Do you know that **2027 SEC G3 Exercise and Sports Science (ESS) is not simply a practical PE examination**? The official syllabus is **K354**. Candidates take a **two-hour, 80-mark e-Examination Paper 1 worth 40%** and complete a **21-week, 80-mark coursework Paper 2 worth 60%**. Within coursework, **40% of the whole subject comes from practical performance** in two prescribed sporting activities, while **20% comes from a Development Log** analysing decisions and a training programme. A strong athlete who does not understand the science or cannot evaluate performance still needs meaningful academic preparation.
Parents commonly ask whether a child must be good at every sport, how individual and team activities are chosen, whether CCA membership guarantees performance marks, whether sports training can be filmed at home, and why the development log includes a **four-to-five-week training programme**. SEAB’s 2027 K354 syllabus gives specific answers. The candidate selects one activity from the **individual/dual** list and one **team** sport. The school assesses performance and provides required video evidence for dual and team activities, while individually measured activities use recorded timings or distances. A student receives two assessment opportunities for each offered activity, with the best performance selected.
This guide helps parents separate three different abilities: scientific understanding of movement, actual safe sporting performance, and evidence-based evaluation of training and decisions. Paper 1 can use text, images, animations and short videos, including drag-and-drop or other digital item types. Paper 2 requires authentic school-assessed performance and a supervised log, not a parent-created fitness journal. The practical next step is to confirm the school-offered K354 course, the candidate’s two activities and any recurring weaknesses, then use current SEAB requirements alongside teacher guidance rather than following an unsupported online workout programme.
2027 Exercise and Sports Science K354: assessment at a glance
| Exam component | What students demonstrate | Marks / Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 Theory e-Exam | 2 hours; Sections A 20, B 40 and C 20 using text and digital visuals | 80 marks / 40% |
| Paper 2 Practical activities | One individual or dual sport plus one team sport, assessed through authorised performance | 40 marks / 40% |
| Paper 2 Development Log | Team tactical decisions and a four-to-five-week training programme with evaluation | 40 marks / 20% |
| Coursework period | Supervised and moderated across 21 weeks | 80 marks / 60% in total |
Do you know? Do you know why ESS differs from an ordinary PE lesson?
Physical Education helps students develop movement, participation and healthy habits across school life. The SEC Exercise and Sports Science course is a named G3 examinable subject that combines academic sports-science knowledge, practical proficiency and critical reflection on participation and performance. Its national papers have specific assessment weights, prescribed practical activities and a structured Development Log.
Students study concepts from exercise physiology, biomechanics, motor learning and development, sports psychology and sports sociology. The syllabus asks not only how a movement happens but why it may improve, how evidence should be interpreted and how ethics, equity and commercial influences affect participation.
A student who enjoys football or swimming may find the course engaging, but enthusiasm is only a starting point. A parent should look for willingness to analyse performance, understand science and communicate informed decisions, not just the ability to run quickly.
Do you know? The official subject code and who can take it
SEAB’s 2027 G3 school-candidate directory lists Exercise and Sports Science as **K354**, with earlier reference code **6081**. The code identifies the exact national exam specification. The national directory does not require every secondary school to provide the course, so parents should check availability, entry requirements and sports-facility arrangements with the actual school.
Posting Group and G-level are not universal labels for every subject the student takes. A child may have different subject levels under Full Subject-Based Banding, according to the applicable school and MOE arrangements. The registered course—not a friend’s worksheet—determines whether K354 applies.
For cohorts graduating after 2027, the document is a useful orientation to ESS but not a promise that every later examination year will use identical rubrics and schedules. Use the effective-year SEAB syllabus when the candidate approaches national assessment.
Do you know? The real 40/60 scheme: theory and coursework work together
Paper 1 is 80 marks, two hours and 40% of the subject. Paper 2 is 80 marks, assessed over a 21-week coursework period and worth 60%. Within Paper 2, practical performance across two activities contributes 40 marks, equal to 40 percentage points of the total subject, while the Development Log contributes another 40 marks, equal to 20 percentage points.
This distinction explains a common misunderstanding. Someone may say that ‘the portfolio is half of coursework’ and assume it counts for 30% of the whole subject. The formal allocation is different: the Development Log accounts for 20% of the overall examination, even though it is forty of eighty raw coursework marks. Weight and raw marks serve different purposes.
