Physical Education is at the very heart of Stoke Newington School and our inspiring curriculum will help all pupils to experience competitive situations, working as a team, leadership and creativity. Physical Education plays a big part in our physical, social and mental development. It also helps to motivate pupils to take part in regular exercise and draw a correlation between physical health and general well-being, which resonates outside of the gym or classroom.

Pupils take part in physical education from Year 7 to Year 11 and as pupils progress through the school they will grow in confidence and widen their sporting role to become performers, leaders and officials. Opportunities to compete in sport and physical activity helps with mental well-being, helps to build character and also to embed values such as fairness, sportsmanship and respect.

Pupils at Stoke Newington School have a wide range of physical ability and we provide suitable learning opportunities for all pupils by matching the challenge of the task to the ability of the pupil. In doing so we help to raise pupils’ health and fitness levels, improve physical skills and develop resilience and perseverance.

Our intentions are to:

  • Enable pupils to develop and explore physical skills.
  • Encourage working with others in a range of group situations.
  • Develop the way pupils apply rules for different activities.
  • Show pupils how to improve the quality of their performance.
  • Enable pupils to recognise and describe how their bodies feel during exercise.
  • Develop the pupil’s enjoyment of physical activity through creativity.
  • Develop an understanding of how to evaluate their own success.
  • Encourage all pupils to engage in our extra-curricular programme.

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Physical Education at Key Stage 3

In Year 7 and Year 8 PE lessons, students engage in a range of activities honing their skills, techniques, and tactics across a diverse spectrum of sports and physical activity. These include invasion games such as football, rugby, netball and basketball, gymnastics, dance, trampolining, table tennis, badminton and summer sports including athletics and rounders. Pupils are assessed on how well they apply the rules and tactics of a sport (head), demonstrate understanding of the benefits of physical activity (heart) and master the practical skills of a sport (hands).

Year 7 Curriculum Map | Year 8 Curriculum Map
Year 7 Assessment Grid | Year 8 Assessment Grid

Physical Education at Key Stage 4

All upper school pupils at Stoke Newington School participate in 3 or 6 lessons of PE in their two week timetable depending on year group. Within their lessons pupils take part in a range of on and off-site activities that encourage healthy active lifestyles. Year 9 and 10 pupils participate in 11 different activities across the year, building on the knowledge, understanding and skills they learnt but also developing new skills in varying sports not undertaken in lower school. All pupils will undertake a short unit of work using leisure centre facilities participating in bi-weekly spinning sessions (or equivalent). Year 11 pupils participate in 5 different activities across their final year continually participating in active lessons in which they are encouraged to utilise the time to refocus and build relationships with their peers. Pupils are delivered enjoyable, active lessons with varying activities including badminton, team building, yoga, fitness, trampolining and football.

GCSE PE (OCR)

The GCSE PE course equips students with the knowledge, understanding and skills to develop their own performance in sport. Pupils will also develop their understanding of socio-cultural influences on participation in sport, and the benefits of physical activity to health, fitness and well-being. GCSE PE comprises 3 different assessments:

  • 2 written exams: Physical factors affecting performance (30%) and Socio-cultural issues and sports psychology (30%)
  • Written performance analysis coursework (10%)
  • Practical performance in three sports both team or individual (30%)

OCR Cambridge National in Sport Studies Level 1/2 | Key stage 4

This is a course for students who are passionate and engaged in sport and physical activity. Those who are active in the participation and eager to develop themselves and others.

We teach the 4 units in the following order:

  1. Contemporary Issues in sport (60 mark exam)
  2. Sport Leadership (coursework assessed inc. practical)
  3. Media in sport (coursework assessed)
  4. Practical sport (performance in 2 sports + linked coursework)
Year 9 PE curriculum map
Year 9 GCSE PE curriculum map
Year 10 PE curriculum map
Year 10 GCSE curriculum map
Year 10 CAMNAT Sports Studies curriculum map
Year 11 PE curriculum map
Year 11 GCSE PE curriculum map
Year 11 CAMNAT Sports Studies curriculum map
Key Stage 4 Resources

PE and Sport at Key Stage 5

A Level PE (OCR)

Pupils who study A Level PE here at Stoke Newington are pupils who are passionate, engaged and inquisitive about the world of sport. They thrive on grasping new and exciting knowledge across a range of thought-provoking and challenging topics and outside of school are participating in at least one sport at a very high level.

