Physical Education

Physical Education (OCR – Cambridge Technical, Extended Certificate)

Have you ever wondered how athletes reach elite level? Or how an elite athlete’s body compares to that of the everyday individual and allows them to push the boundaries of human capabilities?

The Technical Award in Sport and Physical Activity looks at questions such as these and also gives you the opportunity to experience and develop an interest in a variety of roles in sport such as performer and coach.

Course Content & Assessment

Theoretical units:

• Body systems and the effects of physical activity
• Sports organisation and development
• Sport and exercise psychology

The first 2 of these units are assessed through examinations. These contain a mix of multiple choice, short answer and extended writing questions. For the final unit, you must complete an assignment.

Practical units:

• Practical skills in sport and physical activities
• Sports coaching and activity leadership

For the first of these units, you are assessed on your ability to perform as a performer in an individual sport, a team sport and an outdoor adventurous activity.

You are also assessed as an official. In order to be successful in this unit, students should be competing in sport on a regular basis outside of school.

For the second of these units, you will be required to apply your knowledge of successful leadership into practical sessions.

You will then need to evaluate these sessions and make any necessary modifications.

Teaching

Teaching will be split into theory-based classroom work and practical lessons. In the classroom, we draw on your practical background and knowledge to help you to understand the theoretical topics. In addition, we sometimes have practical activities within a theory lesson to further assist the learning process.

Your Future

The PE course prepares you for a vast array of careers, and these days, universities are offering more and more PE related courses. Subjects like PE teaching, Sports Science and Physiotherapy are the obvious ones but newer courses like Sports Psychology and Sports Development/Coaching are also proving to be very popular. You could also choose to progress into employment within the sporting sector as a fitness instructor or working for a National Governing Body for example.