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Sport Coaching and Physical Education Top Up

Entry requirements


GCSE/National 4/National 5

Grade 4 / C in GCSE English and Maths.

HND (BTEC)

M

Pass with a Merit overall (55% average) in a sport related subject.

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

About this course


Course option

1year

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Sports coaching

Sports studies

Our sport coaching and physical education top-up course is the ideal way to build upon your foundation or HND qualification. You’ll earn a full honours degree in just one year, and be well prepared to move into either a PGCE, Teach First or School Direct programme.

The course combines theory, research and practical skills to ensure graduates adopt innovative approaches to teaching and coaching. You’ll learn to critically analyse current practices and develop an evidence-based approach to workplace tasks.

The course is split into five modules. Core modules include ‘Games Based Coaching’, ‘Teaching Physical Education In Schools’ and a final dissertation project. You’ll also pick two optional modules, refining your knowledge and building specialisms in areas that are best suited to your career ambitions.

You’ll learn contemporary coaching and physical education techniques including physical literacy and games based coaching. This work will then be put into practice outside of the classroom, where you will have the opportunity to deliver PE sessions to local primary school children. Planning, delivering and evaluating these PE lessons form a part of your unit assessment, and provide invaluable experience for your CV.

Plan, deliver and evaluate your own physical education programmes. Improve your employability and earn valuable experience for your CV.

**What does this course lead to?**
This one-year top-up course is the ideal springboard for careers in teaching and youth sport. Graduates will be well prepared to progress onto a PGCE, School Direct or Teach First programme.

Those who aren’t pursuing a career in teaching can make an impact in a range of other careers. These include sport coaching, leisure management, and graduate level roles across the wider leisure and service industry.

**Who is this course for?**
Solent’s sport coaching and physical education top-up is open to students with a foundation degree, Higher National Diploma (HND) or equivalent qualification in a sports-related discipline. Applicants will be interviewed to discuss the suitability of their dissertation proposal and research topic.

Modules

CORE MODULES
Games Based Coaching
Teaching Physical Education in Schools
Dissertation

OPTIONS (please note that not all options are guaranteed to run each academic year)
Global Sport Issues
Outdoor Adventurous Activities
Physical Literacy

Assessment methods

Students are assessed using a mix of written examinations (10%), practical examinations (15%) and coursework (75%). This includes a dissertation/research project.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£16,125
per year
International
£16,125
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

Extra funding

Solent University offers a number of bursaries, grants and scholarships. For more information, please visit https://www.solent.ac.uk/finance/grants-bursaries-scholarships/bursaries

The Uni


Course location:

Solent University (Southampton)

Department:

Department of Sport and Health

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

77%
Sports coaching
77%
Sports studies

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Sport and exercise sciences

Teaching and learning

86%
Staff make the subject interesting
92%
Staff are good at explaining things
79%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
78%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

83%
Library resources
84%
IT resources
81%
Course specific equipment and facilities
72%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

83%
UK students
17%
International students
87%
Male students
13%
Female students
50%
2:1 or above
15%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
C

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Sport and exercise sciences

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£17,000
med
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education
66%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

25%
Sports and fitness occupations
8%
Teaching and educational professionals
7%
Business, finance and related associate professionals

One of the fastest growing subjects in the country, the number of sports science graduates went from under 3,000 in 2003 to over 10,000 in 2013. Numbers have fallen slightly since 2015, but we still have over 9,000 graduates in the subject. However, the good news is the country's appetite for good health and fitness - and the adaptability of graduates in the subject - means that sports science grads are less likely than average to be out of work. Sports science graduates, not surprisingly, tend to get jobs in sport, fitness and health - coaching and teaching especially - but they're found all over the economy. Management and business are also popular options for graduates from this subject — and sports science graduates are particularly found where drive, determination and physical fitness are an advantage.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Sport and exercise sciences

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£17k

£17k

£22k

£22k

£26k

£26k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here