Options, arts et éducation physique
What the assessments test
Options, arts and physical education are assessed through practical work, portfolios or performances, an oral defence, and a theoretical component. Art options test visual research, composition and reflection; music options test technical control, interpretation and programme planning; PE tests physical performance and theoretical knowledge of training, physiology and rules. The exam looks for evidence of process, not only a final product.
Core rules
- Build a portfolio that shows research, trials, revisions and final work; annotate decisions.
- For performance, choose a programme you can execute cleanly; contrast is useful but accuracy comes first.
- In PE, apply training principles: specificity, progressive overload, recovery, reversibility.
- In the oral, justify choices with subject vocabulary and evaluate weaknesses.
Worked example
A student wants to improve a 1,500 m run from 6:30 to 6:00 in six weeks. Plan: weeks 1–2, 6×400 m at 1:40 with 90 s recovery; weeks 3–4, 3×800 m at 3:20 with 2 min recovery; weeks 5–6, race-pace 1,000 m repeats. Reasoning: specificity targets race pace; progressive overload raises volume/intensity; recovery prevents overtraining. Monitor with RPE and a timed trial.
Traps
Treating the portfolio as a scrapbook with no reflection; choosing an over-ambitious performance piece; ignoring safety and warm-up; giving practical answers without theoretical justification; describing a training plan without applying principles.