Parents should avoid converting casual practice scores into predicted national grades. The official scheme describes how performance is assessed, while the student’s actual skill and school feedback determine what needs teaching next.
Do you know? Paper 1: why it is an e-Examination rather than a simple theory booklet
The K354 Paper 1 is a computer-based examination with three compulsory sections. Section A is twenty marks of varied items, including multiple choice, matching, drag-and-drop, checkboxes, fill-in-the-blank and short answers based on texts, images or short videos. Section B has forty marks of structured questions using similar materials. Section C has twenty marks of structured questions based on one or two videos.
The inclusion of videos reflects the subject’s focus on movement. A candidate may need to notice a technical or tactical feature, apply a relevant sports-science principle and explain what the evidence supports. Familiarity with a sport can help recognition, but it does not replace the reasoning demanded by the question.
Use official e-Examination resources and school-authorised familiarisation to practise the interface. Do not assume the real system has the same controls as ordinary social-media video players, or that students can replay every stimulus without limit. The candidate’s actual instructions determine such features.
Do you know? The five areas of study: science and social understanding
The official ESS syllabus covers Exercise Physiology, Motor Learning and Development, Biomechanics, Sports Psychology and Sports Sociology. The first three help explain bodily response, learning movement and mechanical relationships; psychology concerns factors such as motivation and attention; sociology examines wider issues of participation, ethics and society.
These areas interact. An athlete’s performance is affected by physical capacities, movement technique, experience, concentration and the setting in which they practise. One observation rarely proves a single cause. The subject encourages an interdisciplinary approach to understand and improve movement.
A parent can ask which of these areas is being used in a particular explanation. If the child only says ‘practice makes perfect’, invite them to specify what changed, which evidence supports that claim and what other factors might matter. Such reasoning is useful regardless of whether the family is involved in competitive sport.
Do you know? Exercise physiology: understanding responses and adaptations
Exercise physiology considers how bodily systems respond to physical activity and adapt over time, within the prescribed curriculum. The student should be able to relate relevant systems and training principles to performance questions rather than memorise isolated body-part labels. A correct physiological term is only useful when applied appropriately.
A theoretical examination item might provide heart-rate data from a supervised activity. The pupil needs to read the axis, distinguish immediate response from longer-term adaptation and avoid concluding more than the supplied measurements show. A graph with an unusual scale can reveal a reading error rather than a lack of physiology knowledge.
Do not use this subject guide to prescribe aggressive training or medical advice for a real teenager. Personal training, injury management and health conditions require school-supervised or appropriate qualified guidance. At home, families can discuss the concepts using authorised diagrams and anonymised data.
Do you know? Motor learning: performing well once versus learning a reliable skill
Motor learning concerns how movements are acquired, refined and made consistent with feedback and practice. A student might perform a movement well in one familiar drill but struggle under the changing demands of a competitive game. The difference is useful evidence about how securely the skill has been learnt.
Ask the learner what feedback they received and what specific movement they tried to change. A vague statement such as ‘I just trained harder’ reveals little. A more informative account might explain that they adjusted timing to respond more effectively to an opponent, and that repeated school-supervised practice tested whether the improvement held.
Theoretical discussion should be kept distinct from prescribing training intensity. The school is responsible for the physical preparation and relevant safety rules, while parents can help students analyse feedback and approach mistakes as specific learning problems.
Do you know? Biomechanics: forces, movement and observations
Biomechanics studies how mechanical principles help explain human movement. The syllabus can call for reasoning about forces, body position, momentum or movement efficiency in a specified sporting context. Knowing a word such as ‘balance’ is not enough if the candidate cannot say which relevant movement relationship it describes.
An original paper exercise might present two stick-figure drawings of a player preparing to move. Ask what differs in body position and how that could influence the next movement under the stated conditions. The student should use only the information provided and a relevant taught principle, rather than invent a certain performance result.
Parents should avoid attempting high-risk movement experiments or technical correction based on one picture. Coaches and teachers can supervise practical motor-skill development. The home educational task is learning to interpret visual evidence and explain it cautiously.
