Overview
PE teaching posts are competitive. Schools receive dozens of applications from sports graduates, many of whom have coaching qualifications and club experience. The candidates who stand out are the ones who can demonstrate that they understand teaching, not just sport. That means talking about lesson planning, differentiation, assessment, and how you include every pupil, not just the ones who already love sport.
Rhys Kavanagh completed a Sport and Exercise Science degree at Loughborough University, followed by a PGCE in Secondary Physical Education at the University of Worcester. He held two school placements, coached community sport at weekends, and led the university's Widening Participation sports outreach programme. His resume shows a PE teacher who thinks about curriculum, inclusion, and pupil progress, not just fixtures and team results.
What Makes This Resume Work
Teaching placements dominate the page. Rhys puts his two PGCE placements front and centre, describing lesson observations graded Outstanding, schemes of work he created, and the range of activities he taught. He taught netball, gymnastics, and dance as well as football and rugby, which shows versatility.
Inclusion is embedded, not bolted on. He describes adapting a gymnastics unit for a pupil who uses a wheelchair, differentiating athletics tasks for pupils with coordination difficulties, and running a lunchtime club specifically for pupils who dislike competitive sport. These details matter more than listing "differentiation" as a skill.
Assessment is specific. Rather than saying he "assessed pupils," Rhys explains that he used the school's assessment framework to track progress across Key Stage 3, recording data for 180 pupils each half-term. He also describes using video analysis with GCSE PE students to improve their practical performance marks.
Key Takeaways
PE teacher applications should foreground your teaching skills, not just your sporting achievements. Describe the activities you taught, the year groups you worked with, and how you assessed progress. Show that you can teach outside your comfort zone. Mention any extra-curricular contributions, pastoral roles, and how you made PE accessible for pupils with additional needs. QTS, your DBS, and safeguarding training should all be clearly visible.
