Three University courses graduated just before the Easter break: Paralympics, Fun Fitness and Ultimate Frisbee. All the pupils came forward to proudly collect their PE Degree certificates.
Ultimate Frisbee
This is a non-contact team activity. It was developed in 1968 by a group of students at Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey. Ultimate Frisbee is unlike most sports due to its focus on self-officiating, even at the highest levels of competition.
Points are scored by passing the disc to a teammate in the opposing end zone. Other basic rules are that players must not take steps while holding the disc, and interceptions, incomplete passes, and passes out of bounds are turnovers. Rain, wind, or occasionally other adversities can make for a testing match with rapid turnovers, heightening the pressure of play.
In 2012, there were 5.1 million ultimate players in the United States.
It was strange not having a referee. It meant we had to pay really close attention to what was taking place and be very honest.
Martin - Year 6
100% of the participants had never played this sport before
83% strongly agreed that it had encouraged them to improve their communication
Paralympics
Pupils on this course learnt about how the Paralympic movement was started. How it has developed into the significant event it is today and how challenging some of the sports are... even if you are able bodied.
I didn't realise that sport for disabled athletes has existed for more than 100 years. I also didn't know that the first sport clubs for the deaf were already in existence from 1888.
Jack - Year 5
Led by Miss Taylor, the pupils discovered that the purpose of the Paralympic movement after the war was to assist the large number of war veterans and civilians who had been injured during wartime. In 1944, at the request of the British Government, Dr. Ludwig Guttmann opened a spinal injuries centre at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Great Britain, and in time, rehabilitation sport evolved to recreational sport and then to competitive sport.
On 29 July 1948, the day of the Opening Ceremony of the London 1948 Olympic Games, Dr. Guttmann organised the first competition for wheelchair athletes which he named the Stoke Mandeville Games, a milestone in Paralympics history. They involved 16 injured servicemen and women who took part in archery. In 1952, Dutch ex-servicemen joined the Movement and the International Stoke Mandeville Games were founded.
As a result of this degree course I think I have a much better awareness of some of the challenges faced by those who are disabled, or who had suffered injuries. I've tried some of the sports... they are really hard.
Alisha - Year 6
Fun Fitness
Led by Mr Light, this University course covered a wide range of knowledge about nutrition, exercise and sports science.
Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sport and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. We incorporated areas of physiology, psychology, anatomy and biomechanics into the course.
Mr Light
Pupils learnt that this is a useful subject and skill set as sports scientists and performance consultants are growing in demand and employment numbers. Through the study of science and sport, researchers have developed a greater understanding on how the human body reacts to exercise, training, different environments and many other stimuli.
100% of pupils strongly agreed that they had a better understanding of how the human body responds to exercise and how to optimize performance.