Do you know? Sports psychology: more than telling athletes to be confident
Motivation, arousal, anxiety, concentration and goal-setting are among the psychology-related concepts in the syllabus. A pupil may recite that confidence is important but struggle to connect a mental state to a particular performance challenge. A better explanation specifies what the athlete needs to do and which psychological factor might affect it.
Consider an invented scenario in which a player loses focus after a missed opportunity. A student could discuss how attention and response to feedback may influence the next decision. It would be unreasonable to diagnose a real person’s mental health or claim to know their inner feelings merely from a short video.
Children should be encouraged to use balanced language about psychological performance. Supportive communication and realistic goals are preferable to pressuring a teenager to ignore pain, exhaustion or distress for the sake of an exam mark.
Do you know? Sports sociology: ethics, equity and commercialisation
ESS also examines sport as a social activity influenced by ethics, equity and commercialisation. Students might consider why different groups have unequal access to facilities or how sponsorship can benefit an event while creating conflicting incentives. The subject is not only about improving the speed of one player’s movement.
An effective answer considers relevant evidence and perspectives. Suppose a fictional school sports event receives funding from a brand while some participants express concerns about its advertising. A thoughtful pupil can identify possible benefits and challenges without assuming that every sponsorship is either wholly good or entirely harmful.
The key is a reasoned judgement linked to the situation. Avoid repeating a stock essay about ‘sports bringing people together’ when the actual question concerns access, fairness or the effects of commercial interests.
Do you know? Two sports choices: one individual/dual plus one team activity
SEAB K354 requires a candidate to choose **one practical activity from the individual/dual category and one from the team category**. The individual options include cross-country running, swimming and track and field. The dual options include badminton, table tennis and tennis. The team category includes basketball, floorball, football, hockey, netball, softball and volleyball.
That does not mean the candidate must demonstrate excellence in all thirteen listed activities. The assessment focuses on the two selected activities under the official criteria. Schools and centres need to organise proper facilities and assessment conditions, so a student’s preferred combination must be discussed with the school.
The distinction also shapes performance expectations. A sprint or swim can be assessed against specified quantitative standards, while team play additionally involves tactical decisions and interaction. Parents should not compare raw achievements from different sports as though they reflect identical tasks.
Do you know? What is meant by an individual or dual sport?
An individual activity involves the candidate’s performance under appropriate conditions, as in the published options of cross-country running, swimming or track and field. A dual sport involves a direct opponent, as in badminton, table tennis or tennis. The syllabus combines these into one category for the choice of assessed activity.
Performance in an individual activity may be judged through measured time or distance, while dual performance includes practical skills and appropriate tactical play. These are not interchangeable forms of evidence. A parent can help the student understand which activity is selected and how the school assesses it, without imposing unsafe practice sessions.
CCA experience can be helpful but does not guarantee the examination outcome. A pupil’s actual competence, response to task conditions and school-supported preparation determine performance against the published descriptors.
Do you know? What does the team sport assessment expect?
Team activities require appropriate motor skills and decisions within live play. A student may know the rules and execute a technical skill in a drill but struggle to select the right action when teammates and opponents move unpredictably. The syllabus considers the candidate’s role, responsiveness and tactical decisions within authentic situations.
Take a fictional possession sequence in which a player passes to a marked teammate while another has open space. The teaching question is which information was available, what the player’s objective was and which alternative might better support team play. The answer depends on actual positions and constraints rather than an automatic rule to ‘always pass forward’.
School coaches and teachers should provide practical instruction. Parents can discuss the reasoning behind a decision but should not use this article as a substitute for safe supervised sport or technique correction.
Do you know? Two performance opportunities: what that actually guarantees
The 2027 syllabus states that candidates have **two opportunities to produce evidence and be assessed for each practical activity**, with their best performance for that activity selected. Centres are to follow progressive assessment procedures. This is not a promise of unlimited national retakes or permission to choose an arbitrary new sport after one unsatisfactory attempt.
Some anxious students may misinterpret a first weak practical assessment as final proof that they cannot succeed. Encourage them to review the teacher’s specific feedback and prepare appropriately for the next authorised opportunity. The improvement target should be observable, such as a better tactical choice or more consistent execution, rather than a general demand to ‘try harder’.
The school determines the timing, recording and fairness arrangements under the examination rules. A parent should not invent alternative evidence or demand an unsanctioned performance session outside those arrangements.
