PE

PE Department

Physical education is a hugely important part of the curriculum here at Boswells. We are very proud of both the range of our KS3, KS4 and KS5 curriculums and of the extra-curricular activities available to our students, delivered by an extremely hard-working and dedicated team of staff. We also pride ourselves on our ability to engage students in their PE lessons and to deliver high quality learning across a broad range of activities to allow every student to achieve as high as they possibly can. We offer examination courses at both KS4 and KS5, including a vocational pathway at KS5.

KS3 Curriculum

At KS3, students will have two lessons of PE a week as part of their timetable. This is split into two different lessons – one as part of their tutor group (mixed boys and girls), and one in a set group (Boys Set 1, Boys Set 2, Girls Set 1, Girls Set 2).

As part of the KS3 PE curriculum, all students will take part in the following activities:

• Year 7 Set lessons – Athletics, Basketball, Cricket (boys), Football, Netball (girls), Rounders (girls), Rugby (boys), Swimming
• Year 7 Tutor lessons – Fitness, Gymnastics, Swimming, Volleyball
• Year 8 Set lessons – Athletics, Basketball, Cricket (boys), Football, Netball (girls), Rounders (girls), Rugby (boys), Swimming, Tennis
• Year 8 Tutor lessons – Fitness, Gymnastics, Swimming, Volleyball
• Year 9 Set lessons – Athletics, Basketball, Cricket (boys), Football, Netball (girls) Rounders (girls), Rugby (boys), Volleyball, Tennis
• Year 9 Tutor lessons – Badminton, Fitness, Gymnastics, Swimming

KS4 Curriculum

All students will undertake Physical Education at KS4 – however, the way they experience it will be impacted by whether or not they choose to study GCSE PE.

GCSE PE

At GCSE PE, we follow the Edexcel exam board. The course is structured as follows:

• 60% theory, composed of two different components:
  • Component 1 – Fitness and Body Systems (36%) – a 90min paper worth 80 marks at the end of Y11
  • Component 2 – Health and Performance (24%) – a 60min paper worth 60 marks, also at the end of Y11
• 40% practical, composed of two different components:
  • Component 3 – Practical Assessment (30%) – students are assessed in 3 different activities worth 35 marks each (105 in total), which must comprise at least one ‘Team’ sport and one ‘Individual’ sport
  • Component 4 – PEP Coursework (10%) – a 1500-word limit piece of coursework based on a personal exercise programme

If a student selects GCSE PE, they will have 4 lessons a week – one for Component 1, one for Component 2, and two on their practical assessment. For their practical lessons they will follow a rotation of activities that include Athletics, Basketball, Football, Netball (girls), Rugby (boys), Swimming and Volleyball.

More information on the GCSE PE course can be found here.

Core PE

If students opt not to study GCSE PE, then they have one hour a week of Core PE. This is the same for both Y10 and Y11. As part of our Core PE programme we shift our focus away from Skill Development and Refinement and towards setting students up for a life-long love of sport, how they can remain fit and healthy, and how they can pursue their sporting endeavours moving forward.

As part of the Core PE programme of study, students will take part in a range of activities across Y10 and Y11, including Athletics, Badminton, Cricket (boys), Fitness, Football, Netball (girls) Rounders (girls), Softball (boys), Swimming (including activities such as Aqua Aerobics, Synchro, and Water Polo), Tennis.

KS5 Curriculum

As part of our KS5 curriculum offer, there are two pathways the students can follow:

• A-Level PE
• Cambridge Technicals Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sport and Physical Activity

A-Level PE

At A-Level PE, we follow the OCR exam board. The course is structured as follows:

• Component 1 – Physiological Factors Affecting Performance (30%) – a 120min exam worth 90 marks at the end of Y13
• Component 2 – Psychological Factors Affecting Performance (20%) – a 60min exam worth 60 marks at the end of Y13
• Component 3 – Sociocultural Issues in Physical Activity in Sport (20%) – a 60min exam worth 60 marks at the end of Y13
• Component 5 – Practical Performance (15%) – one sport worth 30 marks
• Component 6 – Evaluating and Analysing Performance for Improvement (15%) – an oral presentation on a sporting performance

A-Level students will have 4.5 lessons a week, split over a two-week timetable:

• One lesson a week on each of the exam components – Component 1, Component 2 and Component 3
• One lesson a week on Component 5, i.e. one lesson of practical
• One lesson a fortnight on Component 6 (oral talk)

More information on the A-Level PE course can be found here.

Cambridge Technicals Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sport and Physical Activity

Our CTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sport and Physical Activity is delivered over 12 lessons a week, and is the equivalent to 3 A-Levels. The CTEC is a two-year course with some units delivered in Y12 and some delivered in Y13. Students must complete 4 mandatory exams units as part of the course, outlined below:

• Unit 1 – Body Systems and the Effects of Physical Activity (sat in Jan of Y12)
• Unit 3 – Working Safely in Sport and Exercise and Health and Leisure (sat in Jan of Y12)
• Unit 4 – Sports Organisation and Development (sat in Summer of Y12)
• Unit 21 – The Business of Sport (sat in Jan of Y13)

Students will then complete an additional 13 units of coursework towards their final grade. These are internally-assessed coursework units, assessed using a variety of different methods including practical application, presentations and written coursework assignments. These units are:

• Unit 2 – Sports Coaching and Activity Leadership
• Unit 5 – Performance Analysis in Sport and Exercise
• Unit 7 – Improving Sport for Sport and Physical Activity
• Unit 8 – Organisation of Sports Events
• Unit 10 – Biomechanics and Movement Analysis
• Unit 11 – Physical Activity for Specific Groups
• Unit 12 – Nutrition, Diet and Sport and Exercise
• Unit 13 – Health and Fitness Testing for Sport and Exercise
• Unit 14 – Working in Active Leisure Centres
• Unit 17 – Sports Injuries and Rehab
• Unit 18 – Practical Skills in Sport and Physical Activity
• Unit 19 – Sport and Exercise Psychology
• Unit 20 – Sports and Exercise Sociology

Historically, CTEC results at Boswells have been outstanding and consistently among the top 5% of the country in terms of student attainment.

More information on the CTEC course can be found here.

Extra-Curricular Opportunities in PE

We are very proud of the range of extra-curricular opportunities available to our students here at Boswells. We have an extensive extra-curricular clubs programme that offers before school, lunch time and after-school clubs to our students, in a range of recreational and competitive environments. We enter the district, Essex and National competitions in a range of activities where students get the opportunity to represent the school and put their hard work and efforts into practice in competitive situations.

We also offer the following extra-curricular opportunities to our students:

• A bespoke G&T programme, with foundations based on effort and dedication, for those committed to 4 or more activities with three different pathways of recognition
• A Young Leaders programme that provides students from Y7-Y13 additional opportunities to develop wider skills by working with local primaries/the local SSCO.
• A biennial Ski Trip for Years 9-13 that runs every two years
• A biennial Football Tour for Years 8-11 that runs every two years
• An annual Rugby/Netball tour for Year 9 students
• An annual Volleyball tour to Italy for Y12 & 13 students
• Top-Up swimming lessons for those that would like additional support with swimming
• A Year 7 PE Summer Camp, held in the first week of the Summer holidays at the end of Year 7.