Curriculum
Physical Education involves a variety of roles and responsibilities in a whole range of sports. Students are given the opportunity to act as a captain or group leader, give performance enhancing feedback as a coach or teacher, referee and officiate in team or individual activities and of course, perform to the best of their ability. Thorns are blessed with fantastic sporting facilities that are readily available to all students as they pass through the five year groups. Units of work in the state of the art fitness facility are often one of the more enjoyable and educational topics for our students. As our students progress into Key Stage 4, they all have the opportunity to expand on their practical interests by completing one of the accredited course in either GCSE PE or BTEC Dance.
- Students work on a four week rotation
- Students cover a range of activities including: Fitness, OAA, Football, Volleyball, Basketball, Netball, Dance, Badminton, Table Tennis, Athletics, Gymnastics, Trampolining, Rounders and Softball.
- Year 9 students will be given the opportunity to complete a unit of work based on the Key Stage 4 GCSE PE course. This gives students an idea of the type of theory lessons they will expect if they select a course in PE.
CORE PE:
- Students work on rotation across multiple activities.
- Students cover a range of activities including: Fitness, Football, Basketball, Netball, Dance, Boccia, Badminton, Table Tennis, How fit are you?, Trampolining, Rounders and Softball.
KEY STAGE 4 OPTIONS:
- GCSE PE.
The course starts at the beginning of Year 10. All theory content is completed in GCSE PE lessons and the practical content is covered within Core PE. The course follows the Edexcel specification and is broken down into two written exams worth 60% of the overall grade; one essay style, 1500 word assignment which combines with a verbal exam and equates to 10% of the overall grade. The final 30% of the course refers to students’ practical abilities within drills and game situations.
Mr S Healy
A former pupil of Thorns (87-91), and has taught PE at Thorns since 2004. His passion for sports has taken him across Europe and North America where he has spent a lot of time snowboarding or coaching football. He particularly enjoys watching and playing baseball and sharing his knowledge and expertise with the students at the Academy. Mr Healy is also the trip leader for the Academy ski trip which takes place in February each year.