Do you know? Video evidence: what the school records and why
For dual and team practical activities, SEAB requires centres to provide video-recorded evidence for moderation. The published guidance says each filming should be approximately fifteen minutes and include an optimal number of other candidates. For individual activities assessed objectively by time or distance, the centre submits the recorded measurements; video is not required under that rule.
These requirements mean a family cannot simply send a highlight reel of the student’s best moments and assume it replaces formal assessment. Edited clips may not show the full context of tactical decisions or match the prescribed evidence. The school manages recording, fairness, privacy and submission.
Parents should respect other students’ consent and confidentiality. Do not publish school practical footage online, collect videos of classmates independently or infer marks from social-media highlights. The examination’s evidence exists for a controlled educational purpose.
Do you know? The Development Log: forty marks for thinking about performance
Paper 2 includes a **40-mark Development Log** assessed across several tasks. Task 1, Improving Tactical Decisions in a Team Practical Activity, is ten marks. Task 2 addresses developing a training programme and carries thirty marks across its parts: 2(A) analysis and development for fifteen marks, 2(B) implementation and evaluation for ten, and 2(C) consolidation of experience for five.
This is not a diary consisting only of daily exercise times or photographs. The pupil must analyse their own performance, select an improvement target, justify an appropriate programme, evaluate what happened and explain what they learnt. Good reasoning requires evidence that is specific to the chosen sport and tasks.
Formal consultation with the Coursework Supervisor is controlled by the examination’s instructions. Parents should not write the log, prescribe training on the candidate’s behalf or invent measurements so that the report looks impressive. The result should be authentic work.
Do you know? Task 1: improving tactical decisions in team play
Task 1 asks candidates to analyse their own tactical decisions in the selected team sport, using a video of performance provided by the school. The learner should identify decisions that affected play, consider contributing factors and propose justified improvements. The emphasis is on understanding what the athlete perceived and chose in context.
A weak log might say, ‘I should pass better and communicate more’. That is vague. A stronger school-based analysis would identify the specific moment when a passing option was available, explain the information the player overlooked and state a reasoned adjustment for a similar situation.
The candidate’s individual contribution matters even though the activity is a team sport. Parents can ask the child to explain one decision and the evidence visible in the authorised school video; they should not create the assessed analysis themselves.
Do you know? Task 2(A): planning a four-to-five-week training programme
The syllabus specifies a **four-to-five-week training programme** to improve performance in one of the candidate’s two practical activities. Part 2(A) asks for analysis of performance and development of a proposed programme, worth fifteen marks. The candidate must connect goals and planned work to a genuine performance need.
The teacher’s safety role is essential. K354 says the Coursework Supervisor should endorse the proposed programme only if it is safe for implementation. A teenager should not interpret the assignment as an invitation to train to exhaustion, adopt extreme diets or follow an online professional athlete’s high-intensity routine.
Parents can support reflection by asking what performance evidence identifies the goal and how the student will know whether improvement occurs. The actual programme’s content and intensity require appropriate teacher supervision and must follow the formal course guidance.
Do you know? Task 2(B): carrying out a plan and evaluating results
Part 2(B), worth ten marks, concerns implementing and evaluating the training programme. The learner should record what was actually undertaken, assess progress appropriately and explain any relevant constraints or changes. Copying a perfect-looking timetable after the fact is not sound evidence of implementation.
The syllabus allows three to four consultations with the Coursework Supervisor during the implementation stage. These are structured opportunities for authorised guidance, not a standing invitation for parents to replace the student’s decisions or secretly add unrecorded training sessions.
A thoughtful student may find that an intended improvement did not appear within the planned period. The educational task is to analyse the result honestly, consider plausible reasons and learn how to evaluate a training intervention, rather than falsify success to make the log more impressive.
Do you know? Task 2(C): consolidation of experience
Part 2(C) is worth five marks and asks the candidate to consolidate learning from the training experience. This is not simply a conclusion saying that the student enjoyed playing the sport. The pupil should connect initial evidence, implementation, observed changes and what they would adjust next.
A useful reflection distinguishes successful actions from areas still uncertain. Perhaps a technical habit became more consistent while game decisions remained variable. The learner can acknowledge the limitation and explain which further evidence or supervised practice would be useful. That is a more honest account than a universal claim that every skill improved.
