Physical Education
The Physical Education department supports the school's focus on healthy living by offering a broad and balanced curriculum that encourages active participation and high performance in PE, Games, and Sport. We believe all students should be motivated to engage in lifelong sport and exercise.
Our goal is to build pupils' confidence across a variety of sporting activities, fostering a passion for physical activity that supports their health and well-being. We aim to help students appreciate the value of sport, teaching them to embrace both winning and losing, and to experience the satisfaction of contributing to individual or team success.
Our Staff
Mr Danny Dudley (Director of Sport)
Mr Sam Ford (Head of Academic PE, Head of Rugby & Athletics)
Mr Mark Palmer (PE, Sports Programme Coordinator, Head of Tennis & Squash)
Mr Alex Rees (PE, Head of Badminton & Table Tennis)
Mr Chris Wells (Head of Football)
Mr Barry Wilde (Lead Football Coach)
Mr John Fry (Head of Cricket)
Mr Gary Butcher (Lead Cricket Coach)
Mr Alex Karamath (Strength & Conditioning Coach)
Mrs Louise Ableman (Badminton Coach)
Key Stage 3
In Key Stage 3, the Physical Education curriculum enables pupils to develop competence, confidence and sustained engagement in physical activity through a broad range of sports.
Pupils are taught a wide range of techniques, tactics and strategies to help them succeed in both team and individual activities. The curriculum focuses on the consistent use of correct technique, the development of sport-specific movement skills, and the ability to apply these effectively in competitive situations. In Year 7, pupils participate in Rugby, Basketball, Fitness, Volleyball, Athletics and Cricket. In Year 8, they are introduced to Badminton and Futsal, while continuing to further enhance their skills in Basketball, Volleyball, Athletics and Cricket.
Through these activities, pupils will develop:
- Technical competence by applying attacking and defending principles, refining sending and receiving skills, and improving their ability to create and convert scoring opportunities
Physical capabilities through improving strength, speed, power, coordination, agility and endurance
Psychological understanding through effective decision making, tactical awareness and positioning
Social skills by working collaboratively, communicating effectively and demonstrating leadership and teamwork in competitive situations
In Year 7, students take part in Dance, where they are introduced to a variety of styles and techniques. Lessons combine teacher-led choreography with structured opportunities for creative exploration. Students learn set movement phrases to build technical precision, control and expressive performance skills, while also developing their own choreography through the use of key compositional devices.
The curriculum provides opportunities for pupils to analyse their own and others’ performances, comparing them to previous performances and identifying strengths and areas for improvement. Termly fitness testing (Speed and Agility, Coordination, Cardiovascular Fitness and Power) is used as a baseline and tracking tool to support pupils in working towards performance targets and long-term physical development from Year 7 through to Year 10.
In Year 7 pupils take part in outdoor and adventurous activities through residential trip to the Brecon Beacons, completing activities designed to present physical and intellectual challenges. Through structured problem-solving tasks and team-based challenges, pupils develop trust, effective communication, leadership and resilience whilst working both independently and collaboratively.
During the Summer term, all Year 7 pupils participate in this residential experience, engaging in:
• Climbing Pen y Fan
• Raft building
• Archery
• Land karting
• Low-ropes challenges
Physical Education lessons are delivered in six-week curriculum blocks within one hour per week of core PE. In addition, games afternoons provide extended opportunities for competitive and recreational sport for 1 to 1½ hours per week. All activities are delivered ensuring tasks, levels of challenge and support are adapted to meet the needs of all learners and enable every pupil to access different sports, participate and make progress.
The curriculum is further enriched through house competitions, representative sport and community-linked activities, encouraging pupils to participate in competitive sport beyond the school day and develop positive lifelong attitudes towards physical activity.
Key Stage 4
At Key Stage 4, the Physical Education curriculum enables pupils to tackle complex and demanding physical activities while developing personal fitness, resilience and a commitment to an active, healthy lifestyle.
Across Years 9, 10 and 11, pupils use and further develop a wide range of advanced techniques, tactics and strategies to overcome opponents in team and individual activities, including Football, Badminton, Basketball, Cricket, Outdoor Adventurous Activities and other competitive games. Pupils build on prior learning to apply skills, strategies and decision-making approaches within increasingly challenging and competitive contexts.
Through participation, pupils continue to develop the four core PE concepts:
• Technical competence through the accurate and consistent execution of advanced skills
• Physical capabilities through improving strength, speed, power, agility, coordination and endurance
• Psychological understanding through effective decision making, evaluation, tactical adaptation and performance under pressure
• Social skills through leadership, communication, teamwork and positive sporting behaviours in competitive environments
Pupils also refine technique and improve performance in competitive physical activities, including Athletics and fitness- and conditioning-based units, with opportunities to apply skills in increasingly challenging situations. These support pupils in meeting the physical demands of performance and sustaining high levels of effort over time.
The curriculum provides regular opportunities for pupils to evaluate their own and others’ performances, comparing them to previous performances and identifying strategies for improvement. Termly fitness testing is used to monitor progress and support pupils in working towards achieving their personal best across a range of physical activities.
During Games afternoons in Years 9–11, pupils rotate through a carousel of activities, experiencing representative and non-representative options including Football, Rugby, Basketball, Badminton, Table Tennis, Fitness, Cricket, Athletics, Tennis, Squash and a variety of summer sports. House competitions continue to play a central role, ensuring all pupils participate in competitive sport through different sporting events. All activities are delivered ensuring tasks, levels of challenge and support are adapted to meet the needs of all learners and enable every pupil to access different sports, participate and make progress.
The Key Stage 4 curriculum is further enriched through representative sport, house competitions and community-linked opportunities, encouraging pupils to continue participation in competitive sport beyond the school day and supporting the development of positive, lifelong attitudes towards physical activity and health.
Key Stage 4 Academic PE (Years 9-11)
Examination Board: Pearson Edexcel GCSE Physical Education (2016)
Key Stage 5
Games afternoons are on Wednesdays. Students have the option to play for representative teams in local, county and national competitions. The sports that they can represent the School in are: Football 1st–7th XI, Rugby 1st XV, Basketball, Badminton, Table-Tennis, Cross-Country, Cricket 1st -3rd XI, Tennis and Squash. Students also make very good use of the state of the art Fitness Suite at lunch times and after school.
Departmental Co-Curricular, Trips and enrichment Opportunities
We take pride in having one of the most robust school sporting fixture lists in the country, covering a wide range of sports. Saturday mornings in the Autumn and Spring Terms feature football fixtures, while cricket takes place in the Summer Term. Rugby, Basketball, Badminton, Athletics, Table Tennis, Cross-Country, Tennis, and Squash fixtures occur during games afternoons and at lunchtime and after school clubs. We compete in National, County, and Borough competitions, achieving success at various levels. All details of our fixtures can be found here:
Examples of marked work
See below for examples of marked work which demonstrate the level of work and ‘green pen’ engagement required to maximise progress in each Key Stage. Whilst we expect students to engage with this positively and if necessary, seek clarification from teachers, please be assured that in-lesson support is always available.
