Physical Education / Sports Studies

Course summary

Physical Education allows students to study the demands made upon a sports performer from physiological, psychological, and sociological points of view. It offers you the opportunity to demonstrate your understanding and personal competence as a performer or a coach in a fully competitive sporting situation. You will be actively involved in physical activity throughout the course as you are expected to play your sport regularly at a club or as part of a dance school. Physical Education studies the demands made upon a sports performer from physiological, psychological, and sociological points of view. It offers you the opportunity to demonstrate your understanding and personal competence in one activity and you are expected to be actively involved in the activities throughout the course, playing your sport at college and club level. This practical element involves: • Personal competence in one sport or dance as a performer or a coach. The practical activity is used by the performer to analyze and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. One module involves you gaining knowledge of anatomy and applying it to sporting activities. As well as the bodywork, it also involves knowledge of the mind and skill acquisition that leads to sports psychology. The study of opportunities for participation in society completes the paper 1 module and there is a two-hour written exam for this paper. You study physiology, sports psychology biomechanics, and elite performance for paper 2 and there is a 2-hour exam for this paper. Anatomy includes movement analysis, the neuromuscular system, the respiratory system, and the cardiovascular system. Skill Acquisition includes Skill classification, practice, guidance and feedback, learning theories, and information processing. Sport and Society include the history of sport, media, and commercialization of sport, sociology of sport, and increasing participation in sport.