Street Surfing for PE students

PGCE and School Direct PE trainee teachers took part in a street surfing workshop as part of their induction at the School of Sport and Service Management.

Street Surfing is the latest Californian craze amongst children and is a combination of skateboarding, surfing and snowboarding on two wheels. It is getting a greater number of inactive children exercising within PE lessons as more schools and PE departments are buying into the sport. With more and more secondary aged children leading sedentary lives along with the increasing obesity epidemic amongst young people PE teachers have had to find imaginative ways of capturing pupil’s interest in physical activity.

It is a well-known fact that a significant number of pupils are turn off PE because of an over emphasis on sex-segregated competitive team games. Street Surfing is one activity that can have universal appeal to all children.

PGCE and School Direct PE Route Leader Dr Gary Stidder said: “The challenge for PE Initial Teacher Education is to prepare new recruits to the PE teaching profession with a repertoire of teaching skills and subject knowledge that can engage a broader population of secondary school pupils into physical activity.

“Street Surfing is an activity that is really catching on with young people and beginning to be introduced in the PE curriculum as an alternative to the standard competitive team games.”