Reaction to 2026 Leaving Certificate Physical Education (Higher Level) by Brian Gregan, Physical Education teacher at The 91制片厂.
- The wording of questions was in line with most听previous听别虫补尘蝉,听bar last year鈥檚 more difficult paper.听
- Time management should not have been an issue compared to last year听as there were fewer essay style question.听听
- If students stuck the major听topics 1听(Skill and听Technique),听2听(Physiological and听Psychological听Development)听and 6听(Ethics)听they would have done very well.听
Open the exam to Section A students will have had to move quickly to answer 10 of the twelve short questions answer. Overall they find this a pleasant start a lot of nice stuff came up in section a such as the RAMP warm up, Anti-doping, Newton鈥檚 Laws, concepts of physical activity and levers. All of these appeared in a manner that students will have expected and so there should be no upsets here. Yet there was still distinct challenge as Q6 on the component of fitness was worded in a way that some will find tricky. Those seeking to more quickly gather their 8 marks per question will tend to avoid Q 3 media coverage on spectator behaviour and Q 9 Physical Activity as they are essays style questions. A prepared student will find a lot of familiar, approachable material here and so this stretch of the paper should have them nicely warmed up.
Section听B requires students to read a听case study and answer all questions (50 marks), so they have no choice here. Overall, it was a good case study based on swimming听and听I think the vast majority students will be pleased鈥痑s nothing too tricky came up.听This section was dominated by ideas of听National governing bodies,听high performance听sport, periodisation and nutrition.听The latter topic was expected after its surprise absence on last year鈥檚 exam.听The question on energy systems was the only difficult part as some students struggle with听this topic but this where those who really know the course can separate themselves from their peers.听
The final stretch is听Section C Long Answer questions鈥�were students needed to听answer听听3听out of 5听options. Beginning with听Q 14, parts听(a) to (c)听were听nice but part听(d)听was something most听try to听students avoid.听The reason is that听the question was based on artistic sports which are less mainstream听amongst the students听than a purposive sport (like听football). The rest of the question was made of familiar concepts around stages of learning, principles of effective听practice.听
Q 15 had more of an emphasis on contemporary issues in Physical Activity. Students may have avoided this due to the essay style question and more space for subjectivity. But the questions asked were straight from previous exam questions, so those who were ready and willing to take this on will be on a comfortable footing as they discussed body image, hegemony and benefits of physical activity.听
Q 16鈥�� would have drawn听students听to this as it was听predominantly from听Topic 6: Ethics.鈥疭tudents tend to love discussions around鈥痗ode of ethics, supplements,听sportsmanship听and performance enhancing drugs, so this question is always popular. The same goes for听Q 17鈥痺hich drew on Topics 2: Physiological and Psychological Development. This is the longest topic on the course at听nearly 50%听longer than any听other, but听contains听a wealth of material that students gravitate towards like听confidence, motivation, psychological听strategies听and听principles of training.听
Much like Q15,听Q18 would have avoided this question听due to its topic and question type.鈥疻hile the topic of media is fascinating, the practical reality of the exam is that most could answer two other questions in the time it takes to fully answer this essay.听
Overall听not听a difficult question听but two of four parts were longer essay style questions which may have听impacted听time management.听The longer parts of the question would have been expected to come up.听