PE as a GCSE

[Orangeandgold]

Who did PE as a GCSE? Is it a decent qualification?

My DDs school has significantly cut down on the subjects they have for GCSE (No law, sociology, computer science) - they have the compulsory ones, languages and a few sporty options as they take pride in their sports facilities.

We are wondering if we should move schools or just select PE - but what is it like as a GCSE subject? What do you learn?

My AIBU is thinking that it’s not a “proper GCSE”.

I wouldn't worry about the lack of computer science or imedia at GCSE, because of the lack of teachers in these subjects at this level there is no requirement for them to have studied the GCSE to do the A-level.
DD is doing the A-level computer science after having done GCSE computer science (the last year offered it in her school as they couldn't replace her teacher who.left part way through her course) and says she is at an advantage having done the GCSE but that she is studying along side others who haven't done it and they are covering everything they need to know for the whole A-level.

The GCSE PE is quite good in that it does overlap some of the biology they do so helps them a bit in that respect.

So she will be doing 2 x Eng, maths, 3 x science, history (or geog), MFL, RE -that's 9.

Then she has to pick two more - can she do the other humanity? She can also choose from PE GCSE, vocational PE (not sure what that is tbh but maybe BTEC?), dance, textiles, music, art.

If she does sport outside school PE sounds like a shoe-in.

Sounds OK to me op. Is business an option? Or drama? Or another MFL? My dd with similar numbers of choices did drama and music, but she plays clarinet. Ds did PE and CS but it's hard to find CS teachers.

I agree it's either very late or very early BTW.

Dd is not particularly academic and wanted to do PE. Dh wanted her to do geography. I reminded him that a good grade in a subject she was motivated to study and helped her keeping fit would be far more beneficial to her future than a poor grade in a subject she was forced to study. She will have no problems doing her sports as she is very sporty in and out of school

so she is doing dual award science, PE, music, French and Spanish plus English and maths

@XelaM dd also will be doing equestrian as her solo sport, they are assessed by the PE teacher at their yard (school use the yard for riding activities) on set criteria apparently, although I think Dd intends on doing some BD tests for SMART evidence of progress

fortunately we have no stupid rules forcing children into a one size fits all approach if making them study RE and a humanity. They don't have to do a humanity at all. Which suits Dd as she is good at languages. She hates writing essays etc so her choices really play to her strengths

i felt pe was far more useful fir future life than many of the other options as it benefits career options such as physiotherapy, nutrition, all sorts

@StiffyByngsDogBartholomew how do they decide the sport that they are assed in? Does it have to be one that the school has resources for or can it be an activity they do outside school?

I don’t really understand this video element that I’ve seen.

I agree - it’s great when children can pick the subjects that suites them - which is what I’m encouraging DD to do as the other options she’s forced to take are hardcore.

thanks

@Orangeandgold usually three sports at GCSE but check the spec. Ds offered footy and athletics, both of which he did outside school, and iirc badminton. All three were assessed in school but if you offer eg skiing, that's when you need to take videos. Tho I recall filming him throwing a discus a lot one summer. Also trying to film him making a great save (gk).

He had to offer one team sport, one individual and then one either.

My son did academic PE gcse in his selective private school and it was popular. Quite a lot of biology and half practical.

You pick two sports and it's a wide list (he did skiing and hockey) but you can do athletics too. Don’t pick skiing as the video part ruins the holiday! Most of the boys were county level at one of their sports but it's not a requirement. The sports will be videoed and there will be a visit from a moderator to watch a few live (from memory). If they mark down those students, everyone is moderated.

Not said in a boastful way but to answer your question about whether it counts against you as a weak option, he got four A stars at A level and is at Durham. So I wouldn't worry on that front, it's quite well regarded and won't raise concerns. I probably wouldn't have encouraged it at A level though unless you're doing sports science at Uni.

if she wants an 'easy' option, it's not for her.
as pp say it's a combination of practical and theory and the extra committments required are time consuming.

I think PE would be a useful one to do in life. It’s good to know about nutrition and how to keep yourself fit and healthy. I wish I’d done it. It’s not something I ever prioritised and have had to learn a lot later in life but I think it’s a life skill, like learning to cook.

You can make it work for any sports, it's easier if it's one they do in school, as the teacher can do the video assessment, but if it's done out of school there's clear guidance on what you need to capture.

For DD her main sport was swimming so we worked with her club to do some filming at the end of a training session. All other swimmers were out of the pool, and I had to film a dive, a turn and a couple of strokes. The coaches were familiar with the assessment criteria as several swimmers had done the GCSE.

I also had to film at a gala, which was harder but mainly because for swimming you have to film the time board showing the name and lane as proof of who the swimmer is (hats make them unrecognisable!)

She was also filmed playing netball, which school handled.

