GCSE PE tutor - tutor advice?

[SchoolMum2026]

Any advice for online GCSE PE tutor for the theory side?
Child at grammar school…they seem to just expect them to do it themselves and I’m told child is failing, despite only being on the course 4 months… (and getting 8/9s in science subjects).

Do you mean the PE staff are not planning to teach any of the necessary theory work? That seems strange. They are for sure the best people to teach it. Have you actually been told there will be no theory lessons for GCSE PE? and that your DC needs to teach themselves?

Sorry… I wasn’t at all clear. They have theory lessons, just they don’t seem to be teaching any exam technique. Their tests are exam papers from what I can work out (but don’t come home after) and because of not doing well on these they’re trying to get them to drop the GCSE (after 4 months) rather than trying to teach any kind of technique. Ie: if you can’t work this out yourself, we won’t support you…..
Trying to work out how I can support at home instead.

Ah OK – well if this is year 10 (I assume so) then IMHO it’s a bit soon to be looking at past papers as so little of the spec will have been covered.

Is your DC keeping up with the work? Do they understand the theory they have learned? If so then it would be worth you downloading the spec (find out which board) and looking at some past papers and crucially the mark scheme to find out how marks are allocated and what a candidate needs to show in their answer. It may well be quite proscriptive.

If they are asking your DC to drop the subject that seems quite extreme tho, after just a term. Is there something else going on (like, your DC has realised they don‘t like the subject and so is not doing the work)?

My daughter who is doing PE GCSE (Year 11 currently) says the theory content overlaps a lot with biology, so if your child is good in biology, they should be ok for the theory test. For the November mocks my daughter didn't revise at all for PE theory as the mock was on the same day as Maths and she still got a 6 with literally zero revision (but she's good in all the sciences and got a 9 on her biology mock).

It’s actually year 9 - they take it early…. Hence, I don’t think my child has developed exam technique in any way shape or form….. which is why it seems so early to drop it.
No, DC loves it and is rather devastated by this.

I need to get more info re what the tests have been and maybe I’m wrong that they’re test papers - rather sections related to topics they’ve covered. I agree with the teacher that they are very disappointing results but just seems so bizarre that they’re not willing to work to try and improve them and rather just want the subject dropped… after 4 months 🤷‍♀️

Agree, I need to work out what the exam board is etc but just wondered if anyone had any experience of online tutors that I could try to use to get DC up to speed.

When do they take the GCSE? Do they take a lot in year 10 or just one option? Why I wonder – do they use the consequent extra time for more work on science or English or something?

I would probe further (with school I mean) the suggestion about dropping it – it seems odd to suggest that at the start of a two-year course unless there was some major lack of interest or ability, which from what you say is not likely.

edited bc of x post – what results did your DD get then? She should be able to tell you which board she is doing. If she is as keen and able as you say then a tutor is surely not needed.

Take the GCSE in yr 10.
Just this one early - then 9 taken in yr 11. Presume it’s to just up the number (but think they just want top grades with little effort from the teachers - they’ve persuaded a number to drop it already).
Yes, you’re right. Almost certainly don’t need a tutor but I’m doing a middle class panic and thinking what I can do to resolve 😆 as well as worried I don’t have the time to dedicate to get this sorted.

As a secondary PE teacher (and tutor), I’d agree this feels very early to be talking about dropping the course, especially in Year 9. Starting GCSE PE early actually gives pupils more time to develop exam technique, which is often the biggest hurdle rather than the content itself.
The good news is that there’s plenty of time to improve, exam technique is very teachable, and the earlier it’s introduced, the better the outcomes tend to be. With a structured approach over time, pupils usually make strong progress.