England · WJEC EduqasSyllabus
Physical Education syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the England Physical Educationsyllabus, with a focused answer for each one. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions, and links to related dot points. Written by Claude Opus 4.8, Anthropic's latest AI.
Exercise physiology, training and performance (Area of study 1)
Module overview →- How do diet manipulation and ergogenic aids affect performance, and at what cost?Diet, nutrition and ergogenic aids: the dietary components and their functions, energy balance, diet manipulation for performance (carbohydrate loading and hydration), and the effectiveness and risks of legal and illegal ergogenic aids.12 min answer →
- How is ATP resynthesised by the three energy systems, and how do they interplay across the energy continuum?Energy for exercise: ATP as the immediate energy source, the ATP-PC, glycolytic and aerobic systems (fuel, site, yield and by-products), the energy continuum, thresholds, and the factors affecting VO2 max.12 min answer →
- How do altitude, heat and cold affect the body systems and performance?Environmental effects on body systems: the physiological responses to altitude, heat and humidity, and cold, the implications for aerobic and anaerobic performance, and acclimatisation strategies.11 min answer →
- What causes fatigue, and how does the body recover and repay its oxygen debt after exercise?Fatigue and recovery: the types and causes of fatigue, excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) and its fast and slow components, and recovery strategies and their physiological basis.11 min answer →
- How are sporting injuries prevented, classified and rehabilitated?Injury prevention and rehabilitation: intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors, acute and chronic injuries, immediate treatment (PRICE), and rehabilitation methods including the role of technology.11 min answer →
- How is training planned across a year so a performer peaks for competition?Periodisation and planning of training: macrocycles, mesocycles and microcycles, tapering and peaking, double periodisation, the structure and purpose of warm-up and cool-down, and overtraining.11 min answer →
- How do the components of fitness, principles of training and training methods develop a performer?Preparation and training methods: health-related and skill-related components of fitness, the principles of training, training methods and the development of aerobic capacity, strength, speed, power and flexibility, with target zones.12 min answer →
Movement analysis, technology and biomechanics (Area of study 2)
Module overview →- How is rotation controlled, and what governs the flight path of a projectile in sport?Angular motion and projectile motion: angular velocity and acceleration, moment of inertia, angular momentum and its conservation, and the factors affecting projectile flight (speed, angle and height of release) and the parabolic path.12 min answer →
- How do mass, weight, levers, centre of mass and stability govern efficient sporting movement?Biomechanical principles: mass, weight, inertia and friction, the lever systems and mechanical advantage, the centre of mass, and the factors affecting stability and balance.11 min answer →
- How do drag, lift and the Magnus effect shape performance in air and water?Fluid mechanics: the factors affecting drag, the Bernoulli principle and lift, and the Magnus effect on a spinning ball, applied to performance in air and water.11 min answer →
- How do Newton's laws and the quantities of linear motion describe and explain movement in sport?Linear motion: Newton's three laws applied to sport, the linear quantities (distance, displacement, speed, velocity, acceleration), and the calculation and use of force, momentum and impulse from a force-time graph.12 min answer →
- How do we analyse a sporting movement using joints, muscles, contractions, planes and axes?The musculoskeletal system and movement analysis: joint types and movements, the antagonistic muscle action, types of muscle contraction (concentric, eccentric, isometric, isokinetic), muscle fibre types, and planes and axes.12 min answer →
- How does technology improve movement analysis, training and officiating, and what problems does it bring?Technology in sport: the use of video and computerised analysis, force plates, motion capture, timing gates, GPS and heart-rate monitors, and the impact of technology on performance, officiating and accessibility.11 min answer →
Practical performance and analysis (Component 3, the NEA)
Module overview →- How does the analysis and evaluation of performance task work, and how are strengths and weaknesses identified?The analysis and evaluation of performance: observing and analysing a performance, identifying and prioritising strengths and weaknesses, and structuring the task to draw on the areas of study.11 min answer →
- How are the five areas of study applied to explain and improve a real performance?Applying theory to performance: using exercise physiology, biomechanics, sport psychology, skill acquisition and sport and society to explain strengths and weaknesses and to justify improvement.11 min answer →
- How is a justified action plan designed to improve a prioritised weakness?Developing an action plan: designing a justified development plan for the prioritised weakness, selecting appropriate training methods or coaching, applying SMART goals, and evaluating the plan.11 min answer →
