National 4/ 5 Physical Education will give you the opportunity to be physically, mentally, emotionally and socially challenged. You will be aspiring to achieve high levels of sporting performance success.

Through this course you will demonstrate, develop and improve your practical performance skills in physical activities.  You will refine your personal qualities including your individual values, attitudes, behaviours, as well as your problem solving, decision making and leadership skills. Your ability to compete, cooperate and collaborate with your peers will also be tested.

The course is divided into 3 units:

1) Performance

2) Factors Impacting on Performance

3) Course Assessment – Portfolio and single practical performance

Here at Forres Academy, we plan to offer a range of practical activities to deliver the units within the course.

June – October   – Athletics

October  – February   – Badminton and Basketball

February  – April – Swimming, Football, Netball and Fitness

At National 4/ 5 level the Added Value Unit will require you to prepare for, carry out and reflect upon a course assessment performance within a challenging and competitive context.

At National 5 level you will have the added challenge of also completing a Portfolio. This will reflect your own personal performance development; demonstrating your knowledge of the factors impacting performance and identifying your future development needs. The Portfolio will take the form of a project requiring you to gather and collate evidence of your performance on an ongoing basis through the investigation, analysis and development of performance. This will then be presented in the form of a typed document to be assessed externally, by the SQA.

Unit Assessment

Performance Unit: You must be awarded a pass in at least two practical activities.

The Factors Impacting on Performance Unit: You will be required to provide written evidence of thorough analysis of your performance in one activity.

Course Assessment

Added Value Unit: This is an assessment of your practical performance in a challenging and competitive environment. You will be required to apply your subject knowledge and demonstrate your full range of skills and ability.

Unit Assessment

Performance Unit: You must be awarded a pass in at least two practical activities.

The Factors Impacting on Performance Unit: You will be required to provide detailed written evidence of thorough analysis of your performance in one activity.

Course Assessment

Added Value Unit:

40 marks of your final grade will come from the assessment of your practical performance in a challenging and competitive environment.

20 marks Completion of the planning and evaluation of performance written document

40 marks of your final grade will be the completed Portfolio, where you will report on the processes involved in your performance development.

Physical activity is at the heart of physical, mental, emotional and social well-being.

As a student of the National 4/5 Physical Education course you will develop a broad range of skills specific to the subject itself and these skills will also be transferable across the whole school curriculum as well life beyond in further education and work. These skills include:

• Literacy – listening and talking
• Co-operating and working with others
• Organisation, management and leadership
• Applying knowledge and problem solving

You will also be better equipped to pursue Further and Higher Education in Sport related courses; providing pathways into career opportunities within the employment sector of Sport and Physical Education.  Participation in physical activity demonstrates a healthy, positive lifestyle and mindset to potential employers.

You will be encouraged to maintain a healthy study programme. Weekly homework tasks will be issued in manageable amounts and strict deadlines will be set.

Homework tasks will relate to the ‘Factors Impacting Performance’ Unit and the Portfolio at National 5 level. You may also be required, throughout the course, to maintain a record of your practical performance and development, in the form of a diary or log book.

National 4/ 5 Physical Education will provide you with a progressive pathway along which you can develop and improve as a performer. At the same time, you will develop key skills for learning, life and work.

Successful completion of the National 5 course will lead you smoothly into the National 6 (Higher) Physical Education course in S5/ 6.