In year 12 students will begin by learning about the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, respiratory and energy systems. This anatomical and physiological understanding enables students to analyse movements, training and techniques breaking them down into scientific detail so that improvements can be made. Students also delve into ways in which we learn and acquire skills and will understand and debate absorbing theories in personality, motivation and anxiety.

In year 13 students will use their theoretical knowledge to analyse and evaluate another performance in their chosen sport. This oral piece of coursework forms on one their assessed units in conjunction with their own sporting performance. Developing on their knowledge of anatomy and psychology learning from the first-year, students will learn to apply the principles of physics to sport in a biomechanics unit where they will understand fluid dynamics and projectile motion among other concepts. Finally, they draw upon contemporary issues and learn about the development of sport in the third and final exam unit on socio-cultural issues in sport.

The Exam is worth 70% of the final grade and practical assessment and coursework makes up the remaining 30%.

BTEC Sport-Extended Diploma (Edexcel)

Pupils who opt to study the BTEC sport qualification are those who are often set on pursuing a career or higher education pathway post 18. This course, equivalent to 3 A Levels, really does teach pupils all about the wider world of sport. They will undertake units in a huge variety of topics being assessed through an array of methods.

This course is more hands on and practical in nature as pupils learn how to coach, administer first aid and conduct fitness assessments. Pupils who study this course will also work closely with the PE department to deliver part of the school’s inter-form sport competitions. Due to its largely independent and intensive studying nature pupils acquire a skillset that will see them leave Stoke Newington well equipped to work in the industry or go to on to university to study sport there. There are 14 units to complete over the two year period and 4 of these are externally assessed. The units include topics such as Anatomy and Physiology, Fitness Training and Testing, Sports Leadership and Sports Psychology.

This qualification, the equivalent to 3 A Levels, really covers every aspect of sport and its academic underpinning. Students who select and complete this course are very motivated, involved and passionate about sport and physical activity.

Year 12 A Level PE curriculum map | 13 A level PE curriculum map
Year 12 BTEC Sport curriculum maps | Year 13 BTEC Sport curriculum maps
Key Stage 5 Resources

Enrichment

Our extra-curricular offering here at Stoke Newington is unrivalled. We pride ourselves in promoting and delivering a broad range of activities at lunch times and after school. They range from, but are not exclusive to; table tennis, gymnastics, football, netball, basketball, dance, handball and athletics. Many of these clubs are open to everyone and all of them are free of charge. As a result of this extensive enrichment programme we have an excellent record of success across the capital.

Our alumni of successful athletes:

Paige Bailey Gayle - professional footballer Leicester City Ladies & England U19s

Sean Clare - professional footballer Hearts FC

Aaron Rowe - professional footballer Huddersfield FC

Tao Geoghegan Hart - professional cyclist UCI World Team Team Ineos

Lawrence Okolie - professional boxer European cruiserweight champion

Jim Pope - climber Team GB

Lauren George - footballer Scholarship to Alabama University

Career and future pathways

We have had students leave us to go on and study sport related degrees at Loughborough, Brunel, Bath, Exeter, Canterbury and Manchester universities. We have also had students who have studied the A Level or BTEC and go on to do degrees unrelated to sport, complete apprenticeships, work as a sports coach and personal training. We are experienced in producing pupils who are prepared and adept in a range of transferable skills.

Potential careers you could pursue post 18 could be:

  • Sports coach
  • Physiotherapist
  • Fitness instructor
  • Leisure centre manager
  • PE teacher
  • Professional athlete
  • Sports journalist
  • Sports psychologist
  • Nutritionist
  • Masseuse