Physical Education

At Caterham we firmly believe that there is a physical activity for everyone.

All pupils are given a grounding in the basic skills in of all of our major sports and we aim to give all of our pupil’s experience of competitive sport. With this in mind, we run as many teams as is feasibly possible in our major sports and we have regular house competitions that involve as many pupils as possible.

Inevitably, over time we discover which pupils are best suited to competitive sport and which may enjoy pursuing more recreational activities. In both cases we are committed to giving our pupils a positive experience, and we hope to engender a lifelong love of sport and physical activity in all our pupils. Team members receive high quality coaching and the School does all it can to help each individual reach their potential. We are very proud of our sporting success with teams and individuals regularly performing successfully at a regional and international level.

Pupils receive one PE lesson per week. During these lessons pupil will be taught the key skills in invasion games, ball skills, racket skills, health related fitness, athletics and swimming.

Pupils also have a games afternoon every week, during which the school’s major sports are practised – these are Rugby, Hockey, Cricket (for boys), Netball, Lacrosse, (for girls) and Tennis and Athletics (both girls and boys).

Additionally, we run regular practice’s and matches in Badminton, Swimming, Basketball, Cross Country, Football and Rounders which are open to all pupils. Pupils can also learn the skills of Archery, Scuba Diving, Tae Kwon Do, Judo and Fencing, all of which are coached by expert visiting coaches.

Pupils and parents should familiarise themselves with the department’s kit policy. Pupils are expected to be smartly turned out when representing the School and failure to adhere to these rules will be punished.

Academic

The study of academic PE is a popular and highly enjoyable part of the Caterham School sporting experience, with GCSE and A Level PE students benefitting enormously from the knowledge, experience, passion and enthusiasm for sport that each one of their teachers has in abundance.

In both amateur and professional sport, the role of sports science has never been more high profile. At both GCSE and A Level, where we follow the Edexcel syllabus, there is a strong emphasis on human sports performance. The students gain knowledge in how the human body works and they then go on to learn and understand the key principles underlying the work of a sports scientist in trying to make the body perform even more efficiently. This includes studying areas such as the cardiovascular, respiratory and muscular systems, components of fitness, training principles and methods, fitness testing, energy systems, nutrition, hydration and sports psychology. We also look at some of the more controversial issues in sport, such as the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Both GCSE and A Level PE are about much more that just elite performance. We look in-depth at what it means to lead a healthy and active lifestyle, and we place a great deal of significance on the importance of life-long participation in sport, at any level. The practical element of both courses ensures that the many talented students that we have here at Caterham are able to be rewarded for the hard work that they put in both on and off the sports field. The GCSE course is 60% practical and 40% theory, whilst the A Level course is split 50/50 between a theory exam and practical-based coursework. This also ensures that the topics that we study can actually be put into practice on a day to day basis by the students when they go out and perform in their favourite sports.

Each year the A level students have the opportunity to visit the Surrey High Performance Institute at the Surrey Sports Park, where they undertake a variety of lab and field-based testing. As well as consolidating part of their syllabus, this visit gives first-hand experience of what is it like for an elite athlete to undergo a series of rigorous fitness tests. We encourage the students to keep up to date with the sports pages, and each week there is always something relevant to discuss from the wider world of sport. This helps to make PE one of the most dynamic and exciting subjects that the students could wish to study.

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