Physical Education
| Subject Lead | Mr R Quartermaine |
| Teacher | Mr G Clark |
| Teacher | Mr Vernon |
The PE department at The Forest School is a thriving and popular subject where every student feels comfortable to ‘Aspire to become elite’. The department offers a broad and balanced curriculum to inspire pupils' curiosity of the subject where a passion for physical activity is enthusiastically promoted. This is pivotal to establishing a love of sport & exercise and developing a lifelong relationship; to promote a healthy and active lifestyle, develop valuable life skills of decision-making, tactical thinking and leadership skills. These are challenged through our curriculum, extensive after-school programme and vast opportunities for students to represent the school locally and further afield. Students are encouraged to take ownership of their future by exploring and researching careers in sport that they are interested in so that they specifically know what they need to achieve to fulfil their ambition. We are very proud of the long list of past students who have gone forward to have fulfilled their dream of playing professional sport and representing their country.
Our dynamic PE team has three PE specialists and staff who are specialists in a specific sport. Furthermore, we work closely with the education team at Reading FC to support students through the Football academy programme.
Students are very privileged to have a curriculum delivered with such excellent facilities. We are very proud that the facilities support such a breadth of activities, but are continually striving for further developments. These include;
- Indoor 25m swimming pool
- Indoor 9-aside football air dome
- Brand new state of the art Performance and Conditioning Centre of Excellence
- Sports hall for 4 badminton courts, cricket nets,1 basketball, netball and handball court
- 5 tennis court/ 5 netball court MUGA
- two athlete tracks
- 3 rugby pitches
- 2 full size and two 9 aside football pitches
- Athletic throwing area
- Synthetic cricket pitch
KS3
In Key Stage 3 students build on and embed the physical development, skills and basic principles from Key Stages 1 and 2, becoming more competent, confident and expert in their techniques, and apply them across twelve different sports and physical activities. These are; athletics, badminton, cricket, dance, fitness & health, football, handball/netball, rugby, outdoor adventurous activities, softball, swimming and tennis.
The National Curriculum is followed throughout Key Stage 3. For example, students' decision making is developed through having the opportunity to explore a range of tactics and strategies to overcome opponents in direct competition through team and individual games, develop their technique, analyse performance and have plenty of opportunities to take part in competitive sports through extracurricular teams and activities.
Through experiencing this curriculum, students develop valuable life skills such as simplified leadership skills, pride and resilience which improves how they cope when things get difficult. The richness of experience and learning further allows students to develop their independence and organisational skills through ensuring that they have appropriate PE kit and footwear depending on the activity or extracurricular fixture. Furthermore, students develop their personal and social skills such as confidence and teamwork by engaging, supporting and learning from others. Where students find skills and concepts challenging, effective support and adaptations are made to support and enable personalised success.
We focus on high levels of numeracy and literacy and effective use of challenging subject vocabulary. We want to see students learning through effective communication to deepen their understanding of the curriculum, both with their teachers and peers.
KS4
Students will further experience a diverse curriculum with great ownership to further embed prior learning and develop skills learnt in Key Stage 3. The priority is to nurture students' enjoyment of sport by encouraging inclusive and competitive participation outside of school whilst also preparing students for life with the knowledge to look after their mental and physical health. Students may also opt to study for a National Governing body award, including the DofE awards, Introduction to rugby refereeing (ITRR) course and National Pool Lifeguard qualification.
GCSE Physical Education
In Year 9/10, students have the option to study AQA GCSE PE alongside core PE. The content and skills required for the examinations are taught through a range of practical, active and engaging methods to ensure that full advantage can be taken by bringing the theoretical knowledge to life. GCSE Physical Education is an excellent foundation for studying Physical Education at A- Level or BTEC L3 Sport, with the vision to study sport and leisure at university
Course Content
There are two main components to the course – practical and theory. The areas of study are;
- Applied anatomy and physiology.
- Movement analysis
- Physical training
- Sports psychology
- Socio-cultural influences.
- Health, fitness and well-being.
Assessment
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Paper 1: The human body and movement in physical activity and sport |
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Paper 2: Socio-cultural influences and well-being in physical activity and sport |
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Non-exam assessment: Practical performance in physical activity and sport |
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KS5
In 6th form, there are two pathways - A Level Physical Education and BTEC Level 3 Extended Certificate in Sport. Both courses delve deeper into sport and physical activity, with the vision to study a sport and leisure course at university. These may include, sport science, physiotherapy, leisure management or sports psychology to name a few. This can lead to wealth of job opportunities such as PE teacher, sports coach/consultant, personal trainer, nutritionist and many more.
Course Content
There are two main components to the course – practical and theory. The areas of study are;
- Applied anatomy and physiology
- Skill acquisition
- Sport and society
- Exercise physiology
- Biomechanical movement
- Sport psychology
- Sport and society and the role of technology in physical activity and sport
Assessment
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Paper 1:Factors affecting participation in physical activity and sport |
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Paper 2: Factors affecting optimal performance in physical activity and sport |
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What's assessed Section A: Exercise physiology and biomechanics Section B: Sport psychology Section C: Sport and society and technology in sport |
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Non-exam assessment: Practical performance in physical activity and sport |
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What's assessed Students assessed as a performer or coach in the full sided version of one activity. Plus: written/verbal analysis of performance. |
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How it's assessed
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Sport BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate
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Unit 1: Anatomy and Physiology How will this be assessed? External exam: 1 hour 30 minutes 80 marks |
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Unit 2: : Fitness Training and Programming for Health, Sport and Wellbeing How will this be assessed? External exam: 2 hours 30 mins 60 marks |
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Unit 3: Unit 3: Professional Development In the Sports Industry How will this be assessed? Written internal assignments Mock interview |
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Unit 4: Sports Leadership How will this be assessed? Written internal assignments Practical leadership session |
Additional information/extra-curricular activities
The PE department runs an extensive after-school programme that evolves throughout the sporting season where all students are welcome to refine their skills or improve their physical, social or mental well-being.
We pride ourselves on the huge reputation that we have in competitive fixtures, at district, county, regional and national level. We are very fortunate to have such talented students across a breadth of sports from athletics to netball, cricket to rugby, where we have won countless awards.
Our biggest achievement is being the only school in the country to lift the Elite National Cup twice, and consecutively! We also support GCSE PE students that require extra support to consolidate skills/topics.