Physical Education and sport plays a central role in the life of Leventhorpe. Our dedicated team of eight experienced professionals ensures that there are opportunities for everyone to gain an understanding of the importance of leading an active and healthy lifestyle and, more importantly, to find an enjoyable way in which to do so. Our goal is provide our students with enjoyable experiences that will motivate them to engage in activities that they enjoy for the rest of their lives.
The School’s facilities are arguably the best in the East of Hertfordshire with access to a new £5.5 million Sports Centre which includes a sports hall, fitness suite, dance studio, all-weather astro-turf , five acres of sports fields and tennis courts.
The Physical Education Curriculum
In Year 7 we intend for our students to learn basic skills for a wide variety of activities and be able to perform them with some consistency in a variety of situations. They should grasp an understanding of the rules or laws of the activity and know how to play or perform safely within them.
Students should also gain an understanding of the impact and value of physical activity has on their physical, mental and social well being.
In Year 8 we intend for our students to develop the core skills that they have learnt in Year 7 and to be able to apply them more consistently in game or full context situations and whilst under increased pressure. They should have a developed understanding of the rules and laws and start to have an appreciation of the roles of different positions within the activities.
Their understanding of the importance of physical activity should continue to develop and they should know how to improve their physical fitness.
In Year 9 we intend students to be able to select the correct skill for the situation they are facing and apply it with developing consistency. They should be aware of tactical decisions that can be made to gain an advantage over their opposition and can plan to apply these into different contexts. Students should be using technical language relevant to the activity they are studying and will be able to evaluate their own performance or the performance of others in order to help them improve.
Students should be aware of their own level of physical fitness and understand how it can be improved.
For the students who select to study the theory side of sport we intend for them to broaden their wider knowledge of sport and gain an understanding of how the different systems in the body work to allow for them to participate in physical activities, the types of training and fitness tests that can be conducted in order to improve fitness and performance as well as some of the socio-cultural influences that effect participation in physical activity.
In Years 10 and 11 we intend for students to engage in and enjoy regular physical activity inside and outside of lessons hopefully leading to lifelong participation. They should be able to apply the skills, tactics and rules learnt in Key Stage 3 to participate in full context activities.
They will have opportunities to develop their leadership and take responsibility for their own health and fitness.
At Leventhorpe we study GCSE with the exam board AQA and over the two years of Key Stage 4 we work to ensure that all of the content from their syllabus is covered by students as well as giving them the opportunity to perform and be assessed in a number of practical activities which will contribute towards their final grade.
In year 10 we intend to enrich their curriculum by giving them opportunities to participate in new sporting activities on a residential trip to Yorkshire. We introduce them to key topics from both aspects of the theory content (Paper1 & Paper2) and embed the knowledge so that they are ready to apply it in Year 11
In Year 11 we aim to complete the teaching of the specification to give the students the full range of knowledge needed for their exam. We will then use a range of teaching strategies to work on the students’ exam technique with a particular focus on writing in continuous prose in preparation for answering extended questions. The students will reflect on their own performance in sport and write an improvement plan which will be submitted as coursework. There will also be a number of opportunities to compete in the full context of their chosen sports in order to gain game or competition experience and work towards achieving their full potential in the performance aspect of the course.
During Elevate lessons which take place each week, students have the opportunity to enrol onto PE for up to two terms. During this time they can become part of the Senior Football/Netball team having weekly training or fixtures, or be part of one of the recreational activities on offer. The focus of these sessions is very much around promoting heatlh, fitness and all-round wellbeing.
Our outstanding fitness suite is also open and available to 6th Form students during their non-contact time throughout the day as another way of promoting health and wellbeing.
Students in the 6th Form can select to study this course as the Extended Certificate or the Extended diploma. This course follows the specification set by Pearson and sees the Extended Certificate student complete 4 units over the two years and the Extended Diploma students completing 8.