- How is the practical performance in the Eduqas NEA structured and assessed?The NEA practical performance: performing or coaching in one activity, the assessment against sport-specific criteria under formal conditions, the role of video evidence, and internal assessment with external moderation.11 min answer →
Skill acquisition (Area of study 4)
Module overview →- How are skills classified, and how does learning one skill transfer to another?Classification of skills and transfer of learning: the classification continua, using classification to design practice, and the types of transfer (positive, negative, zero, bilateral) and how to maximise positive transfer.11 min answer →
- What types of guidance can a coach use, and when is each most effective?Guidance: the types of guidance (visual, verbal, manual, mechanical), their advantages and disadvantages, and the appropriate use of each depending on the performer, the task and the environment.11 min answer →
- How does a performer take in information, decide and respond, and what affects reaction time?Information processing and decision-making: the stages of information processing (input, decision-making, output, feedback), Welford's model, selective attention, and the factors affecting reaction time including Hick's law and the psychological refractory period.12 min answer →
- How does memory store and retrieve skills, and how does feedback improve performance?Memory and feedback: the multi-store memory model, strategies to aid retention and retrieval, and the types and use of feedback at different stages of learning.11 min answer →
- What is skill, how does it differ from ability, and how does a learner progress through the stages of learning?Skill, ability and learning: the definitions of skill, ability and technique, the characteristics of skilled performance, the stages of learning (cognitive, associative, autonomous), and learning curves and the plateau.11 min answer →
- How do theories of learning and methods of practice shape how a skill is taught?Theories and methods of learning: operant conditioning, cognitive and observational learning theories, and the practice methods (massed, distributed, fixed, varied, whole, part, whole-part-whole, progressive part).12 min answer →
Sport and society (Area of study 5)
Module overview →- How do commercialisation, sponsorship and the media shape modern sport?Commercialisation and the media: the golden triangle of sport, media and sponsorship, the positive and negative effects of commercialisation, and the role of the media in shaping sport.11 min answer →
- How did modern sport emerge from popular recreation through industrialisation?The emergence of modern sport: the characteristics of pre-industrial popular recreation, the development of rational recreation in post-industrial Britain, and the roles of public schools, the church and governing bodies.11 min answer →
- What is ethical conduct in sport, and what causes deviance, doping and crowd violence?Ethics, deviance and violence: sportsmanship and gamesmanship, deviance and the win-at-all-costs culture, drugs in sport, and the causes and control of crowd violence and hooliganism.11 min answer →
- How are global sporting events used politically, and what is the impact of globalisation and hosting?Global sport, politics and international events: the Olympic Games and major events as political and commercial spectacles, the political use of sport, globalisation and player migration, and the impact of hosting on a nation.11 min answer →
- How do class, gender, ethnicity, age and disability affect participation, and how is sport made more equal?Social differentiation and equal opportunities: how class, gender, ethnicity, age and disability affect participation and performance, the barriers to participation, and the strategies to promote inclusion and equality.11 min answer →
Sport psychology (Area of study 3)
Module overview →- What causes aggression in sport, and how does an audience affect performance?Aggression and social facilitation: the theories of aggression (instinct, frustration-aggression, social learning), aggression versus assertion, and social facilitation, social inhibition and evaluation apprehension.11 min answer →
- How do arousal, stress and anxiety affect performance, and how are they controlled?Stress, arousal and anxiety: the theories of arousal and performance (drive theory, inverted U, catastrophe theory, the zone of optimal functioning), somatic and cognitive anxiety, and stress management techniques.12 min answer →
- How do groups form, cohere and perform, and what makes an effective leader?Group dynamics and leadership: the stages of group formation, task and social cohesion, the Steiner model of group productivity and faulty processes, and styles and theories of leadership.11 min answer →
- How do motivation and goal setting drive and sustain performance?Motivation and goal setting: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, achievement motivation, the types of goal (outcome, performance, process) and effective goal setting using SMART principles.11 min answer →
- How are personality and attitudes defined, measured and changed in sport?Personality and attitudes: trait, social learning and interactionist theories of personality, the components of attitudes, and how attitudes are formed and changed.11 min answer →