AQA GCSE Physical Education Revision

The full topic list for AQA GCSE Physical Education, taken from the current specification, and how to revise every topic with AI marked practice.

7 topic groups · 70 numbered specification points · 77 checklist items

Official AQA specification (opens in a new tab)

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Physical Education topic list

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Applied anatomy and physiology
- 1.1 Students should develop knowledge and understanding of the key body systems and how they impact on health, fitness and performance in physical activity and sport
- 1.2 support
- 1.3 hamstring group (not individual names)
- 1.4 flexion/extension at the shoulder, elbow, hip and knee
- 1.5 bronchi
- 1.6 redistribution of blood during exercise (vasoconstriction and vasodilation)
- 1.7 Students should be taught how to interpret heart rate graphs, including an anticipatory rise, and changes in intensity
- 1.8 aerobic exercise
- 1.9 hot/sweaty/red skin
- 1.10 Students should be taught the components of fitness to understand the long term effects of exercise
Movement analysis
- 2.1 Students should develop knowledge and understanding of the basic principles of movement and their effect on performance in physical activity and sport
- 2.2 Identification of first, second and third class lever systems
- 2.3 load (resistance)
- 2.4 Mechanical advantage – an understanding of mechanical advantage in relation to the three lever systems
- 2.5 Analysis of basic movements in sporting examples
- 2.6 abduction/adduction at the shoulder
- 2.7 plantar flexion/dorsiflexion at the ankle
- 2.8 shoulder action during cricket bowling
- 2.9 Planes (frontal, transverse, sagittal) and axes (longitudinal, transverse, sagittal) should be related to sporting actions. Teaching of these planes/axes should include but not be limited to the following sporting actions
- 2.10 cartwheel
Physical training
- 3.1 Students should develop knowledge and understanding of the principles of training and different training methods in order to plan, carry out, monitor and evaluate personal exercise and training programmes
- 3.2 strength (maximal, static, dynamic and explosive)
- 3.3 balance – Stork Stand Test
- 3.4 The principles of training and their application to personal exercise/training programmes
- 3.5 How the principles of training can be applied to bring about improvements in fitness
- 3.6 Students should be taught to select and evaluate appropriate training methods for various (aerobic and anaerobic) fitness needs and make links to sporting activity, eg continuous training is fully appropriate to marathon runners
- 3.7 over training should be avoided, eg appropriate weight
- 3.8 pre-season/preparation
- 3.9 mental preparation
- 3.10 prevent (delayed onset) muscle soreness/DOMS
Use of data
- 4.1 Students should develop knowledge and understanding of data analysis in relation to key areas of physical activity and sport
- 4.2 Quantitative data deals with numbers
- 4.3 Questionnaires
- 4.4 Qualitative data deals with descriptions
- 4.5 interviews
- 4.6 Presenting data
- 4.7 How to plot basic
- 4.8 How to label x and y axes on bar charts and line graphs
- 4.9 Analysis and evaluation of data
- 4.10 pie charts
Sports psychology
- 5.1 Students should develop knowledge and understanding of the psychological factors that can affect performers in physical activity and sport
- 5.2 Definitions of types of goals
- 5.3 specific
- 5.4 Output – information sent to muscles to carry out the response
- 5.5 Students need to be taught to be able to choose and justify which types of guidance are appropriate for beginners and/or elite level performers. This should include examples of how the guidance can be given, eg visual via demonstration
- 5.6 The shape of the ‘inverted-U’ placed appropriately in a graph depicting y axis (performance level – low to high) and x axis (arousal level – low to high)
- 5.7 positive self-talk
- 5.8 Tend to play individual sports when
- 5.9 Definition of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, as used in sporting examples
- 5.10 Extrinsic rewards may result in feelings of pride/self-satisfaction
Socio-cultural influences
- 6.1 Students should develop knowledge and understanding of the socio-cultural factors that impact on physical activity and sport, and the impact of sport on society
- 6.2 sexism/stereotyping
- 6.3 financial
- 6.4 audience/spectator
- 6.5 stimulants
- 6.6 Beta blockers are taken to
- 6.7 Blood doping – oxygen carrying capacity
- 6.8 reputational damage
- 6.9 rivalries
- 6.10 Students should be taught to evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies, eg high costs of security versus safety of spectators
Health, fitness and wellbeing
- 7.1 Students should develop knowledge and understanding of the benefits of participating in physical activity and sport to health, fitness and wellbeing
- 7.2 Mental health and wellbeing
- 7.3 Fitness
- 7.4 diabetes
- 7.5 limits speed/power
- 7.6 inability to leave home
- 7.7 Energy is measured in calories (Kcal) and is obtained from the food we eat
- 7.8 unused energy is stored as fat, which could cause obesity (particularly saturated fat)
- 7.9 Students do not need to be taught about specific vitamins and minerals
- 7.10 Students should be taught to understand and evaluate the consequences of dehydration to performance in different sporting activities

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