Upon arrival we met our lead Sports Scientist for the day and walked across the campus so that pupils could get a feel for how a university is set up, although the site was pretty quiet as students were in their finals.

In a lecture theatre our pupils learnt about life at Bath University and the sports facilities on offer. Pupils were encouraged to start thinking about a range of sporting careers and the different directions they can go. However, the main focus of the session was looking at individual differences in relation to sport and fitness components. These topics need to be understood for the exam and a lot of practical examples were given that our pupils should be able to use in their answers.

After a walk back across the campus in the beautiful sunshine, we had an hour for lunch in the University Sports Café overlooking the athletics track. During this time pupils were able to watch athletes of all standards, from members of the public to national athletes.

During the afternoon sessions pupils were split into two groups. One group did a tour looking at all the sporting facilities and the way that sports facilities can be adapted for other sports. Amelia commented that her highlight was the opportunity to try a different strength test on the tour in the lab: “This enabled me to see if I was strong enough to get into the Police Force and I was."

The second group did fitness testing at the indoor athletics track. The tests included Sit and Reach, Sprint Test, Counter Movement Jump, Yo Yo Test (like Bleep Test), Grip Test - testing both right and left side and Agility Run - testing both right and left side. Fin said  "I like the Counter Movement Test best because I got a good result and feel I have a lot of strength in legs." Jack won the Yo Yo Test, completing it to an outstanding level - in fact the coaches said it was the best ever performance they had seen by a pupil.

The groups switched over from tour to testing and vice versa and at 3pm regrouped to take part in a Question and Answer session with an athlete. Our athlete was Kim Murray who was a GB Long Jumper until injury meant she could no longer jump. Her sporting career changed direction when she was picked from a talent programme to compete in Skeleton Bobsleigh - she made the GB squad within two years. Our pupils were praised on asking excellent questions.
 

The GCSE Revision Trip is so relevant to what our Year 10 pupils are learning at the moment and is a real eye opener regarding the topics in Year 11. Giving pupils practical experience and memory helps them better relate to the topics and they should be able to answer their exam questions in more detail. Overall the trip was a great success with pupils not only buzzing about the learning but also about the possibility of going to university.

Miss Smith, PE Faculty

Related Links:

• Bath University - Sport
• Bath University - Sports Training Village