Physical Education with Foundation

Physical education studies how movement, exercise, and sport are taught, learned, and experienced across the human lifespan. The discipline draws on sport science, educational theory, child development, psychology, and social science to examine how physical activity can be taught effectively and why it matters for health, wellbeing, and human flourishing. Teachers of physical education are not simply transmitting skills; they are helping young people develop habits, confidence, and physical literacy that can shape their relationship with their bodies and with activity for the rest of their lives.

At Gloucestershire, this four-year degree with a foundation year provides a supported entry into higher education before you progress to the main degree programme. Across the degree you will study the theory and practice of physical education, examining how children and young people develop physically, psychologically, and socially, and how effective teaching can support that development. You will engage with the curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment frameworks that govern physical education in schools, and will develop practical teaching skills alongside your academic understanding.

Gloucestershire's connections with organisations committed to increasing physical activity in the region give the programme a meaningful community context, reinforcing the idea that physical education has genuine public value beyond the school gates.

Graduates of physical education degrees most commonly pursue initial teacher training, with many going on to qualify as PE teachers in secondary schools. The subject knowledge and teaching experience developed in the degree provide a strong foundation for the PGCE or School Direct route into qualified teacher status. Beyond school teaching, the degree also opens routes into sports coaching, community sport and physical activity development, sport administration, leisure management, and health promotion.

Many graduates find careers in roles that combine sport and community development, working with local authorities, national governing bodies of sport, and the voluntary sector to increase participation in physical activity.