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Year 8 - Course Content

Swimming

The children learn and work on:

• Stroke development – Butterfly
• Fitness training
• Life Saving
• Water polo

Games Skills (Including Tennis)

Pupils are taught to understand and play small-sided games and simplified versions of recognized competitive team games covering the following types:

• Invasion Games: (e.g. Basketball)
• Net/Wall Games: (e.g. Tennis, Volleyball, Badminton)
• Striking/Fielding Games: (e.g. Cricket, Softball or Rounders)

Emphasis is placed on the development of motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination to improve individual skills in sending, receiving, striking and traveling with a ball and in understanding the strategies linked to playing games.

Gymnastics

Pupils are taught to perform a variety of skills from the following skills categories:

• Traveling
• Balancing
• Flight – including vaulting

Emphasis is placed on the aesthetic qualities including body tension and extension, changes in body shape, level, speed and direction of movement.

Pupils practice, refine and repeat increasingly complex movement sequences on the floor and on the apparatus. They work both individually, with a partner, in trio or large groups and are encouraged to perform to a limited audience.

Health Related Fitness:

The children are taught simple concepts of fitness:

• Why should we exercise
• Gym safety and equipment induction
• What is physical fitness
• How we can improve certain aspects of our fitness (aerobic capacity, strength & flexibility)
• The location and function of major muscles

Athletics

Children learn to develop and refine basic techniques in:

• Running e.g. over short distances, over longer distances, in relays
• Throwing e.g. for accuracy and distance
• Jumping e.g. for height and distance

Pupils are encouraged to improve their own individual performances.

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