Physical Education
Lower School Curriculum
In Year 3, children have a double P.E. lesson and a Games lesson each week. In Year 4, children have two P.E. lessons and a Games afternoon each week. In Year 5, children have two P.E. lessons and two Games afternoons each week.
- Gymnastics and Fitness
- pupils develop their aesthetic appreciation and learn to have greater body control whilst moving aesthetically. They will develop the skills of balance, rotation, jumping and vaulting. They will use linking movements to perform to both single and paired sequences.
- Fitness
- pupils will develop their understanding of the importance of fitness and how to improve it. They will work on developing both general fitness and skill-related fitness using individual training, OTI-runs, circuit training and fitness testing.
- Handball
- pupils will develop their passing, dodging, dribbling and shooting skills. They will develop their understanding of the basic rules of handball and apply them in practices and small-sided games.
- Basketball
- the aim is to develop catching, passing, pivoting and shooting skills. Skills will be practised in small-sided games building up to 5-aside (House competitions).
- Tennis
- the aim is to develop ball control, coordination skills and stroke technique. Year 3 and 4 pupils use short racquets and low-bounce balls, Year 5 pupils use larger racquets and tennis balls. Half-court practice matches will take place.
- Athletics
- pupils compete and learn the skills required for 75m, 200m, 300m, 800m, hurdles, relays, javelin, long jump and high jump. Everyone takes part in Sports Day and will perform both track and field events.
- Boys' Hockey
- boys will develop the basic skills including: hitting; push-passing and dribbling. They will learn to stop the ball with control and pass with accuracy. They will practise skills in small-sided games whilst developing their understanding of the rules.
- Girls' Football
- girls will develop their foot-eye coordination skills alongside the ball skills of passing, dribbling, tackling and shooting. They will practise skills in small-sided games whilst developing their understanding of the rules.
- Strength and Conditioning with Ball Skills
- this module aims to develop the basic ball skills of throwing and catching, required for all sports, alongside improving general body conditioning. Pupils will work on improving their hand-eye coordination, core stability, agility, footwork, fitness and reaction time.
- Swimming
- lessons are taught in a block during the year. Two classes use the pool each session and these are divided into three ability groups. Water confidence and the enjoyment of swimming are vital factors.
Non-swimmers remain in the shallow-end using floats and other swimming aids. Treading water, survival exercises and timed-swims are used for the better swimmers as well as working on stroke technique. Front-crawl and back-stroke are taught first, breast-stroke is introduced later, followed by the butterfly stroke. Selected pupils take part in the House Swimming Gala.
Girls and boys are integrated for P.E. but are taught separately for Games. There is one match per year for Year 3 pupils with the main emphasis on learning, fun and practice. Year 4 have a few matches in the major sports while Year 5 have approximately five matches per term. All pupils participate in House matches.
Autumn Term
- Rugby
- the RFU continuum is followed. Year 3 Games begin with touch-rugby. Tackling, scrums, line-outs, rucks and mauls are introduced in Year 4 and are developed further in Year 5.
- Netball
- the main emphasis is on basic ball handling skills, e.g. passing and catching, developing spatial awareness and cooperating as a team. Girls will also be able to develop their shooting and defending abilities. They will develop the rule of footwork, alongside their understanding of positions and other rules within the game. Small sided games will be utilised to develop this.
Spring Term
- Football
- Passing, control, support-play, dribbling, heading and shooting. Small-sided games for all age groups building up to larger numbers for House matches.
- Hockey
- Pupils develop the techniques involved in using the stick to pass and control the ball. Shooting, dribbling and defending skills are introduced and developed. Goal-keeping skills are developed in Year 4 and upwards. The girls practise their skills in small-sided games, developing their understanding of the rules and tactics.
Years 3 & 4 play netball in the Autumn Term and hockey in the Spring Term, whilst Year 5, have one lesson of each sport over the two terms.
