Some people's best subject in school was PE but unfortunately, it never counted towards CAO points.
That's all the set to change following the announcement that it will be officially offered as Leaving Cert subject from next September onwards.
Its first exam will be in 2020 and it's expected to be introduced to more than 50 schools. Students will be able to gain CAO points through swimming, rugby, jazz dance and coaching skills. While schools won't be getting new resources, teachers will take part in a programme of training to deliver the new course, early next year.
The Irish Heart Foundation and the Federation of Irish Sport both called on the Department of Education to utilise PE in order to combat the rise of teen obesity in Ireland last year. Last October it was revealed almost a third of Irish children are now overweight with 9% of girls and 10% of boys classed as obese.
The important role of PE was something stressed by both the GAA and IRFU in a recent National Sports Policy consultation paper investigating this issue. The GAA had called for an examination of the entire framework:
Very often success in a sporting context is judged on the basis of ‘winning’, however, it will be necessary to rethink the parameters of measuring the impact of the policy framework. Imagine the difference to Irish society if by 2027, 90% of children and young people were getting the recommended amount of daily physical activity or if 90% of primary and post-primary pupils were receiving the recommended one to two hours a week of PE at school.
The FAI also submitted to that paper and stressed the importance of instilling a love of the game before competitive issues:
Player drop-out is a common theme across all sporting codes and a ‘winning at all costs’ mentality, largely driven by coaches and parents, inhibits player development and can lead to a sense of frustration, failure and ultimately drop-out. For children in any sport the match result must be secondary to the quality of play and the enjoyment of playing.
These bodies will undoubtedly be delighted to see progress on the issue.
In a recent discussion with Balls.ie, Joey Carbery credited the PE environment in New Zealand for his excellent rugby skills.
As well as the traditional sports activities, students will learn about technology and media in sport, business and enterprise in the new Leaving Certificate PE course.
Course content will include issues around physical activity and gender, inclusion, ethics, and fair play.
