Trainee PE teachers run orienteering festival

On 10 February pupils from Peacehaven Community School took part in an orienteering festival run by PGCE and School Direct trainee PE teachers at the School of Sport and Service Management in Eastbourne.

The Year 10s learning objectives and outcomes from the event were in line with the GCSE Orienteering assessment criteria; success is judged on how efficiently and safely challenges were overcome in activities such as orienteering, using walking or running, navigational exercises and problem solving.

The challenge involved route planning and navigation and overcoming additional specific challenges and problems. Pupils learnt to refine and adapt skills into techniques, such as in an orienteering race, and were able to select and apply navigational techniques and understand the distinctive features of an orienteering map.

Pupils achievements were evidenced through their ability to complete a course appropriate to the outdoor activity by taking part in an established orienteering course ensuring that all safety aspects were covered. The aims and objectives of the event were to ensure that pupils were  able to use a map and compass effectively in order to navigate a pre-determined route,  understand the principles of orientating a map in order to complete a pre-determined course, be able to think about, express and explain views that are not their own and to negotiate, decide and take responsibility.

PGCE/School Direct course leader and principal lecturer, Dr Gary Stidder, said: “Off-site experiences such as these provide pupils with the opportunity to compete against themselves in an unfamiliar environment using navigational skills that they may not have been able to use before.

“For the trainee PE teachers it provides much needed subject knowledge enhancement and an opportunity to incorporate thematic learning and cross-curricular teaching within their lessons.”