Sport at St. Mary’s has gained an outstanding reputation at regional, national and international level. The Department has made a significant contribution to Physical Education and Sport Development in the UK and currently holds the prestigious Youth Sport Trust Gold Partner Award.  Staff have lectured at International Conferences throughout the world and regularly provide in-service courses in this country.  In addition to this our work has been further recognised through specific awards for Fair Play, Disability Sport and School Sport. The school was one of the first in the country to be involved in the School Sport Partnership Initiative. There are 53 schools in our Leeds North School Sports Partnership. St. Mary's was re-designated as a Specialist Sports College in December 2008.

 

Staffing
The Physical Education and Sport Faculty includes eight Physical Education specialists and one teacher of Psychology.  The Faculty also benefits from the support of a dedicated Administrative Assistant. The School Games Organiser post is also based at St. Mary’s.

 

The Director of Specialism at St. Mary’s is Mr David Geldart, Assistant Headteacher. David is a Fellow of the Physical Education Association and a former Member of the Council of Sport England.

 

The Faculty Leader of PE and Sport is Mr Martin Green.  He has taught Physical Education for 28 years in the West Yorkshire area and established the first A Level ‘PE and Sport’ course in Leeds in 1990.

 

The Assistant Faculty Leader, is Mr Craig Thornton who has taught at St. Mary’s for 12 years.

 

Extra-Curricular Activities
A wide range of competitive, recreational and fitness activities are offered to pupils of all ages and abilities.  The school participates in more than 200 inter-school fixtures annually and has experienced considerable success at City, County and National level.  The main sports played competitively are Athletics, Badminton, Cricket, Football, Hockey, Netball, Rugby (Union), Table Tennis and Tennis.

 

Curriculum
The Faculty of  PE and Sport is involved in teaching the National Curriculum and a range of other work-related and Examination courses.  All children at Key Stages 3 and 4 receive a minimum of two hours Physical Education each week.  Key Stage 3 is taught in single sex groups.  Key Stage 4 is taught in a combination of mixed and single sex groups.

 

Key Stage 3
Pupils participate in the Activity Areas of Athletics, Dance, Gymnastics, and Games (Football, Netball, Rugby, Cricket, Basketball, Tennis, Badminton, Hockey, Rounders), using the new curriculum (2008) concepts.  Year 7, 8 and 9 attend our annual Sports Day at South Leeds Stadium (which has taken place since 2000) each July.

 

Key Stage 4
Pupils can participate in the following Activity Areas: Athletics, Dance, Gymnastics, Games and Specific Fitness Activities.  In addition to this pupils also have an opportunity to obtain the Young Leaders Award (Level 1).  In additional time, GCSE Physical Education is also offered to pupils in Year 9.  The A*-C pass rate is consistently around 90%. The BTEC First Diploma in Sport is also offered to pupils in Year 9.  Off-site facilities used in this Key Stage include the local Leisure Centre for Squash, Climbing and Fitness activities.

 

Sixth Form
AS and A Level Physical Education is offered and has proved very popular and extremely successful in recent years.  Students consistently achieve ‘value-added’ scores of plus one full grade in both AS and A2 courses. AS and A Level Psychology is offered and has proven very popular.

 

A recent addition to the post 16 curriculum is the BTEC L3 National Diploma in Sport, a two A Level equivalent, work-related qualification. This course has proved very successful with over 50% of students achieving a ‘distinction’ grade. Students participate in Football, Rugby Union, Netball, Hockey and Athletics activities.

 

Sixth Form students also have the opportunity to gain the Level 2 in Community Sports Leadership and specific National Governing Body Coaching Awards.

 

Sports Extra Curricular Activities Timetable Winter 2012​ (PDF)