Physical Education

Sport, athletic development and physical education are integral to life at St Helen’s. We offer a contemporary curriculum which aims to motivate and enthuse our students through the principles of athletic development and a variety of experiences. Physical Education can be studied at both GCSE and A level, with many students going on to study sports science at university.

We challenge the students that want to improve their ability through PE lessons, clubs, fixtures, our Developing Athlete Programme (DAP) and the St Helen’s sports scholarship programme.

Our facilities include a Sports Centre with national league-standard netball and badminton courts, basketball court, 3-lane cricket nets, a fitness suite, an ergo suite, a group cycling room and a gymnasium. Outdoors we have six netball and tennis courts, extensive sports fields, and three lacrosse pitches and a sports pavilion at nearby Church Farm.

Lower School

PE lessons in Lower School focus on a broad and balanced curriculum. Using athletic development principles and utilising fundamental movement skills allows all students to access the required movement skills needed for physical development and activity. Coupling this with sport-specific teaching across the curriculum enables every student to take part in sports at all levels.

Our sports provision and outstanding facilities ensure that there is truly sports opportunity for all. There is a comprehensive clubs and activities timetable that allows for learning to continue outside of lessons.

Middle School

Building on the fundamental physical skills acquired in Lower School, Middle School PE delivers theoretical knowledge of health-related fitness as well as higher skill and tactical levels in all sports throughout Year 9.

In Years 10 and 11, the curriculum is split into personal, emotional and social and (PES) lessons focussing on a different approach to physical activity. Key themes such as collaboration, communication and innovation are explored in small groups. Team and individual sports as well as fitness sessions complement the curriculum for Middle School. As students enter into Year 11, they also develop their leadership skills within the PE curriculum. All this is complemented by a bustling extracurricular timetable and sports fixtures calendar.

Sixth Form

Sixth Form PE is compulsory for Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth at St Helen’s. Students are afforded the choice of activities every half term. Options include teams sports such as netball, lacrosse, football, volleyball, rounders, cricket and dodgeball, as well as other areas such as fitness training, sailing, swimming and badminton. Students can also choose professional coaching with our tennis coaches or utilise yoga, dance and trampolining professionals during their allocated time. The focus is for recreational sport to become a habit in Sixth Form that will continue when students leave for university and beyond.

Read more about our A level Physical Education curriculum.

A LEVEL PHYSICAL EDUCATION

77.8%

9–7 at GCSE 2024

48.1%

9–8 at GCSE 2024

100%

A*–B at A level 2024

Academic enrichment

In addition to sports fixtures, sports tours and ski trips, the School takes students to the GSA Girls Go Gold event every year. This is a day of inspirational workshops and practical activities from professional athletes and academics. This inspires and helps students to apply knowledge to their own sporting journeys.

Extracurricular

We encourage all students to take part in at least one sports club every week in a multitude of activities. With over 70 clubs running each week alongside fixtures in the evenings and at the weekend, there is plenty to choose from.

Traditional sports sessions such as lacrosse, netball, football, tennis, cricket, swimming and basketball are complemented by gymnastics, dance and athletics. There are also specialist coaching sessions in hockey, trampolining, taekwondo, fencing and athletic development.

Beyond Sport