Physical Education

AS and A Level


Phys­ical Educa­tion at AS and A level would be a suit­able course of study for anyone inter­ested in the area of Phys­ical Educa­tion and sport. The two years of study cover the psycho­lo­gical and social aspects of PE and sport. The aim is to apply theor­et­ical know­ledge learnt in class to prac­tical and sport­ing situ­ations there­fore improv­ing over­all performance. .

At AS two units are covered:

Unit 1: Parti­cip­a­tion in sport and recre­ation
The unit content is divided into two sections:

The first section will develop your know­ledge and under­stand­ing of what consti­tutes a healthy and active life­style. You will invest­ig­ate how the body responds and adapts to exer­cise, the compon­ents of phys­ical and skill fitness and differ­ent meth­ods of fitness train­ing. The rationale behind carry­ing out fitness assess­ments and the proto­cols asso­ci­ated with recog­nised fitness tests will also be considered.

The second section encour­ages you to develop your know­ledge and under­stand­ing of how compet­it­ive sport has developed over time. You will learn how a lifelong involve­ment in sport is encouraged.

This unit makes up 50% of the AS course (25% of A2), and is assessed by a 1.5 hour exam in June. The paper will contain short-answer and extended-writing type ques­tions, all of which are compulsory.

Unit 2: Course­work - The Crit­ical Sports Performer
This unit requires you to take on the roles of performer, leader and offi­cial, and apply this to your chosen sport through four assign­ments.
Course­work makes up 50% of the AS course (25% of A2).

The A2 course comprises two units:

Unit 3: Prepar­a­tion for Optimum Sports Perform­ance
In this unit you will develop a know­ledge and under­stand­ing of the short- and long-term physiolo­gical and psycho­lo­gical prepar­a­tions made by elite athletes. You will consider the short- and long-term tech­nical prepar­a­tions required, eg selec­tion of appro­pri­ate kit and equip­ment, the use of train­ing camps, differ­ent types of ergo­nomic aids.

The assess­ment of this unit is through a 2-hour exam­in­a­tion paper consist­ing of short-answer and extended-writing type ques­tions, all of which are compuls­ory. This unit counts for 25% of the A2 marks.

Unit 4: Course­work - The Devel­op­ing Sports Performer
The tasks under­taken in the AS Unit 2 above: The Crit­ical Sports Performer lay the found­a­tion for you to special­ise in one prac­tical perform­ance role and progress this perform­ance, and under­take three further tasks.

You will construct a devel­op­ment plan to further progress your perform­ance as performers, lead­ers or officials.

You will also research one of these roles in an inter­na­tional context, taking in grass­roots parti­cip­a­tion, elite perform­ance and other factors.
You will then continue to refine your perform­ances in one chosen role.

Lastly, you will plan your life in phys­ical activ­ity, from the AS course to the poten­tial oppor­tun­it­ies and perform­ance struc­ture open to you, thereby outlining a ‘time line’, through school, college, univer­sity, club, veter­ans and future roles.

You must under­take four tasks for assess­ment in this unit. You will be assessed intern­ally and moder­ated extern­ally by means of a CD. This unit counts for 25% of the A2 marks.

Specific­a­tion:  Edex­cel Phys­ical Educa­tion  AS 8PE01 A level 9PE01
Click here to down­load the current specific­a­tion for this A level course.

After AS/A level
This course provides an excel­lent base for students who wish to study PE and sport related courses at univer­sity whilst being prac­tical enough for students who would just like to work in a local gym. A level PE opens many doors to many inter­est­ing and reward­ing career opportunities.

Student Comments
“I love play­ing sport, and with A level PE I can under­stand what is happen­ing physiologically.”

“I like the combin­a­tion of prac­tical and theory work.”