As with most Departments around the College, the way that the PE Department delivers its lessons to students has had to change due to COVID-19.  Whether that be Core PE, or one of its Sports Courses, the teaching has adapted in order to meet the needs of students, and to ensure that students still receive the same quality teaching as if they were in College.

Lesson Delivery during COVID-19

The PE Department has had to change its way of working to deliver a programme to all students to ensure that its mission statement of ‘Promoting Healthy Active Lifestyles for Lifelong Participation’ is adhered to.

Core PE

In terms of Core PE, from day one of ‘Virtual Learning’, our PE staff have delivered a range of activities to our students across the College.  Key Stage 3 students had a focus on activities related to the components of fitness, whereas Key Stage 4 students were put through their paces with some workouts.

As well as our Core PE changes, the PE Department has also had to adapt its Sports Courses, and we can’t thank the students enough for their enthusiasm and engagement during this time, despite the majority being at the other end of a screen.  Students have met their deadlines for assignments in the BTEC courses. GCSE, NCFE and A Level classes have been taught via Microsoft Teams, meaning that no students have fallen behind in their studies.

(video to be uploaded soon -  how PE is working at the College during the pandemic.)

Academy Sport

The Sports Academy provision throughout PE lessons has also sustained the highest quality of teaching and coaching, over Microsoft Teams.  All of the Academy students have received a mixture of practical and theory lessons, which has had many positive benefits for them.  For example, our Football Academy has been doing a mixture of football related circuits/workouts, and analytical work, whereby they have watched sections of games and analysed them.  Our Netball, Gymnastics and Rugby Academies have all been doing similar work during their lessons.

Sporting Events during COVID-19

A typical Ivybridge Community College Sports Day would see hundreds of students outside, participating in various physical activities.  However, due to COVID-19, staff decided to continue with a Key Stage 3 Sports Day, albeit different to usual.

Students participated in five different events, all from their own homes, to earn points for their Tutor Groups.  The students had one week to do all of their events, and submit their scores.  The five events were Shuttle Runs, Long Jump, Vertical Jump, Speed Bounce and Target Throw.  Students submitted their scores, with some sending videos in of them in action, and PE Staff calculated the results, to determine the winning Tutor Groups.  

Students who were in the Educare, at the College throughout that week, also had the opportunity to get involved with the events during one of their ‘practical’ times of the day.  Participating in a socially distanced Sports Day, with members of the Educare staff overseeing each event. 

The winning Year 8 Tutor Group was 08RLY (now Year 9), and the Year 7 winners were 07HTH (now Year 8).  Students who finished in the top three in each event were sent a certificate to congratulate them on their achievements.  

The PE Department was delighted to see so many students getting involved with all of the activities, and would like to thank them all for making it a Sports Day to remember.