Physiological factors affecting performance: 

• Applied anatomy and physiology: examining the skeletal and muscular systems, the cardio-vascular and respiratory systems; how these bodily systems are structured and how they respond to exercise.  You will develop an understanding of how physiological considerations affect an individual’s health participation in physical activity.
• Exercise physiology: this is the study of the key factors that affect the body’s ability to perform.  You will develop your knowledge and understanding of diet, nutrition and ergogenic aids and their effect on physical activity and performance.  You will also look at different training methods in relation to improving and maintaining performance and the adaptations that occur as a result.
• Biomechanics: this involves the study of force and its effect on human movement in sports activities.  The ultimate goal of biomechanics is to improve performance by optimising technique, training and equipment and prevent injury.  You will study Newton’s Laws, levers, linear and angular motion, fluid mechanics and projectile motion.

Psychological factors affecting performance: 

• Skill acquisition: this looks at the principles required to optimise the learning of new, and the development of existing, skills.  You will look at the importance of being able to classify skills in order to select the most suitable approach to learning as well as the underlying factors required for effective performance.
• Sports psychology: you will develop your knowledge and understanding of the psychological factors that can affect performers.  A focus on both individual aspects and group and team dynamics will be taken.  You will get the opportunity to look at the roles of attribution and motivation to performance as well as leadership and stress management.

Socio-cultural issues in physical activity and sport

• Sport and society: a look at how sport and physical activity have developed through time and factors that shaped contemporary sport.  Case studies in football, tennis, athletics and cricket will be charted through history.  Alongside this you will look at global sporting events and how they reflect social issues.
• Contemporary issues in physical activity and sport: examining the ethics involved in sport and deviance that affects sport and sporting behaviour.  Learners will debate the positive and negative impacts of commercialisation and the media on sport as well as the importance and development of modern technology.

Performance in physical education

• Practical performance: you will be assessed on your practical performance in one activity from the approved activities list.  You will be required to demonstrate your use of tactics and techniques, your ability to observe the rules and conventions under applied conditions.  Practical assessment of candidates must be within full competitive situations.  A Level PE students are expected to be training and performing regularly in their chosen sport.  If your sport is offered as a competitive sport at college and you are picked to play, as an A level PE student you are expected to participate and represent your college and this forms part of your practical assessment. 
• Evaluation and analysis of performance for improvement (EAPI): you will observe a live performance by a peer and analyse and critically evaluating their performance.

Please click here for an approved activities list. 

Remember, being a keen footballer for example, does not always equal success on this course.

It is important to note that this is a theory course and all lessons will be given to the delivery of the theory content.  Having said this you will experience a wide variety of teaching styles and activities during lessons, for example undertaking an investigation into the effect of exercise on heart rate; working in groups to prepare a debate on hosting global sporting events or completing practical skills to look at the use of guidance to learn motor skills.

Please note that the majority of lessons will be classroom based, with practical work where it fits with the course content.

This is a two year course. You will NOT be entered for an external AS exam at the end of the first year. In the second year of the course, you will take three external exams that assess content covered in the first and second year.  These exams range from 1-2 hour and will be a mixture of short answer and essay questions. These exams: physiological (30%), psychological (20%) and social cultural (20%) make up 70% of your final grade.

The practical element of the course will be 30% of your final grade. 15% from performing and 15% analysing performance.

Please note that the practical element is a very small contributor to your overall grade. However, A level PE students are expected to be training and performing regularly in their chosen sport.  If your sport is offered as a competitive sport at College and you are picked to play, as an A level PE student you are expected to participate and represent your College and this forms part of your practical assessment. The department also holds ‘practical weeks’ which you are expected to attend so we can ensure you are on track to achieve a mark/grade in the practical part of the course. 

• Every student has an account for EverLearner, which has hundreds of tutorial videos for each topic and checkpoint tasks and practice questions;
• The Study Directory holds a range of resources, articles and information;
• PE Review magazine, articles stored in the library are copied and uploaded to Google Sites for extended/additional reading;
• 'Careers in Sport' Exhibition is held in house and involves a variety of speakers from different sporting industries;
• Trips and visits to universities and industry events;
• Many different enrichment activities of a high standard as well as the opportunity to represent the College at national and international level;
• Exam question booklets are produced for each unit for students to practise in their own time;
• Consolidation examples and support is given;
• Exam technique workshops;
• In-house revision day with guest external speakers;
• Structured Google classroom with folders, lesson resources, exam practice materials, study guides/techniques;
• Structured home learning plan.

Physical education combines well with all subjects.  Popular combinations include biology, chemistry, medical science, psychology, sociology and business studies.

Physical education is a recognised entry qualification to higher education.  The course is of particular value for those wishing to pursue a career or degree course in the following areas: sports science or sport studies; leisure studies; sports therapy/physiotherapy; sports coaching; recreation management, public services and, of course, PE teaching.

Please see below for careers and labour market information for physical education - use the refresh buttons to find out about different courses and careers, and use the left and right arrows to view more detailed information.

You can find the prep work for this course at prepwork.farnborough.ac.uk.

Q: What is the difference between A level physical education and the vocational sport course?
A: In physical education, you are assessed in three exams at the end of the course, which make up 70% of your final grade.  The remainder comes from assessment as a performer or coach (15%) and a spoken assessment linking performance/coaching in your sport with the theory covered in lessons (15%).  The vocational course has two exams which can be re-sat if required and make up 42% of your final grade. You can view a breakdown document highlighting the differences here.

Q: How much practical do we do in lessons?
A: Physical education is a theoretical course and therefore the vast majority of work is classroom based.  We may do practical where it links with the course but wouldn’t have a lesson just playing football or netball, for example.  You will need to be assessed as a performer or coach, and for this we hold ‘practical weeks’ which you are expected to attend so we can ensure you are on track to achieve a good grade in this part of the course.  You are also expected to join the College team in your sport, if there is one. 

Q: What sports can I be assessed in?
A: There are a wide range of activities to choose from, but your choice must come from the specification produced by OCR.  You can be assessed as a performer or coach in any one of these activities.  We strongly recommend being assessed as a performer, unless you are already involved in coaching and hold level 2 qualifications.  Please click here for an approved activities list. 

Q: What can I do with physical education after college?
A: Many of our students go on to university to study sports science courses.  Other popular choices include sports psychology, physiotherapy, nursing, teaching, sports management and routes into the Army.  Some students choose to attend dance colleges, take on apprenticeships or gain work experience as activity leaders, coaches or teaching assistants.  Less traditional options are architecture and history - the options are very varied!  

Q: Is there any coursework? 
A: The course is heavily exam-focused, particularly in science which is why we ask for slightly higher grades in your GCSE science courses.  There is no written coursework, but there is non-examined assessment which is practical performance and the spoken task, based on evaluating and analysing a performance and suggesting how to improve it. A level PE students are expected to be training and performing regularly in their chosen sport.  If your sport is offered as a competitive sport at College and you are picked to play, as an A level PE student you are expected to participate and represent your College and this forms part of your practical assessment. The department also holds ‘practical weeks’ which you are expected to attend so we can ensure you are on track to achieve a mark/grade in the practical part of the course.