I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the University and to say thank you for choosing Canterbury Christ Church University as your higher education destination to study Physical Education and Sport & Exercise Science. This is a unique degree where you will study a range of modules from PE and Sport Science that will develop your knowledge, skills and understanding, enabling you to link theory to practice through a broad range of experiences. A dedicated team of tutors will support you at every step in your learning journey at Canterbury Christ Church University.

Alison Carney

Key dates

Course start date: 16 September 2024

Academic Calendar: Semesters

View key dates for this Academic Calendar for 2024-25 including when teaching starts and finishes and when you break for holidays.  

Welcome and induction

Your Welcome Week is an essential introduction to your course and student life at CCCU, helping you to feel confident and prepared for your studies right from the very start.

It is important to check your Welcome Schedule for all the activities you are required to attend during the week.

Your teaching timetable 

UniTimetables provides an overview of all teaching activities on a course. Your individual timetable will be available via MyTimetable and is personalised to show you what modules and groups you are expected to attend.

Your individual student timetable can only be produced once you have engaged with online registration and created your computing account. It is essential you complete these tasks when invited, so that your course team can assign you to your teaching activities and publish your individual timetable.

Find out more about all aspects of timetabling for new students including user guides.

Welcome

The Faculty of Science, Engineering and Social Sciences is the key provider of sport, health and education students and employees across Kent. It offers a wide variety of educational and research opportunities, within Physical Education, Sport and Physical Activity. I hope that this is the beginning of a long association with the University which will continue after you have completed this course, to support your developing career in the future.

The University has great facilities, including: The University Sports Centre with double sports hall, exercise studio, fitness suite and performance analysis room; Polo Farm Sports Club which includes indoor sports facilities with specialist teaching space for academic courses and venue for netball, cricket and hockey teams; and access to Verena Holmes building with laboratories used to measure and assess sporting performance. Alongside the academic study of sport, there will be the opportunity to engage with university clubs and organisations to meet new friends and support your wellbeing.

The University also offers a Sports Scholarship Scheme for a range of abilities and interests. Please follow this link to apply: https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/christ-church-sport/sport/sports-scholarships/sports-scholarship-scheme.aspx

Getting started

Year 1 Modules

All your modules in Year 1 for PE and Sport & Exercise Science will be core modules so that you can gain a broad and balanced foundation from which to build your knowledge, skills and understanding as you progress through your learning journey at Canterbury Christ Church University.

Semester 1 Modules:

  • Orientation to Higher Education and Research
  • Foundations of PE
  • Biomechanical and Physiological Basis of Human Movement

Semester 2 Modules

  • Learning through Practical Activity
  • Introduction to Pedagogy
  • Psychological and Sociological basis of Sport and Exercise

A DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) clearance will be required for this course. Further information on this and how to complete the clearance can be found here.

Social media

Social media can help you keep up-to-date with activities at the University. Here are a few University feeds to look at and follow:

We have an active PE community Facebook page which can be found at –Physical Education at CCCU.

These electronic resources will give you an insight into both physical education, sport and physical activity, and keep up-to-date in your field:

Visiting these websites will help you start becoming familiar with current policies on physical education, sport and physical activity.

Websites:

Also don't forget to check out our Faculty Instagram pages!

Community

On the social side, the Student Union (CCSU) has a huge range of clubs and societies – all of which have unique social calendars of their own and offer endless opportunities to make lifelong friends and discover new hobbies. And you can always create your own society and cultivate your own community!

CCSU will be hosting their Welcome Fayre on Wednesday 18th September 2024. Make sure you keep checking the CCSU website for further details and how to get involved.

We understand that you may be nervous about your first few weeks on campus but rest assured - you'll be joining a nurturing and supportive environment where diversity, equality and individuality are part of everything we do.

You can find out more about our welcoming community and making friends here.

If you are an International Student joining us then please see our International Student Support pages for further information and guidance.

Pre-course reading

We have had significant investment in both hard copy texts and electronic resources through our University library which is highly rated by our PE and Sport and Exercise Science students. We usually tell students to wait until they commence their studies at University to make decisions about buying texts.

It is useful to note that the University Bookshop offers 10% discount on most titles in print and have some price-beating book bundles. They also price match Amazon on core texts recommended in the module handbooks you will receive when you start in September. We also advise you to look at the second-hand book market.

Pre-Reading/ Learning Suggestions:

Government documentation and research reports are a valuable source for deepening your subject knowledge and understanding. Examples are:

Youth Sport Trust (2023) PE and School Sport in England: The Annual Report 2023. Available at: 

https://www.youthsporttrust.org/media/5bcgx4kh/yst_pe_school_sport_report_2023_final_revd.pdf(Accessed: 04 June 2024)

Association for Physical Education (2020) Health Position Paper. Available at: https://www.afpe.org.uk/physical-education/wp-content/uploads/Health-Position-Paper-2020-Web.pdf (Accessed: 04 June 2024)

Some key books/readings include:

  • Capel, S., Cliffe, J., Lawrence, J. (2021) Learning to teach physical education in the secondary school: a companion to school experience. 5th edn. London and New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
  • Fletcher, T., Ní Chróinín, D., Douglas G., and Beni, S. (eds). (2021) Meaningful physical education: an approach for teaching and learning. Milton: Taylor & Francis Group.
  • Houlihan, B. (Ed.). (2008) Sport and Society: A Student Introduction (2nd edn). London: Sage.
  • McGinnis, P. (2005) Biomechanics of Sport and Exercise (2nd edn.). Champaign, Illinois:Human Kinetics.



International student success programme

International students: don't miss out! Make sure you register for our international student success programme which provides practical advice on preparing to live and study in the UK.

Contact details

Contact the Course Director if you have any questions - Alison Carney - alison.carney@canterbury.ac.uk. The Administration team can be contacted on SERS@canterbury.ac.uk