Edexcel GCSE Physical Education (1PE0) Past Papers 2026

Fitness and Body Systems

Duration: 1h 30m

Health and Performance

Duration: 1h 15m

Practical Performance (NEA — internally marked, externally moderated)

Duration: Assessed during the course (up to a combined duration of 12 hours per activity)

Personal Exercise Programme (PEP) — NEA written investigation (internally marked, externally moderated)

Duration: Carried out over a six- to eight-week period; up to a combined 12 hours of session time

Movement analysis — correct terminology for muscle and joint action

The most frequently cited error across Component 1 reports. Candidates said muscles 'flex' or 'extend', used 'bend' instead of 'flex', or said the agonist was contracting because it was relaxing. Conflicting statements in the same answer were penalised. The Paper Summary in the 2023 Component 1 report lists this as the top piece of advice for candidates.

Component 1 (2023)

Long-term training effects — assigning adaptations to the correct body system

Cardiovascular and respiratory adaptations such as lower resting heart rate and increased stroke volume were frequently given as answers to muscular system questions. Candidates also listed negative effects of overtraining (injury) instead of positive adaptations. Examiners explicitly flagged both errors in the 2023 Component 1 report.

Component 1 (2023)

Carbohydrate loading — tapering training and the glycogen link

Most candidates could score two marks for 'eat more carbohydrates before the race → delay fatigue', but few accessed the two higher marks requiring reference to tapering training in the build-up and the mechanism of maximising glycogen stores to allow sustained aerobic work. Candidates who used vague impact language ('work for longer' without reference to intensity) also lost the mark.

Component 2 (2023)

Protein timing — identifying the post-exercise window and protein synthesis

Most candidates knew protein aids growth and repair but the question required specifically timed intake (within 1–2 hours post-exercise), the mechanism of protein synthesis, and the specific outcome of repairing microtears. Few candidates referenced protein synthesis. Some candidates confused the question with carbohydrate loading.

Component 2 (2024)

Socio-cultural influences — distinguishing personal factors from barriers to participation

Candidates listed 'money', 'wealth', 'availability' and 'accessibility' when asked for personal factors; only 'socio-economic' (the specification term) was credited. Repeating factors already given in the question (disability, ethnicity) also cost marks. Examiners flagged this in both 2023 and 2024 Component 2 reports.

Component 2 (2023), Component 2 (2024)

Lever systems — providing insufficient specificity in examples and confusing lever classes

Candidates named a sport (cycling, high jump) without specifying the moment in the movement where the lever operates, and were credited zero. First-class levers (e.g. heading the ball) were less well known than third-class levers. Drawing the recognised fulcrum symbol without a written label was also not credited.

Component 1 (2023)

Principles of training — applying specificity and progressive overload with concrete examples

Candidates defined principles correctly but lost the second mark by failing to give a specific example. A correct example required a number: 'increase the reps' alone earned one mark; 'increase from 10 to 20 reps' earned both. Responses about specificity focused on duration rather than intensity, which was not credited when the training goal was strength.

Component 1 (2023)

Types of feedback — distinguishing concurrent, terminal and intrinsic; not confusing with types of guidance

Multiple candidates answered the 9-mark feedback question using types of guidance (visual, verbal, manual, mechanical) instead of types of feedback. Intrinsic feedback was only credited as an AO1 statement; further application was not relevant to the coach-centred scenario. Concurrent feedback's unsuitability for the trampolinist (too quick, potentially distracting/dangerous) was rarely fully articulated.

Component 2 (2024)