PHYSICAL EDUCATION: STATEMENT OF INTENT
The Physical Education Department aim to provide all students with a challenging, engaging and safe environment for high quality teaching and learning to take place. This is achieved through creating an enjoyable and productive atmosphere for staff and students, where we strive to inspire and engage students to participate and achieve their full potential. Christ the King were awarded ‘Secondary School of the Year’ 2018/19 and 2022/23 at the Preston Sports Awards and then went on to achieve ‘Lancashire School of the Year’ at the Lancashire Sports Awards 2022/23.
The PE Department consists of four members of staff who are highly committed to their role. The highest standards are expected of learners, who are encouraged to contribute effectively to the wider society by promoting respect, honesty and integrity in all aspects of their lives. Through the ethos of the subject and Christ the King, students develop personal qualities such as resilience, self-esteem, self-confidence and empathy as they are encouraged to reflect upon their performances and actions. Relationships within the department promote respect between teachers and students with values taught in accordance with the school ethos; “Love one another as I have loved you.” (John, 15)
The Physical Education programme aims to develop students’ competence and confidence to take part in a range of physical activities that become a central part of their lives, both in and out of school. This is fulfilled by offering a broad and balanced Physical Education curriculum. Students experience a wide range of activities that develop their skills, tactics, strategies and compositional ideas that enable them to perform successfully. Students reflect on their performance and that of others, giving appropriate and constructive feedback to enhance learning and are encouraged to accept feedback and display empathy when working with others.
KEY STAGE 3 PE
In Key Stage 3, students cover a wide range of sporting activities that are re-visited each year in order to promote progress and skill progression. Some of the activities include: Netball, Trampolining, Football, Table Tennis, Handball and Athletics. The PE Department aim to nurture a love of learning early in a student’s secondary PE experience and strive to find every student a life-long sporting interest. The department are committed to exploring funding opportunities to enhance student experiences in PE; they have successfully achieved a Sport England grant to purchase two new trampolines which give all students the opportunity to participate in trampoline at Key Stage 3 in addition to extra-curricular practices. Year 9 students have the opportunity within their curriculum to train as Sports Leaders and help officiate, score and coach at Primary events, therefore developing essential life-long qualities.
KEY STAGE 4 PE
Key Stage 3 forms the foundation for those students who wish to progress to GCSE level, therefore the curriculum reflects the activities offered in the GCSE specification. This allows students to master skills early, with the opportunity to make more progress throughout their school years leading up to their final examinations in Year 11. Most recently, the department have secured funding from the YST, to provide a self-defence course for Key Stage 4 students. In Key Stage 4 PE, students will either choose GCSE PE (Edexcel) as an optional subject or continue participation through CORE PE. All students participate in CORE PE which is two lessons per week focusing on practical performance. GCSE PE students will have an additional three lessons per week to cover theory content, in addition to the two CORE PE lessons. Non-option PE students will support GCSE students in practical lessons when preparing for moderation. In the final GCSE assessments, 30% of the course is the assessment of practical performance, 10% is written coursework and 60% is theory examination. The department are committed to finding a route that allows every student to achieve their full potential therefore organising practical courses with outside agencies to maximise practical grades, for example, in individual performance in rock climbing and road cycling. The department has achieved fantastic examination results over a number of years ranking within the top 5 schools in the Lancashire Value Added Project 2017 -2020 and maintain this strong, consistent performance year on year.
EXTRA CURRICULAR OPPORTUNITIES
The PE Department provide an outstanding range of extra-curricular activities for all of the students Christ the King. There are numerous sports clubs available at break times, lunchtimes and after school providing all students with the opportunity to participate recreationally or competitively. The programme is reviewed half termly and new activities are introduced throughout the year, ranging from recreational clubs including Badminton and Fitness to competitive sport such as Football, Boxing, Handball and Netball. All Preston Schools’ Leagues are entered and all students have the opportunity to train and represent our school in fixtures. The department aim to develop competitive and successful sporting teams that encourage students to develop personal qualities of commitment, fairness, enthusiasm and good sportsmanship. Strong club links have been formed with external agencies and coaches which include: Lancashire Cricket, Preston North End, UCLan Sport, British Cycling, Larches and Savick Boxing Club and Project Fit (Clubbercise). As a credit to their commitment to school sport, Christ the King have been awarded the prestigious Gold School Games Mark. Students are rewarded for participation in extra-curricular sporting activities as the department run an ‘extra-curricular passport’ scheme where students who attend 25 extra-curricular sessions receive a ticket to a rewards trip; students have visited Manchester United, Energi Trampoline Park and Clip n Climb. An annual CTK Sports Awards Evening is held at school in the summer term to reward students who have shown commitment to school sport at recreational and competitive levels. World Thai Boxing Champion Rachael MacKenzie and Preston North End Goal Keeper Matthew Hudson have awarded trophies at these prestigious events and completed Q and A sessions with the students. The evening includes a charity raffle for signed sporting merchandise with the proceeds donated to St Catherine’s Hospice.
In addition to the extra-curricular programme, all students are encouraged to participate in inter-house sporting competitions every half term. The inter-house fixtures are extremely popular in school and promote the values of fair-play and sportsmanship whilst encouraging a competitive nature. The competitions include four school Houses participating in; Netball (KS3 and KS4 mixed teams), Football (girls and boys), Badminton, Dodgeball, Tug of War and Sports Day.
Every term, staff and students at Christ the King participate in ‘Fit Friday’ to promote the benefits of leading a healthy and active lifestyle and meeting recommended activity levels for adults and young people. On Fit Friday every student participates in an extra 20 minutes of exercise in one of their lessons that day; all students are timetabled a lesson where they participate in some form of physical activity outside of PE lessons. For example in English, a Year 9 class were studying the Titanic. The class went on a walk around Avenham park and walked 2,223 steps; the number of passengers on the ship. At break time, House Sports Captains give out free fruit donated from local supermarkets and fitness taster sessions are organised for lunchtimes, such as Clubbercise, Block Fit and Meta Fit.
Physical Education provides students with the confidence to work in teams and develop essential leadership skills needed beyond school life. The department work with external visitors to educate Key Stage 4 students about Further Education opportunities. For example, Newman College Physical Education Department visit school to deliver Year 11 morning assemblies and well-being Yoga sessions on Extended Learning Days; the Royal Marines visit yearly to work with a selected group of PE students, and Preston North End are in contact regularly about the Further Education courses they have on offer. Physical Education lends itself to a range of careers in sports and fitness as well as other industries: for example, many nutritionists, physical therapists and chiropractors have studied PE at Degree level. As PE develops students’ communication and social skills, studying Physical Education may enhance any future employment opportunities.