Physical Education

In Year 7 the curriculum offers students the opportunity to experience activities from a broad range of areas including gymnastics, athletics and outdoor education as well as the games activities which receive a greater focus in later years. This enables students to initially develop wide ranging, transferable and fundamental skills as well as communication, leadership, organisation, sportsmanship, resilience and an enjoyment of physical activity.

Throughout their time in PE students are exposed to competition, which ranges from that within lessons in modified, conditioned games or competing at a national level. The qualities developed from performing against others are seen as being highly important. All students are expected to represent their house in sport and there are numerous opportunities through intra and inter- school competitions.

Across the ranging level of competition played students are encouraged to respect their peers and opponents, officials and themselves. They are taught to challenge themselves, and are challenged by staff to aspire to be the best that they can be, regardless of their own level. Equally as important, students are strongly encouraged to accept individual differences and to recognise that everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and to encourage one another. This plays a part in making all students feel valued by their peers and by staff.

Beyond the curriculum, students are challenged to further develop their sporting abilities through national, regional and county competitions and recreational activities. Outside coaches and facilities are used to enhance this provision. In recent years teams and individuals have entered competitions in rugby, football, netball, hockey, basketball, cricket, rounders, tennis, swimming, athletics, cross country, golf, table tennis, climbing and fell running. Whilst not the primary aim of this participation, high levels of success have been achieved by students representing school.

The department is involved heavily with the training of ITT PE specialists and has successfully overseen the progression of numerous trainees into the profession.

The department has run many tours and trips to enhance the learning and enjoyment of PE by students. Examples of day trips have included training with England Rugby, spectating at World Cup matches in Netball and Rugby Union and Wimbledon for Tennis. Sports tours are a regular event with Rugby teams having played bi-annually in Canada (U15), Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and South Africa (Senior) and netball in Paris, Dubai and Gibraltar. Students are regularly hosted by, and host students from other countries and this further enhances their exploration of and respect and understanding of other cultures and our own diversity, and builds friendships across the globe. The skills developed in participating in these ventures, including organisation, financial awareness, leadership, personal responsibility, socialisation, self-reliance, self-belief and resilience help equip students for life beyond school.

Physical Education- Core Curriculum

The range of activities offered in the core PE Curriculum varies from year to year depending upon various factors such as facilities available, external support and staff specialism. The pattern of the programme remains constant however, with students having 2 one hour lessons per week in Years 7, 8 and 9, and one hour per week in Years 10 and 11.

In Key Stage 3 students are offered a broad curriculum with a focus on developing fundamental and transferable skills and enthusiasm for activity in general. (Typical activities may be seen below). Over the years students are exposed to more competitive activities with a view to utilising their skill set in order to facilitate the development of other skills for life such as leadership, sportsmanship and resilience. These activities are complimented by more recreational activities in order to encourage participation in physical activity for all students once they leave school.

Physical Education GCSE (Years 10/11)

This is an exciting optional course for those with a genuine interest in sport and activity. It combines the requirement for a strong sporting ability and a high level of knowledge of the factors involved in sporting success.

GCSE PE:

• builds on and embeds the physical development and skills learned in key stage 3, encouraging learners to become more competent, confident and expert in their techniques, and apply them across different sports and physical activities whilst deepening their knowledge of content studied previously.
• encourages students to contextualise theory and to develop and apply their knowledge, understanding and quality of performances in practical assessments.
• engages students with key issues and themes relating to contemporary global influences on physical education and sport.
• develops a multitude of skills, including numeracy, communication and an understanding of practical performances in order to support progression to the next level of study. The blend of scientific and social knowledge

Course structure

Component 1: Fitness and Body Systems (36% of the qualification)

Content overview:

• Topic 1: Applied anatomy and physiology
• Topic 2: Movement analysis
• Topic 3: Physical training
• Topic 4: Use of data

Component 2: Health and Performance (24% of the qualification)

Content overview:

• Topic 1: Health, fitness and well-being
• Topic 2: Sport psychology
• Topic 3: Socio-cultural influences
• Topic 4: Use of data

Component 3: Practical Performance (Non-examined assessment: internally marked and externally moderated) 30% of the qualification.

Content overview (Performance in 3 activities from a limited list)

• Skills during individual and team activities
• General performance skills

Component 4: Personal Exercise Programme (PEP) (Non-examined assessment: internally marked and externally moderated) 10% of the qualification.

Content overview

• Aim and planning analysis
• Carrying out and monitoring the PEP
• Evaluation of the PEP

The Enriched Curriculum

A wide range of activities are organised to further enhance the learning experience of students and to encourage them to follow a healthy active lifestyle.

House Activities

A broad range of house sporting activities are offered and all students in Years 7-11 participate in at least one of these. These feed into the whole school house system awards and many have rewards in the form of trophies presented in assemblies. Two major house sporting events are run annually- The House Athletics Championships and Sports Week.

The enriched curriculum

A wide range of activities are organised to further enhance the learning experience of students and to encourage them to follow a healthy active lifestyle.

House Activities
A broad range of house sporting activities are offered and all students in Years 7-11 participate in at least one of these. These feed into the whole school house system awards and many have rewards in the form of trophies presented in assemblies. Three major house sporting events are run annually- The House Athletics Championships, House Swimming and Sports Week.

Extra- Curricular Opportunities
Based on the school traditions and embracing new opportunities, clubs and teams are typically available to students in the following sports:

The above have also been supplemented by the following activities when available: Rock climbing, fell running.

Trips and experiences

The department has offered students a varied diet of trips to supplement their sporting experiences. This has ranged from regular tennis coaching at a local club to a three week tour of Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia.

Rugby Tours have run to Cardiff for Y8, Canada for students in Years 9 and 10 and a biennial long-haul tour to Australia and/ or New Zealand for Y11 and 12. Previous girls’ tours have been to Gibraltar and Dubai.

Other opportunities tend to be more ad hoc, depending what is offered in the region. In the past World Cup matches in Rugby and netball have been attended. There have also been trips to Netball Superleague matches and England Rugby training sessions. Training sessions have been organised with many outside coaches in a range of sports, including some with elite professional performers.

Crossley Heath has links to numerous local clubs with students representing both. Many former students represent clubs locally, nationally and internationally once they have moved on from school. School links heavily with Queens Tennis club, who hold a club for us. There is a particularly strong link with old Crossleyan’s RUFC, where school rugby fixtures are played, and many of the senior netball girls represent “Terriers” in the local open age league.

5 Year Curriculum Plan(s)

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