As someone who plays a lot of sport, the best thing about A Level PE is being able to use the things you’ve learned in your own sporting life. It’s really useful to be able to immediately put the theory in to practice and improve my technique and routines. The PE teachers really care about you – not just your academic work but your own sporting life as well. They give excellent tips and really push you to improve. A Level PE is quite similar to GCSE, so I felt like I settled in to the course quickly.
Part of your PE grade comes from coursework – you need to make sure you are on top of this as soon as it’s introduced. You are given the chance to do research for it over the summer holiday, so although it might not be what you want to do, it’s well worth getting started as soon as you can so you have the best possible chance to do well.
As well as PE, I am doing A Levels in Biology and Psychology. There are areas of all three that overlap which is great as it allows you to see different perspectives on the topics.
After Sixth Form I’m hoping to take my PE further – either with a Sport and Exercise Science degree or a degree apprenticeship, though these are really competitive.
The teachers were all really supportive and helpful. You gain all of the knowledge needed for the exams in their lessons and they would happily give up their free time to support you if you were struggling with any of the topics. And of course you could always be bound to have a laugh as lessons are always fun and engaging! Through already taking part in many sports – such as running, cycling and swimming I managed to gain an insight into many topics related to these sports so I could relate the teaching to real life examples. For example, I enjoyed finding out the psychology behind certain behaviours that occur in sports and I found biomechanics, movements and human physiology fascinating.
The advice I would give to new Year 12s is to plan your time out so you can also have a break – gain a balance with work and down time, so use your free periods wisely!
For my A Levels, as well as Physical Education, I also did English Language and Health and Social Care (BTEC Level 3), and I would highly recommend any of these subjects. After Crompton House, I started an undergraduate course at Salford University in Exercise, Nutrition and Health. A Level Physical Education helped me starting out on this course as I had the core knowledge in my modules which meant that I didn’t have to read into certain areas as much as other students on my course as I already had an understanding of the topics.
I would definitely also recommend going to university if it is something you are considering for the future, after A Levels, as it is a great experience. I have gained so much knowledge in a field which I thoroughly enjoy, I have gained many friends (which was something that definitely also proved true in Sixth Form) and I also recently passed my Level 2 Fitness Instructor qualification with my university course which helps me broaden my future career choice.