Our focus during this course is very much around developing the relevant knowledge that was gained by the students during their GCSE studies whilst introducing them to new concepts, such as research methods in sport, that will prepare them for studying Sports Science at university, should that be their desired destination. We intend to create opportunities to allow the students to work in a university setting to see how their knowledge and understanding could be further developed after the 6th Form.
At Leventhorpe we follow a traditional curriculum model in PE which groups the students by gender and sets each gender into a higher and lower group. Both boys and girls will follow a broad and balanced curriculum covering mostly the same activities, with just a few exceptions.
The PE department has a very inclusive approach to all students and is fully committed to providing a safe and engaging curriculum for students of all groups to participate in. Transgender or Non-binary students who have approached their Head of Year or other members of the pastoral team - and have included their parents in their thoughts and planning - will have the following choices to make about their curriculum.
For Transgender students:
Students should participate in PE lessons with the gender that they identify as. Adjustments will be made for changing facilities so that students are given space to change separately from the group before and after the lessons. Reasonable adjustments will be made within the lesson and through discussion with the Head of PE around reducing the physical risk of injury for activities which are deemed to be ‘contact sports’. For sports which are recognised as ‘gendered activities’ - for example rugby - some mitigating factors may need to be put into place which could include protective clothing, parental consent or a reduced participation in the contact element of the sport, particularly in the latter stages of puberty.
For Non-Binary or Gender Fluid students:
Through discussions with their Head Of Year, students will be given the opportunity to decide on their curriculum pathway on a termly basis. Once decided, they must stick to that pathway for the whole term with the same expectations for participation and engagement as any other student. As above adjustments will be made for changing space and lessons involving contact where necessary.
Below is Leventhorpe’s PE kit policy written on what the establishment deems appropriate clothing for safe participation in PE.
PE kit should be worn for physical activity; this should be suitable for the activity and environment which the given activity is played in.
Kit worn for PE should be the Leventhorpe branded PE kit, detailed on the school kit list.
- Footwear should be fit for purpose with appropriate grip, support and protection for outdoor activities and clean footwear should be worn for indoor activities, where needed. Artistic activities such as dance and gymnastics will be performed in bare feet
- Students should never participate in socks except in trampolining.
Where students cannot participate in PE due to injury a note should be provided to the teacher explaining the injury. The student will still need to bring their PE kit and may still be asked to changed so they can participate in some part of the lesson or to protect their school uniform from the environment which the lesson is taking place in. Failure to do this will be sanctioned as with other students not bringing their kit.
- KS3 - Key Stage 3 indoor lessons include fitness, badminton, dance, basketball, orienteering and table tennis. In outdoor lessons students will cover football, rugby union, hockey, netball, cross country, rugby league, rounders, cricket, tennis and athletics.
- KS4 - At Key Stage 4, students again have a wide range of options available to them, where they will get the chance to improve their skills in many of the sports above a well as complete fitness programmes, take part in aerobics and have the opportunity to take part in the Sports Leaders Level 1 qualification.
- Students in KS4 will also have the opportunity to select to study at GCSE level. This course allows pupils to gain an understanding of how the human body reacts to exercise as well as tackling some of the more contemporary issues involved in sport. Practical performance and analysis of performance will also be assessed in this course.
- KS5 PE - All students will take part in PE once a fortnight. Students will be able to choose what activity they take part in, and be asked to wear appropriate kit of their choice.
- Level 3 BTEC Sports and Exercise Science:
- Year 12 – Students will study towards to exams in year 12, Unit 1 Physiology in Sport and Exercise, and Unit 2 Anatomy for Sport and Exercise. They will also complete two units of coursework, one focussing on fitness testing, and one on research in sports and exercise
- Year 13 – Students will study toward one controlled assessment, Unit 3 Sports Psychology, and also complete three units of coursework, Sports coaching, Sports Massage, and a Research project.
To ensure the safe delivery of our curriculum, the department has completed a Health and Safety Policy as well as a Swimming Pool Operating Plan. These documents are available upon request by emailing education@leventhorpe.net
