The newest member of our team, Kaeti Breward, has just joined us after 10 years in teaching. As a PE teacher and passionate skier, Kaeti is the perfect fit for ISSC!
A former moderator for GCSE and A-Level PE, Kaeti thinks skiing can be a great choice as the individual activity for the non-exam assessment (NEA) component.
Here she explains how ISSC can help and gives her top tips as a former moderator!
Is skiing a practical choice for the NEA component?
Yes! Particularly if your school, like mine, runs a regular school ski trip.
But even if that’s not the case, there are so many fantastic facilities all around the UK that you can use.
The only thing to remember is that some exam boards require students to ski on different piste classifications to access different bands.
So, if you do have a top band performer, it would be better to assess them on a school ski trip, where they’ll have access to more challenging runs.
Exam boards usually assess two things – skills and competitive performance.
In terms of the skills, for skiing these are all usually covered by instructors on school ski trips anyway, so it’s very easy to assess these, without too much effort.
The competitive performance element varies somewhat depending on the exam board.
Some require students only to compete against the conditions, which usually covers piste classification and weather, for example.
Other exam boards require this to be in the form of a timed slalom.
How can taking part in ISSC contribute to the assessment?
If your exam board requires the competitive performance element of the assessment to be in the form of a timed slalom, then attending a school ski racing event like the ISSC is ideal.
Myself and my colleagues are experienced in this area, so we’re able to ensure that everything is in place to offer your students the best opportunity to succeed in their assessment.
We also offer extra sessions for competing students who are being assessed for GCSE and A-Level – please just make us aware of this requirement when registering your interest with us.
Is there anything I should bear in mind when filming evidence?
The first thing to say is that although your moderator will evaluate the evidence fairly and impartially, it doesn’t hurt to make their job a little bit easier!
So, my first tip is to invest in a good quality action camera and harness.
You don’t want to give the moderator motion sickness from having to watch a shaky, poor quality video!
And I would also advise making it as clear as possible who they should be looking at.
So, as well as starting your video submission with the candidate stating their name and candidate number, you could also ask them to wear a bib if their ski jacket is a popular colour.
It’s also good practice for your candidate to state the piste colour at the beginning of their video submission – even better if they’re stood next to the sign or coloured post, so there can be no doubt as to the level they’re skiing at.
