PE and Leadership

Developing confidence and leadership skills through physical education

Meet Our Wonderful Head of PE and Health

It was clear when we sat down with Head of Faculty for PE and Health, Amelia McKibbin, that she’s found her passion in life.

“My Dad is a teacher so teaching is in my blood, but growing up, I had a fantastic PE teacher at school who inspired me to love the subject. I really enjoyed going on school camps when I was younger, and when I look at the incredible opportunities on offer at St Cuthbert’s, I wish I had been able to go on a programme like Kahunui, which is life changing for our students.

“Underpinning our programme is Hauora, the Māori concept of wellbeing. There are four dimensions; physical, social, spiritual, and mental/emotional. Traditional PE catered to the physical, but at St Cuthbert’s our PE and Health programme is holistic, focussing on developing every dimension of our girls.

“For me, and my team, while PE encourages our students to be active throughout their lives, it is also fundamentally about teaching them to have confidence in themselves, how to relate to one another, work as a team, and to strive for their personal best, no matter their ability. I just love watching our PE students grow as individuals too and some eventually become school leaders.”

Current Head Girl Carmel Ah Chong has taken PE as a subject right the way through Senior School and says, “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time as a PE student, even more so at a College where we’re fortunate to have state-of-the-art facilities, supportive teachers, and incredible experiences, such as our trip to Rotorua, and our AUT Millennium visit.

“For me, PE extends beyond its stereotype of ‘a subject only for sportspeople’. During both our practical and classroom sessions, we are able to hone our leadership and communication skills, learn how to work with a range of people, and gain a deeper understanding of the value of our health. In my opinion, the development of these aspects is beneficial for everyone, regardless of whether you play sport or not. “Ultimately though, the one thing that I think separates PE from other subjects, is the life-long friendships that you make. Most of the Year 13 PE students have taken the subject since Level 1 and after surviving a few lockdowns and mountain biking trips in the hail, we are closer than ever as we embark on our last year in this fantastic subject,” says Carmel.

Amelia adds, “While we do have future Olympians and elite sportswomen come through our PE and Health Faculty, we also have future mathematicians, science majors, and students who have a wide range of interests and possible career choices. PE and Health as a subject helps prepare students for life beyond the school gates, through developing their resilience and selfesteem, and also gives them the tools to support their mental wellbeing.

“We really encourage our students to set personal goals for themselves. We have such a varied group of students in class at any one time, with different strengths and abilities across the various modules. No matter their individual ability in a particular area of PE, we want every student to step up and share their strengths and skills, and if they don’t have the skills, to put their hand up for help. We support our students to discover skills they didn’t realise they had, and if they struggle with an aspect of PE, that, in turn, teaches them resilience and to reach out for support. These are important life skills.

“I had a parent say to me recently that watching her daughter develop confidence in her body and skills through our PE and Health programme has been life changing, as it’s helping her to break out of her comfort zone to try new things, and to set some higher goals for herself in other academic areas.

“The Year 9 Aquathon is a classic example of personal goal setting; no matter what their skill level in swimming and running at the outset of the training,

Even lockdown doesn’t stop our PE team! Here is Amelia teaching her class to juggle over Zoom.

“PE now is just so different from what many of us remember when we went to school. The subject has moved from simply teaching physical skills, to learning about health and wellbeing, and both interpersonal and leadership skills through physical education.”

students are able to develop a training schedule that suits them, set personal goals, and, over a number of months, feel stronger and more confident in their abilities. The programme also teaches them about the value of hard work; and how you get back what you put into something. There is something in it for our competitive students too, as the top student in the Aquathon gets it named after her, until her record gets broken. Current Year 10 student Sophie Robb remains unbeaten, and still holds the record for the fastest time!

“The thing I stress to our students is that you don’t have to be the very best to benefit from PE and Health as a subject, although for our elite athletes, really understanding how their bodies work, biophysical concepts, and how to train properly, helps to support their future sporting goals. We also cover topics such as biomechanics, exercise physiology and sport psychology, helping those who are interested in PE and health as a career, prepare for further study.

“Our programme, from the Junior School right through to Year 13, is carefully and strategically thought through and relevant to each developmental stage. In the Junior School, we aim to build strong foundations, and to give students tasters of different activities, and we focus on teaching them to begin to manage self and to take personal responsibility. From Year 7 onwards, we balance the physical side of PE with the science of health, including relationships, mental health and sexuality education, relevant to their developmental stage.

“It’s not about what you are actually doing in PE, it’s about how you are doing it. In our faculty, we all really want our students to enjoy being active their whole lives; exercise isn’t a chore, walking every day or playing in a team sport at university, should be part of a well-balanced life.

Amelia is quick to point to her team as being integral to the wonderful PE and Health offering at the College. “I feel so lucky to come to work every day and be around such an amazing bunch of people. We are all so diverse, coming from very different backgrounds and expertise. We’ve a real combination of extensive experience, young and fresh ideas, and real-world sporting talent.”

Our 2021 joint Sherilyn White

Scholarship winners, Chloe and Bella Browne say that PE has been one of their favourite subjects which is one of the reasons they have carried it through to Year 13. “What I love about PE is that it’s not just about sport”, says Bella. “It’s a really well-rounded subject which covers everything from physical activity, to understanding the human body from a mental and physical and academic perspective”. Chloe adds, “St Cuthbert’s is very well set up to offer an exceptional PE curriculum with excellent teaching and classroom facilities including a world class hockey turf, aquatic centre, gymnasium, sports courts and a wellness centre. I think that we are very lucky in the PE department; it’s so well resourced which makes taking PE as a subject even more enriching. It’s definitely my favourite subject!”