P.E./Sport

Staffing

• Mr Soulsby (Second in Department)
• Mr A Donnelly (Head of Department)
• Mr A Sladen
• Mr R Tadman (Head of Sixth Form)
• Mr Rose
• Mr Jennings (Director of Rugby)

Courses:

A Level Physical Education (AS and A2) with the OCR Exam Board.

GCSE Physical Education (PE and games options) OCR Exam Board.

Junior Sports Leaders Award.

Community Sports Leader Award

A-level PE is a two year course consisting of an AS course in the first year and an A2 course. The AS course consists of 3 theory units and a practical unit worth 30%. The AS theory units are Anatomy and physiology, Skill acquisition and Contemporary studies, taught by Mr Donnelly, Mr Trigg and Mr Tadman respectively and the practical unit is shared by Mr Donnelly and Mr Trigg. There are two exams at the end of the course and the practical marks are allocated by the assessment of performance in two sports and a Personal Performance Portfolio based on one of those sports

The A2 theory course consists of 4 areas, Applied physiology, Sports Psychology, Comparative studies and Synoptic issues. There are two end of years exams on these units. The practical unit is also based on two sports but students must be able to perform and verbal performance analysis task at the internal and external moderation sessions. The A-level course is and academic but enjoyable course for those with genuine interests and ability in sport. In the past students have got onto courses at Oxford University and to Study the extremely competitive Veterinary Science with a PE A-level.

The GCSE PE course is a two year course where 50% of the marks are allocated to the students best 4 sports out of the 10 sports studied. Sports that students perform out of school can also sometimes be used. A piece of course work where students analyse the performance of a group member, prescribe a training programme and evaluate its effectiveness is worth 10%. The end of course exam on the theory work is 1hr 45m and is worth 40%. The theory course includes areas such as The muscular-skeletal system, The heart, lungs and vascular system, Skill, Mental preparation, Fitness and training, Social affects on participation and Health and safety in sport. From September 2006 the course will be taught by Mr Donnelly, Mr Park and Mr Saulsby.

The Junior Sports Leader Award is studied as an after school option by year 10 GCSE PE pupils. During the course the pupils will be guided to improve their communication and organisational skills in different sporting and physical activity situations. The course culminated in the students themselves organising a sports festival for younger children. The effectiveness of their contribution is assessed and the award is made.

The Community Sports Leader award is an extension to the JSLA or it can be studied as a stand alone course by sixth form pupils. It is hoped that the Lower Sixth A-level PE group in September will follow the course in one of their practical lessons each week.

Key Stage 3:

Pupils follow a broad programme of study with a focus on high levels of physical activity, a good understanding of health and fitness and a pupil knowledge of their current levels of attainment compared to their potential.

At key stage 3 pupils participate in two 1hr lessons per week. One lesson is a designated PE lesson which is taught in a mixed ability form group and one designated games lesson where pupils are taught in an ability set. In PE pupils are taught a traditional boys programme including Gymnastics, Cross Country, Table Tennis, Orienteering, Cricket and Weight Training in year 9. In games lessons pupils follow an equally broad and traditional programme including Rugby Union, Football, Basketball, Badminton, Hockey, Cricket and Athletics.

The department achieves high levels of attainment from its pupils at KS 3 with 90% of pupils achieving at or above expected levels.

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Key Stage 4:

At KS 4 pupils have only one 1hr games lesson in their ability set following a similarly broad programme to KS3 but they have the option a the end of year 9 to chose GCSE Physical Education with the OCR exam board. The average yearly cohort is just over 50, split into two mixed ability teaching groups. On average the groups achieve close to 70% A-C and results compare very favourably with results achieved by the same boys in other subjects. Pupils in year 10 can also join a Junior Sports Leaders Award course that runs after school with an external tutor.

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AS Level

In the sixth form the students have a compulsory 1hr games lesson on Wednesday afternoon in which they can chose from a range of sporting options taught by male and female staff members. Wednesday afternoon is also the traditional time for sixth form sports fixtures. The school employs a boys football coach and a girls volleyball coach to assist with the training and fixtures for school tams in these sports. The 1st XV rugby team also plays a number of fixtures on Wednesday afternoon in the winter and the cricket team also plays at this time in the summer.

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14-19 Careers/ Educational Opportunities

The JSLA and the CSLA courses are specifically designed to prepare students for employment opportunities in the sports development and leisure industry. There are opportunities following the courses to join the sports development team as a volunteer sports leader which in time could easily lead to payed employment.

The GCSE and A-level courses also include information and discussion about different careers in sport and further qualifications required to enter these careers.

2.Extra Curricular Sport.

The department runs a very strong extra curricular programme with regular after school activities running in Rugby Union, Football, Basketball, Weight Training, Olympic weight lifting, Cross country, Table tennis, Badminton, Cycling and regular multi-sport inter form competitions. These activities are run mainly by the department with some activities run by other teachers and a small number of paid and voluntary coaches.

We run rugby teams in all years including a 1st XV and a 2nd XV including yr 11 and the sixth form. At years 7, 8 and 9 we can also field B teams for mid week and Saturday fixtures. The majority of fixtures are on Saturday morning during the autumn and winter terms. We have a strong fixture list including a number of independent schools and we usually get several boys into Manchester Schools and Lancashire squads.

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