The Physical Education (PE) department consists of a group of committed and enthusiastic teachers, with specialists in a variety of sports such as hockey, netball, basketball, football, gymnastics and dance. The department strives to make PE enjoyable and accessible for all students, with the aim of ensuring their experience of PE is positive to encourage lifelong participation in exercise.
We have a variety of specialist facilities, which include a 3G artificial pitch, a dance studio, a small sand-based astro turf pitch, a large sports hall and a sports field.
Key Stage 3 Curriculum Information
At Key Stage 3 we focus on the key skills and knowledge required in order to flourish within different PE disciplines which include the learning of skills and tactical knowledge, leadership and awareness of the importance of exercise for health and wellbeing. Our Key Stage 3 curriculum focuses on 9 sports topics across the year, which are:
- Term 1/2 – Football, Netball and Badminton
- Term 3/4 – Hockey, Basketball and Gymnastics
- Term 5/6 – Athletics, Dance and Strike & Field
Through the teaching of these topics’ students are assessed via our bespoke assessment criteria which is embedded with our work, world and wellness core curriculum. Students learn skills, rules and tactical knowledge for work. They learn about team work and leadership, alongside qualities such as respect for world. And finally the learn about the importance of exercise and doing so safely for wellness. There is a deliberate structure to core PE at Key Stage 3 as it allows those that may choose to study PE at Key Stage 4 the opportunity to prepare for these courses, as well as providing a positive learning environment for those that do not.
Key Stage 4 Curriculum Information
All students at Manor School continue to have 2 lessons of core PE each week, but the focus of core PE changes from that of Key Stage 3. It is recognised that not all students will have opted to study PE, and that at this age range there tends to be a drop out of those participating, so our aim for Key Stage 4 core PE is to make it fun! We have access to the fitness studio for Key Stage 4 which provides a specialist environment for exercise, plus the activities on offer become less prescriptive with activities such as dodgeball, kin ball, tennis and may more potentially on offer. The individual class teachers aim to select activities based on the needs of the class with the ultimate goal of having as many students as possible active and enjoying the lessons.
There are also two courses available for those that do wish to study PE; GCSE and Cambridge National in Sports Studies/Sports Science. The GCSE (OCR exam board) is structured to cover a range of topic areas which include anatomy and physiology, physical training and sports psychology, as well as providing an opportunity for students to be assessed in their practical ability across 3 sports. The Cambridge National courses allow students the opportunity to study sport in a more modular structure, and dependent on the course selected, allow students to still study sport if they have an interest but aren’t necessarily playing or performing in a selected sport itself.
Key Stage 5 Curriculum Information
There are again two courses offered which are A Level (OCR exam board) and BTEC National in Sport. For the A Level course there are three theoretical areas which are assessed via written examinations at the end of the course, which include physiological impacts, psychological impacts and socio-cultural impacts of sport and exercise. Students are also assessed in their practical ability for one sport. The BTEC National offers a more modular learning route with students’ study 4 units across the two years. Both examination units are taken in Year 12 with opportunities to resit in Year 13, and the other two units are coursework based. There is no practical assessment of sporting ability for this course, just an interest in sport and exercise is required!
Enrichment
We provide an extremely wide range of enrichment opportunities, as there are a variety of high quality extra-curricular activities in a number of different sports and activities at lunchtimes and after school. We also run a successful sports leader’s group who are often seen out in the trust primaries assisting with various events, as well as supporting events in school too. All students are also given the opportunity every competitions week to participate in house competitions within PE. There is also an extensive district sports programme that we are proud to be part of, and ensure we can get our school teams out to as many of these as feasibly possible. All clubs are free for students to attend and are run by our dedicated PE team here at Manor, with all students welcome to attend.
Curriculum Leader name and email address: Toni Hustwait thustwait@manor.school