AQA GCSE Physical Education Paper 2: Socio-cultural influences and wellbeing in physical activity and sport, June 2025: Question 7

✅ Mark Scheme Accepted Answers

• Inherited / innate / genetic traits (1)
• Stable traits (1)
• Traits that determine a performer’s potential to learn skills (1)

💡 Key Knowledge: Ability vs Skill

Ability: Innate/inherited, stable, enduring characteristics that you are born with (e.g. balance, coordination, reaction time).

Skill: Learned, practiced, and goal-directed actions developed from underlying abilities.

❌ Common Errors

• Confusing ability with skill (e.g. writing "being good at playing football").
• Vague statements like "how well you can do something". You must refer to inherited/inborn or stable traits.

🧠 Exam Technique

This is a 1-mark recall question. Keep it brief! Simply writing "Inherited and stable traits" scores the mark immediately.

✅ Perfect 3/3 Response

Sporting example (AO2):
Performing the Fosbury Flop / High jump (1)

Justification (AO3 - any two points):

• Involves high levels of coordination of many body parts / multiple sub-routines (1)
• A large number of decisions have to be made (1)
• Takes a long period of practice and time to learn and master (1)

💡 Key Knowledge: Complex Skills

Skills sit on a continuum from Basic to Complex:

• Decisions: Many decisions to make (high perceptual load).
• Sub-routines: Multiple phases that must be coordinated together.
• Learning time: Requires significant deliberate practice.
• Examples: Tennis serve, gymnastics vault, slip catch in cricket.

❌ Examiner Warning (Zero-Mark Trap!)

CRUCIAL RULE FROM MARK SCHEME:

• Never name a sport instead of a skill! Writing "Gymnastics" or "Football" scores 0 marks.
• Consequential Loss: If your sporting example is incorrect, examiners are instructed: "Do not award marks for the justification if the sporting example is incorrect." You will lose all 3 marks!

🧠 How to Structure Your Justification

Notice that the justification has 2 marks available. Always give two distinct reasons using classification keywords:

1. "It requires coordinating multiple movements..."
2. "It involves making many decisions under pressure."

✅ Mark Scheme Solutions

Sporting example (AO2 - choose one):

• Golf putt (1)
• Archery shot / releasing an arrow (1)
• Throwing a dart (1)
• Snooker shot (1)
• Spin bowling delivery in cricket (1)

Justification (AO3 - both marks needed):

• Involves the use of small muscle groups / small bones (e.g. wrist and fingers) (1)
• Involves small, precise, intricate, or controlled movements (1)

💡 Key Knowledge: Fine vs Gross

Skills classified on muscle involvement:

• Gross: Large muscle groups (quads, glutes), powerful, explosive, large movements (e.g. shot put, sprint start).
• Fine: Small muscle groups (hands, wrists), precise, delicate, focus on accuracy over power.

❌ Common Errors

• Naming the sport alone (e.g. writing just "Darts" or "Snooker" instead of "Throwing a dart" or "Playing a snooker shot").
• Only giving one justification point (e.g. mentioning only small muscles and omitting precision/control), thereby losing the 3rd mark.
• Using vague terms like "it is calm" or "you don't run much". Always state muscle group size and precision.

🧠 Examiner Tip: The 2-Step Justification

To guarantee 2/2 on AO3 for a fine skill justification, pair anatomy with movement quality:

"1. Uses small muscle groups (e.g. fingers and wrists)"
"2. Involves high precision, intricate control, and fine touch."