Summer Term
- Cricket
- Skills for batting, bowling and fielding are introduced and developed. Tennis balls, kwik cricket balls, windballs and slazballs are used in Year 3 and 4. Cricket balls are introduced in Year 5. The basic skills are introduced for all these games and there is a structured progression towards match play throughout the three years.
- Rounders
- Batting, bowling, throwing, catching and fielding skills are all introduced progressively. An "incrediball" is used in Year 3, moving to a harder rounders ball in Year 4. The rules are presented in a gradual manner, leading towards full match play. Pupils develop their tactical awareness of rounders throughout the years.
Upper School Curriculum
Autumn Term
- Fitness
- Pupils build on their existing knowledge and fitness gained in lower school. Pupils develop a greater understanding of different training methods and how these relate to their sport of interest. They continue to work on stamina, speed and strength and create more complex fitness training using circuits training and individual methods. Pupils in Upper School also complete two laps of the OTI (On site cross country course) This forms part of the house competition.
- Gymnastics
- Pupils will further develop the skills they have required in lower school, by applying them to more complex routines. The pupils will continue to develop their core skills of balance, rotation and flight but will challenge themselves with the creativity of using equipment. The top of Upper School will progress onto vaulting and combined rotation and flight. Gymnastics is a great sport for developing aesthetic appreciation and performance quality.
- Basketball
- An Autumn Term activity. Much co-ordination work is done with a ball each on the skills of passing, catching, dribbling and shooting. With 5 baskets in the gym we do mini-matches of 2 v 2 and build up to 5 v 5 games for the house competitions. In upper school they learn more complex skills of layup and jump shots and develop their tactical awareness and rules.
- Lacrosse
- This is the first year lacrosse is on the curriculum for year 6. It is a great opportunity for the pupils to experience a new and challenging activity. Pupils will develop the core skills cradling, scooping, shooting and moving with the ball. Alongside this they will continue to develop key invasion game components of defensive and attacking play creating space and teamwork.
Spring Term
- Hockey (Boys)
- This is the first year of introducing hockey for boys into the PE Curriculum. It will be a great opportunity for the boys to gain experience in an important sporting activity throughout the foundation. They will develop the core skills of dribbling, passing and receiving, hitting, pushing, shooting and tackling. They will develop their knowledge of the rules, positional responsibilities and their tactical application.
- Football (Girls)
- This is the first appearance of girls' football in the Belmont curriculum. The girls will practice individually in pairs and in small groups. They will develop a repertoire of skills including dribbling, passing, defending, and shooting and will learn to apply these in small sided games. They will also develop their understanding of the rules and tactics involved in football.
Summer Term
- Tennis
- With six courts at Belmont, tennis is a fast-growing Summer Term activity. Forehand and backhand drives, volleys and half-volleys are taught along with an over-arm service. The lob and smash are introduced for the more-advanced players. Everyone in the Upper School gets the opportunity to play in the Belmont Tennis Tournament.
- Athletics
- The Summer Term activities climaxing on Sports Day. Upper School pupils practise and are timed/measured at 100m, 200m, 800m, 1500m (for the better middle-distance runners), hurdles, relays, long jump, high jump and shot put. They spend time developing the techniques and strategies required for the events.
Swimming
Swimming is undertaken by all Upper School children in the Autumn Term. This takes places at the Mill Hill School pool. Year 6 have a lesson each week (50 minutes). Years 7and 8 have a course of lessons within their PE syllabus. The pupils work hard on improving their stroke techniques in front crawl, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly. Other water skills are practised such as diving, picking up objects, handstands, forward and backward rolls, relays and water polo. At the end of the term there is a House Swimming Gala (for as many pupils, parents and staff as can fit on the poolside!). There are many cups and trophies presented at the Individual Swimming Event which takes place towards the end of the Spring Term.
Curriculum enrichment for gifted or talented pupils in PE and games is provided all the time by differentiation in lessons and by use of open-ended tasks to stretch the pupils. The top percentage of pupils play in the A teams in their sports and some pupils join clubs outside of school. Where appropriate, the school may recommend pupils for county trials.