Parents can ask the student to explain the reflection aloud. If they cannot justify the claims in their own words, the log may need more authentic understanding. The final assessed work must be written by the candidate under the syllabus rules.
Do you know? The permitted consultations are part of assessment fairness
SEAB specifies one consultation with the Coursework Supervisor for Task 2(A), three to four for Task 2(B), and no consultation for Task 1 or Task 2(C). These different boundaries matter. The candidate should understand which aspects are intentionally independent and which allow structured teacher guidance.
A well-meaning parent who gives detailed tactical analysis or writes an evaluation for a task with no consultation allowance can interfere with the purpose of the assessment. Helping with normal organisation and wellbeing is different from substituting the candidate’s assessed work.
Ask the school which permitted resources and forms of support are acceptable. Students should record work accurately and follow the supervisor’s instructions. Integrity is a practical skill: future coaches and sports scientists must be able to distinguish measured performance from claims made to please an evaluator.
Do you know? Does the Development Log reward more intense training?
Not automatically. The log assesses thoughtful analysis, an appropriate plan, implementation and evaluation under the course criteria. Training intensity is not a substitute for relevance, safety or evidence. A student who plans unreasonable sessions without regard for recovery or current ability is not demonstrating sound sports science.
Parents should protect sleep, school commitments and healthy participation. If the pupil reports pain, unusual symptoms, persistent fatigue or other safety concerns, the next action is to involve the school coach, supervising teacher or an appropriate clinician rather than pushing through a programme for marks.
An educationally strong log can explain why a manageable supervised change was selected, which results were observed and what remains uncertain. Safe, proportionate practice is better than dramatic claims about unlimited determination.
Do you know? A paper-based sports analysis that teaches evidence selection
Consider an original fictional data table showing the accuracy of a player’s passing decisions in two short practice situations. Suppose performance looks stronger in a familiar drill than in a competitive situation. The student should identify whether the contexts were comparable before attributing the difference to concentration or technique.
Ask which information was measured, how many attempts occurred and what changed between conditions. A short run of successes does not prove a general trend, and a change in opponents may affect interpretation. The learner can propose what further supervised observation would help distinguish possibilities.
This is a safe data-reasoning exercise, not a training prescription or an official SEC paper. Its purpose is to develop the habit of using evidence rather than assuming every performance difference reflects one obvious cause.
Do you know? Why one filmed movement cannot prove a whole athlete’s ability
A video shows behaviour under particular conditions. It can reveal technical or tactical choices but may omit context and cannot necessarily establish motive, ability across many games or long-term physical capacity. Students should be precise about what the footage demonstrates and what remains uncertain.
Suppose a player appears slow to react in one brief sequence. The cause might involve positioning, anticipation, task complexity or something not visible in the clip. An answer claiming that the athlete is unmotivated or medically unfit would go beyond the evidence.
The candidate should use relevant sports science and the supplied context to produce a defensible interpretation. Then recommend an improvement suited to the identified problem, subject to teacher guidance. This is deeper reasoning than replaying the clip until a single preferred explanation seems obvious.
Do you know? Timing and distances: accuracy before prestige
For the prescribed individual activities, objective performance standards can use recorded times and distances. The school submits those results as evidence. A child may be tempted to compare raw numbers with an unrelated athlete or online ranking, but the official rubric and the chosen activity govern assessment.
Help the pupil read measurement units and recognise that conditions, event types and valid procedures matter. A time from an informal family outing should not be presented as equivalent to the school’s authorised examination assessment. If a recorded result seems wrong, the candidate should speak with the supervisor using the relevant school procedure.
Accurate evidence is essential. The learning habit is to know exactly what was measured and under what approved conditions, rather than repeating a performance claim without provenance.
Do you know? How school CCA experience can help without determining grades
Sports CCA participation may develop familiarity, teamwork and skills that support ESS. However, SEC assessment follows the prescribed practical activities and criteria, not the prestige of a team, a uniform or the number of awards already won. A candidate’s chosen activities and assessed individual proficiency matter.
A student may be a strong recreational participant yet need to develop a particular game decision or reflective skill. Another may have less competitive experience but approach performance analysis systematically and improve through school-supervised feedback. These students deserve different teaching plans.
