 2020. She also represents Wales for Hockey.
• Molly Rucklidge is studying Physiotherapy at the University of Liverpool, having achieved an A* for A level PE in 2021. Molly rode regularly for Queen’s at National Equestrian competitions.
• Tommy Hill is at the University of Worcester studying Sports Therapy after earning an A in A level PE in 2021. 

Useful Links: 

Further details of the A Level content and assessed sports can be found here. 

Students are given the opportunity to study the BTEC Level 3 Extended Certificate in Sport, which is equivalent to one A level. It is expected that students should have a keen interest in sport and ideally should be playing in at least one of the main sports for Queen’s. 

Why study BTEC Sport? 

The BTEC is a vocational qualification meaning that is very much suited towards developing the skills to be ready to enter the place of work. It is a modular course rather than linear, so you are assessed throughout the two years.

Course information and assessment: 

The course is assessed through a variety of methods including examinations and coursework style assessments. There is no performance assessment.

The course has four units:

• Anatomy and Physiology (examination in January of year 12)
• Sport Psychology (coursework assignments completed in year 12)
• Fitness training and programming for health, fitness and well-being (examination in year 13)
• Professional development in the sports industry (coursework assignments completed in year 13)

Career progression

Students completing a BTEC in Sport often go to university to study a sport based degree such as sports performance or sports coaching. The BTEC is also a great starting place for going into the workplace and completing an apprenticeship or other qualifications on the job to become a fitness instructor or sports coach for example.