Physical Education in Baldragon Academy

Our Facilities 2 Gyms Swimming Pool Fitness Suite Table Tennis Area Large Playing Fields 3 Tennis Courts

What is our aim in the Baldragon PE department (s1-3)? to develop an interest in physical activity and sport-both in and out of school to provide extra-curricular opportunities for our pupils in a range of sporting contexts to develop the significant aspects of learning Cognitive skills, Physical Competencies, Personal Qualities, Physical Fitness for pupils to enjoy themselves whilst they learn

Special Achievements Dundee Active Schools Sports School of the Year , Dundee Schools Competition Calendar Champions 2012, 2013 Approximately 35 individual event wins in the last 3 years. Trophies that Baldragon Academy won last year are on display. Please pick them up and have a look!

Our Extra-Curricular Structure During class time, pupils are encouraged to attend lunch time clubs for a variety of activities. From there, pupils are given the opportunity to participate in the many after school clubs that are organised throughout Dundee. Baldragon have consistently participated in more extra-curricular competitions than any other school in the city. Additional opportunities for pupils is very important to us.

PE in the broad general education In s1-2 pupils will be participating in a wide range of activities. The list below is typical of what will be covered by any one pupil in s1-2. Volleyball, Rugby, Athletics, Swimming, Waterpolo, Handball, Gymnastics, Basketball, Table-Tennis, Badminton, Unihoc, Cross Country Running. Through these activities pupils will be developing their Cognitive skills, Physical Competencies, Personal Qualities and/or Physical Fitness. These 4 concepts are recognised as the Significant Aspects of Learning in PE. Pupils will learn about these concepts and will be exposed to many experiences and outcomes from Health and Wellbeing, Literacy and Numeracy.

Dundee Schools Cross Country We are very proud to say that our school always put a full squad of 70 pupils into the Dundee Schools Cross Country Competition. Due to this commitment from staff and our cross country programme, we have improved our results every year for the last 6 years and are now regularly winning team and individual honours. Last year, 4 of our 7 teams returned with team medals and 5 of our pupils won individual medals. Our s2 boys team from last year have won gold in the team trophy in s1 and s2. This year, 7 of our pupils will be going forward on November 8 th to represent Baldragon Academy in the Scottish Schools Road Run in Falkirk.

Dundee Schools Athletics Every year, Caird Park plays host to the Dundee Schools Athletics competition where every school in Dundee enters their best athletes. Like the Cross Country, we are committed to having full teams go forward for these events so that our pupils can showcase their talents and have an opportunity for success. For the past 7 years we have increased our medal haul and we are always looking to improve on this. In the past 2 years in particular we have seen a big increase in the number of pupils joining the Hawkhill Harriers Athletics club to develop their talents further.

Giant Heptathlon In 2007, Baldragon Academy entered the Giant Heptathlon competiton and finished last out of nine schools. In the years to follow we have risen from 9 th to 7 th to 5 th and in the last 5 years have won the competition on 4 occasions. As a result of this we have been to the regional finals and in 2011 made it to the Scottish Finals. Baldragon Academy is making a good name for itself.

After School Competitions There are typically 3 competitions every single week for various age groups that are hosted in schools in Dundee as part of the Active Schools Competition Calendar. The competitions include basketball, volleyball, waterpolo, dance, hockey, badminton, archery, football, rugby, table-tennis, netball, golf and there are a few more! Most of these are available at s1-3 and s4-6 level for boys and girls whilst some competitions are mixed. We have had a great level of success in these competitions in recent years as our pupils have demonstrated their ability for the whole city to see.

PE as a certificated subject Although it may seem like a long way away, it is important to recognise what a school has to offer in terms of qualifications. After s1/2 pupils will be given the opportunity to select PE as an elective where they will receive a further 2 periods of PE on top of their ‘core PE’ time. This elective is used as excellent preparation for s4 and onwards where pupils will start to be presented for SQA qualifications. If PE is selected in s4, 4 additional periods will be given on top of the2 ‘core’ periods. In s5/6, an additional 5 periods will be given. We currently offer National 3, National 4, National 5 and Higher Grade PE and will be considering Advanced Higher as an option from next year. All of these courses reflect on and assess a pupils’ ability to gather information, analyse data, create a development programme, review and monitor their programme and to evaluate that whole process. This relates very closely to MENTAL, EMOTIONAL, SOCIAL and PHYSICAL factors that impact on a persons performance.

Sports Leaders 3 years ago we started a nationally recognised Sports Leader programme to further develop the talents of our pupils in s5/6. In our first year, 40 pupils participated in the Sports Leader level 1 award Recognising its success we progressed onto the level 2 award which we continue to teach today. Our pupils are timetabled into their Sports Leader class for 2 periods per week. This is part of the school’s enrichment programme which enables the children to access a wide range of learning experiences. Our Sports Leaders work alongside staff to provide clubs for younger pupils at lunch time and then assist at after school competitions. This structure benefits all of our pupils as we aim to create additional opportunities for our kids.

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