Search this Site:

A Level Physical Education

A Level Physical Education at St Edmund’s College provides a fantastic insight into the world of sports performance.

Not only will you have chance to perform or coach during the non exam assessment, you’ll also build in-depth knowledge of physical activity and sport. By gaining an academic perspective on sport, you can improve your performance through application of theory to practice.

Enrichment opportunities at St Ed’s include:

  • The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
  • Coaching courses for students to become leaders and opportunities to teach/coach in the Prep School
  • District and County competitions in a range of sports
  • First aid and lifesaving courses
Head of Academic PE Mr K Jones BA (Hons) with QTS (Greenwich)
Syllabus OCR

Course structure

A Level Physical Education provides opportunities to improve knowledge and personal skills in sports and exercises of your choice. You’ll learn how best to prepare body and mind to maximise performance, and gain an insight into sports in a historical and comparative sense.

The course is divided into the four topics below:

  • Topic 1: Physiological factors affecting performance
  • Topic 2: Psychological and socio-cultural themes in PE
  • Topic 3: Socio-cultural and contemporary issues
  • Topic 4: Performance within physical education
Assessment

Students will be internally assessed during Rhetoric I and then undertake four external assessments at the end of Rhetoric II (Year 13):

Paper 1 – 2 hour written (30%)

Physiological factors affecting performance

Paper 2 – 1 hour written (20%)

Physiological factors affecting performance

Paper 3 – 1 hour written (20%)

Socio-cultural issues in physical activity and pport

Non examined assessment (NEA) –  30%

  • Performance or coaching
  • The evaluation and analysis of performance for improvement

 

 

Key skills
Preparation of body and mind to maximise performance Knowledge of sports in a historical and comparative sense
Decision making Psychological understanding of people
Independent thinking Problem-solving
Analytical skills Thinking under pressure

 

Future paths

Higher education and career prospects This course is suitable for anyone who has an interest in sport, and is a good foundation for anyone intending to study a HE course connected with the huge and expanding sport and leisure industry.

There is a plethora of career prospects in the world of sport including teaching, physiotherapy, sports administration, medicine, sports journalism, sports management, sports psychology and coaching.

In addition, the combination of PE theory and practice means it can provide a natural link to scientific and humanities courses, such as biology, psychology, history and economics.