Parents should avoid claiming that CCA membership guarantees selection for ESS or high marks. Confirm eligibility and practical options with the school; then use evidence of actual performance and reasoning to decide what should be developed next.
Do you know? What if a strong athlete struggles with the e-Exam?
Physical proficiency is only one part of the course. The e-Examination requires applying physiology, biomechanics, psychology and sociology to unfamiliar information, including short videos and data. A student who performs a movement instinctively may struggle to explain the cause of an outcome or analyse a social issue.
Begin with one marked theory question and identify which concept was missed. Ask the pupil to describe the relevant observation, name the principle and explain how it connects to the answer. Then present a changed sporting context. This teaches explanation without dismissing the athlete’s practical strengths.
Also provide school-authorised familiarity with the digital response interface. A student should not be graded in home practice on guessed exam software controls, and should not be told that good screen skills alone replace sports science understanding.
Do you know? What if a high-scoring theory student lacks team confidence?
A student may understand academic sports principles but hesitate during live team activity. The problem might concern technical proficiency, selecting options under time, communication, or comfort with the sporting context. The school coach should observe and guide safe practice rather than parents issue detailed tactical instructions from a written article.
Parents can encourage respectful team participation and help the child articulate one learning goal. Ask what the pupil noticed before making a decision and which information they missed. Avoid character judgements such as ‘you are not sporty’ because they do not identify a skill that can be practised.
ESS values both knowledge and application. The learner should gradually connect theoretical concepts with school-supervised performance while maintaining healthy self-confidence and a balanced school life.
Do you know? A six-week evidence-based ESS study rhythm
Week one: verify K354, the school-approved individual/dual and team activities, and the current theory topics. Identify two recurring weaknesses from school feedback. Week two: use safe conceptual tasks to understand one area of sports science. Week three: analyse a teacher-provided fictional movement video or data table using the same principle.
Week four: practise a changed scenario without being told the concept in advance. Week five: attempt an appropriate e-Exam-style question under school-approved conditions and review the first error. Week six: retest the original reasoning with new evidence and confirm whether it has become independent.
This is an illustrative academic learning sequence, not the 21-week national coursework timetable or a physical training regimen. Actual sport practice, testing and training plans require the supervising school’s safety and assessment arrangements.
Do you know? How parents can support without coaching the assessed programme
Parents can help by keeping a calendar of school instructions, ensuring that the student understands the two selected sports, encouraging regular communication with the Coursework Supervisor and protecting sleep and wellbeing. They can also discuss how evidence supports an explanation or why a conclusion might overreach what a table shows.
They should not write the Development Log, edit footage to improve a candidate’s apparent performance, invent timings or implement unapproved training plans. The assessed work is meant to reveal the student’s individual skills, decisions and reflection. Artificially improving the evidence harms that purpose.
When a student is anxious about a performance attempt, ask which specific skill the teacher says needs work and whether an appropriate supervised opportunity remains. A focused next step is better than family pressure to practise beyond safe limits.
Do you know? Why sports science teaches more than getting better at one game
The study of sports science connects bodily movement, systematic evidence, human decision making and society. Understanding how conclusions are reached helps students avoid exaggerated training claims, recognise ethical issues and evaluate the effect of different contexts. These are transferable abilities even when a candidate does not pursue competitive sport.
The most valuable outcomes are not limited to speed, distance or wins. A thoughtful learner can explain an observed movement, evaluate why a practice strategy may be suitable, distinguish one result from a general trend and consider the needs of different participants fairly.
Parents can nurture this curiosity by asking what the child discovered, what evidence supports the observation and what alternative explanation might fit. Such questions reinforce both the subject’s academic aims and respectful participation in physical activity.
Frequently asked Exercise and Sports Science parent questions
Is 2027 SEC Exercise and Sports Science a G3 subject?
Yes. SEAB lists Exercise and Sports Science as G3 K354, with old reference code 6081.
Is ESS the same as ordinary PE?
No. It is a separately examined course integrating sports-science theory, practical proficiency and a Development Log.
How much is the written or digital theory paper?
Paper 1 is a two-hour e-Examination, eighty marks and forty per cent.
How much is coursework?
Paper 2 is 80 raw marks and 60%, completed through prescribed assessment over twenty-one weeks.
How much is actual sports performance worth?
Forty percentage points of the overall subject, representing 40 of the 80 coursework marks.
