What you will be learning about:

At AS and A Level

• Develop an understanding of the factors influencing performance and the ability to apply these to a range of physical activities;
• Develop knowledge and skills of selected physical activities;
• Develop the skills necessary to analyse, evaluate and improve performance;
• Develop an appreciation of social, moral and cultural issues which affect participation and performance in physical activity.

At A Level

In addition, this specification should encourage candidates to:

• Develop the capacity to think critically about the relationships between the different factors influencing performance;
• Develop a capacity to explain current provision for participation in physical activity in the context of social issues and global trends.

This specification is intended to help teachers by:

• Providing a transition from GCSE Physical Education;
• Providing an assessment pattern which is flexible and accessible;
• Arranging the subject content in discrete modules of teaching and learning suitable for delivery by a team of teachers if required.

At AS Level

In the AS modules of learning, candidates will be concerned with identifying the factors which affect the establishment and improvement of performance at the foundation level of participation.

Thus, the assessment objectives of Module 1 of this specification requires candidates to develop an understanding of the physiological and psychological processes, which separately and together affect human movements that underpin performance.

In Module 2, candidates will gain an understanding of how the social, cultural, moral and historical factors which influence participation in and provision for sport and physical activity affect performance.

Module 3 requires all candidates to plan, perform and evaluate an exercise training programme. It also provides, through further coursework, the opportunity for candidates to apply their knowledge and understanding in the evaluation and improvement of their own or others performance. They can do this by demonstration and analysis of skills in structured practice conditions, or a written report.

The A2 modules of learning provide candidates with the opportunity to develop and extend their knowledge, skills and understanding gained at AS to enable them to identify the factors which lead to the optimisation of their own or others’ performance.

The assessment objectives of Module 4 require a deeper understanding of the physiological and psychological processes studied at AS and their effects on the ability of performers to optimise their performance. It reinforces the interaction of the cognitive and the physiological as a necessary pre-requisite for elite performance.

In Module 5 candidates should be able to analyse, through physical education, the effects of Global Trends on participation. They should also be able to critically evaluate the socio-cultural and contemporary issues, which influence trends of participation in sport in the UK France and the USA. The unit, which assesses this module, will also include, as a separate section, some of the required synoptic assessment.

Module 6 provides candidates with the opportunity, through coursework, to evaluate their own or others’ performance. Candidates will be required, through demonstration in a competition/performance situation or by written report, to extend the application of their knowledge to identify the factors which promote optimisation of performance. This module of learning also requires candidates to undertake a written Synoptic Assignment. This piece of externally assessed coursework will enable candidates to demonstrate their knowledge of the principles and concepts of connections across areas of the subject.

HOW YOU WILL BE ASSESSED

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CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
The qualification allows for a number of progression routes:

Higher/Further Education – Sports Science, Leisure & Recreational Management, Coaching, Exercise Physiology, Fitness Instruction, Personal Training, Physiotherapy.