Health and Wellbeing is embedded in the curriculum at Robert Gordon’s College. PE and Sport is not only essential for physical but also mental, emotional and social health too. Innovative in their delivery, the PE and Sport team have developed a new pathway, highlighting the different journeys that pupils can take in their participation in physical activity at Robert Gordon’s. Mrs Hardie, Head of PE and Mr Harper, Head of Sport share why they are excited to launch the new RGC 3 - 18 Pathway and how they hope that this will develop a lifelong involvement in physical activity through the Nursery, Junior and Senior School.

What’s new in PE and Sport? 

Mrs Hardie: We’re really excited to share with the RGC community our PE and Sport 3 - 18 Pathway. It’s been a real team effort from everyone in the department. This has evolved over time as a result of reflection, parental surveys as well as pupil feedback and we really feel we’ve been on a journey in order to better understand our pupils' needs coming through the pandemic.

Mr Harper: We’ve learnt lots as a result of COVID and you never know what is ahead of you. We have been looking at what we’ve been teaching in both PE and Sport, in a bid to always strive to give pupils the chance to be all that they can be and make sure that as a team we stay ahead of the curve. We’re really excited to be further developing the PE and Sport offering to expand the opportunities available to our community.

Where can the PE and Sport Pathway take you? 

Mrs Hardie: The steps on the pathway represent a journey for all of our pupils beginning with an Active Start in PE where Fundamentals and Physical Literacy are developed at the appropriate level for age and stage. Our aim is for pupils to be super excited about participating in PE and we are always pushing to be innovative in our delivery and listen to the evolving pupil voice. As a department we have developed a delivery model called ‘GREAT’ which you will hear more about in the coming weeks.

Mr Harper: You can see we’ve got two paths that come into Sport after the first three steps in PE, Sport for all and Competitive Sport. Pupils can follow both paths, one path or move between both whenever they feel comfortable. They are inclusive for all and aim to engage everyone, whether you want to be a performance athlete or participate in as many activities as you can. The ultimate goal is lifelong involvement in physical activity, beyond the gates of Schoolhill and Countesswells.

Why has some of the traditional terminology changed?

Mr Harper: We’ve made a few changes to the terminology used within PE and Sport. I wanted to start using the word ‘Sport’ to replace the traditional term ‘Games’ and highlight the changes we’ve made to how we deliver Sport here at RGC. This helps clarify where it sits within the pathway and the College timetable. This may take some time to become the norm, but we’re getting there and appreciate all the support during this transition.

From the start in PE and then alongside Sport we want to encourage all of our pupils to be excited about taking part in our diverse co-curricular offering. The second terminology change within Sport is that ‘Co-curricular’ has replaced ‘Extracurricular’. Co-curricular activities are part of the school curriculum, they’re not extraand give pupils brilliant opportunities to excel, in the same way they can academically. We also want all of our staff community to feel like they can be part of our co-curricular programme, it’s one of the many amazing things we have to offer here at RGC and it’s for everyone - whole school commitment.

What does the circle around the steps symbolise?

Mrs Hardie: This is our values circle which symbolises a commitment to our pathway and represents that learning is continuous. We believe these values are key to the success of our pathway. The values circle will in turn elevate the pathway so there are many avenues of interest for pupil experience and hopefully also teach the importance of service, to give back.

Is there any significance with Health and Wellbeing sitting at the top of the values circle?

Mrs Hardie: Health and Wellbeing sits right at the top of our values circle to give it the importance it deserves. We want to educate pupils to understand the many benefits of PE and Sport not only for their physical but their mental, emotional and social health too. We essentially want to help them to be happy and understand how to cope with life's challenges and triumphs. 

Mr Harper: Health and Wellbeing is such an important part of what we deliver every day, not just for those who want to excel, but for everyone we come into contact with in PE and Sport. We want to make sure we follow the current priorities and give all of our pupils the most positive experience possible which will keep them involved in sport for years to come.

Stacey Hardie, Head of PE and Craig Harper, Head of Sport