How much is the Development Log worth?
Twenty percentage points overall, with forty raw coursework marks.
Is Paper 1 a multiple-choice-only exam?
No. It includes varied selected responses, short answers and structured questions based on text and videos.
How many marks are in Paper 1 Section C?
Twenty marks, with structured questions based on one or two videos.
Must a candidate take two different sports?
Yes, one from the individual/dual category and one from the team category, as prescribed by the syllabus.
Are swimming and athletics valid individual options?
Yes. The list includes cross-country running, swimming and track and field.
Which dual sports are offered?
Badminton, table tennis and tennis are listed as dual practical activities.
Which team sports are listed?
Basketball, floorball, football, hockey, netball, softball and volleyball.
Does every student have to play all the listed sports?
No. Candidates take one from each required category, within the school’s authorised choices.
Are two assessment opportunities provided?
Yes, the syllabus specifies two assessment opportunities per chosen practical activity, with the best performance selected.
Can a family supply a sports highlight reel?
No. Centres follow official assessment and evidence rules; unauthorised family-edited footage is not the prescribed evidence.
Which activities require video evidence?
Centres submit footage for dual and team activities; objective individual activities use official time or distance records.
How long is team or dual performance filming?
The syllabus describes approximately fifteen minutes of recorded evidence per filming under centre procedures.
Does the Development Log use a training programme?
Yes. Task 2 includes planning, implementing and evaluating a four-to-five-week training programme under supervision.
Can parents design the training plan?
No. The formally assessed plan is the candidate’s work with school safety endorsement and authorised consultations.
What is Task 1 in the log?
Improving tactical decisions in the chosen team sport, using school-provided performance footage; ten marks.
How much is Task 2(A)?
Fifteen marks for performance analysis and development of the training programme.
How much is Task 2(B)?
Ten marks for implementing and evaluating the training programme.
How much is Task 2(C)?
Five marks for consolidating the training experience and learning.
Are supervisor consultations unlimited?
No. The syllabus specifies one for Task 2(A), three to four for Task 2(B) and none for Task 1 or 2(C).
Does training harder automatically earn more marks?
No. Safety, appropriate planning, genuine evidence and evaluation matter; extreme or unapproved training should not be encouraged.
Are physiology, biomechanics and sports psychology in the syllabus?
Yes, alongside motor learning/development and sports sociology.
Does ESS include ethics and equity in sport?
Yes. Ethical and socio-cultural issues, including commercialisation, are within the stated areas of study.
Can a school CCA medal guarantee an ESS grade?
No. Official practical and theory assessment criteria determine performance; awards outside the assessment are not automatic marks.
Is the digital exam the same as watching sports videos at home?
No. The exam uses prescribed question formats and authorised software. Use the school’s official familiarisation resources.
Can a child with little sports experience still study ESS?
Suitability and availability depend on school arrangements and actual readiness. Discuss the course’s required activities and demands with the school.
Is a sports injury reason to train through pain for grades?
No. Safety comes first. Tell the teacher or coach and seek appropriate medical guidance; do not follow dangerous informal training advice.
Can the 21-week log be written in the last weekend?
It is intended to document authentic performance, a training plan, implementation and reflection over the authorised process. Invented retrospective evidence is inappropriate.
What should parents ask after a weak theory paper?
Which sports-science concept or evidence-interpretation step was missed, and what new question would show independent improvement?
Does K354 guarantee a sports-related post-secondary place?
No. Admission requirements depend on institution, course and intake year and must be checked separately.
Will the same rules apply after 2027?
Not automatically. Confirm the national syllabus and timetable for the student’s actual exam year.
Official SEAB Exercise and Sports Science references
Read SEAB’s 2027 G3 Exercise and Sports Science K354 syllabus for the complete theory, practical activity, Development Log, safety and assessment criteria. The official 2027 G3 school-candidate directory confirms the K354 code. For the digital exam use the school’s authorised orientation resources; for graded sport and training tasks follow Coursework Supervisor instructions rather than generic online training programmes.
For related learning questions read Science practical versus theory across SEC levels, Music performance, reflection and coursework, and how assessment weightings work. The Clementi three-pupil learning reference explains focused diagnosis and independent transfer as general teaching principles, not a sports-training prescription.