With hindsight she should have done the BTEC route instead of GCSE. The practical stuff was a doddle, it was the biology bit that dragged her grade down.

OP - you want your child to come out of school with the best possible set of results for them. Maths, English and science are essential but other than that, it’s do what works and will help you get to where you need to go. Have an eye on essentials in terms of what she is aiming for in life (you need sciences for medicine, as an obvious example) but otherwise, as many GCSEs as you can is good. Don’t fret about ‘easy’ or ‘hard.

My son did GCSE PE. It complemented biology brilliantly. He absolutely loved it but competed in sports at county and district level and was UK ranked in a sport.

You can make it work for any sports
Actually that's not true. There's an approved list. For GCSE they must do one team sport, one individual and one more of either (it was reduced to 2 for a while because of covid but I'm pretty sure it's bsvk to 3 now). There are restrictions on what you can put together eg you can't be assessed in both dance and figure skating or skiing and snowboarding. There are also restrictions on some sports eg cycling has to be track, road or BMX racing so my son's friend who is a highly ranked cyclocross rider couldn't use that. It is all in the specifications from each exam board though I believe the list of sports is centrally approved so they're all the same.

Of course it's a proper gcse. Think of it like music. Only with sport.

It's great if they want to go into sport science or similar

This is really helpful, thank you. My ds is quite capable academically, but isn't sciency (at the moment they think they'll put him in for the double science, and expect him to get a 4/5). We've been wondering which route would like suit him best. At his school, the PE department steers them down the correct route (other than GCSE, they have Cambridge National). I think we'll encourage him to do Cambridge Narional.

Sorry to hijack the thread. Watching with interest.

Very science and theory based.

But they also need a sport and need to be good at it.

You'll struggle to find many schools nowadays who will offer sociology and law GCSEs anymore. Computer science is hit and miss.

Lots schools are struggling to offer a broad range of languages too.

My DS is at an all boys grammar school. It is a very academic school with a strong Humanities reputation. He chose PE as one of his GCSEs as did many boys in his year. It is very theory based and links in very well with higher tier Biology. The coursework element will hopefully have been good prep for the coursework demands for one of his chosen A Levels.

My DS’s school encourage the boys to choose PE, Drama, Food Tech or Music as a GCSE as it provides a more rounded KS4 experience.

If your dd is quite academic and a bit sporty, she will probably do quite well in GCSE PE.

As PP have said
They choose 3 sports from the list.
1 team, 1 individual a d 1 from either.
It's a free choice.
Within some sports they have to choose a specific event or discipline...so within athletics you could choose 800m, or cross country.
If they already do one or more of the sports outside school that's ideal. Otherwise the school will offer a selection..so if they have never done curling school are unlikely to offer or organise it. But DDs school offer lots of accessible options for people to try like climbing and handball.
They offer skiing as part of the annual ski trip for example and do the assessment and filming there...along with some trips to the local indoor slope.

If you are relatively fit you can score reasonably at 5k for example and do some parkruns...without being typically sporty and on the football team.

You then have to be assessed. DD was assessed for netball entirely within school. But she also took part in the handball and other team sport assessments to make up the numbers for a full match.

School also arranged some assessments for both drills/practice and completion for athletics and swimming which were her two individual sports ....basically an afternoon at the track or pool with other local schools. However she also provided all her club results and video evidence of her club training and county championship level racing which is just additional evidence to support the teachers assessment.

I did it years ago so may b a bit different now. I certainly found it a much easier subject than the others I took. I also did biology so there was some overlap. I hated it as I was one of 3 girls who took it and the other two were really good friends the boys in my school were just vile.

Of course it’s a proper GCSE. And why does it matter - I barely remember what GCSEs I did. Just tell DD to do the minimum to get to the next stage; that’s what I tell my kids. Why angst.

That's a disappointing range of options. The lack of computer science is especially concerning. Personally I think it should be compulsory.
Of the choices she has, I'd encourage her to choose whatever she is best at and most likely to get a high grade in.

Law and sociology are no great loss at KS4 but compsci is a shame. I'm afraid it will be a staffing issue. It is nigh impossible to recruit computer science teachers.

Moving schools seems quite an extreme reaction - does your DD want to move? Make sure that the grass is greener before you jump. All schools are dealing with the same staffing issues to a greater or lesser extent.

So eBacc aside, the full list is

PE
Dance (No drama?)
Textiles (no other DT? Food? Catering?)
Music
Art

Is that all? Can they do a second humanity or second language?

If you go beyond a gsce level of education, most employers won't be that interested in what you have as long as you have maths and English, so the best advice is to do what you're interested in.

I wouldn't necessarily describe them as 'lesser' but they are a bit pointless at KS4 (and I would add GCSE psychology to this list, too). They are rarely taught by specialists and they are completely unnecessary for a career in either field. Most of the lawyers I know didn't even do law for their undergraduate degree.