Like an army PT tests that they must pass in order to get a necessary grade for an exam?

For example:

50 press ups in 2 mins.
40 sit-up/crunches in 3 mins.
full plank hold for 90 seconds

1600 meter long distance run (timed)
400 meter medium sprint (timed)
200 meter full sprint (timed)

Said student will be given 3 attempts at passing this exam. Failure will result in an low grading on their personal records.

Would this sort of thing be useful in getting overweight kids to focus on their health?

No.

We let the thick kids get a GCSE in PE without having to do any big sums, so let the clever kids get a GCSE in everything else without having to do any running.

Why? It sounds very draconian. Not everybody has the co-ordination to do such things.

nope.

To coin a rather annoying americanism, that's a hard NO.

Absurd, stupid and pointless idea - the intent behind it is fine, but that's where it stops.

I don't know how press ups help with the likes of computing and science???

I mean it could help the brain slightly if you believe in that "being fit makes your brain fit" stuff.

But it's just useless and not everyone (including myself) can do this
Why should I and others be determined for my English qualification just because I can't do press ups?

No, what about those kids that have disabilities? How would something like this be good for them?

Plus not everything is about being fit, you can be really intelligent, and not be in the best shape.

You don't have to be in good physical shape to get a good job either, just look at the incoming President of the USA!

Clearly those with a disability will have an exemption but will be required to make up the grade elsewhere.

Many adults fall by the wayside when comes to maintaining their fitness so having a set goal in the form of exam qualification will help to focus their minds towards maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Good grief no.

This would be a terrible idea for differently abled kids, not everyone can ever be that fit. I assume it's some strange idea to weed out fat kids. Instead of embarrassing them with fitness testing surely better to find out why they are fat in the first place.

Ideally PE teachers would get the kids into shape prior taking an exam. Therefore each student would be able to pass the fitness test as long as they ate well, exercised and took their health seriously i.e not smoking etc.

we don't want everyone to be physically healthy, the kids of today will end up working til they are 80 to support all the 100+ year olds

Bleep test was bad enough thanks

It's not just disabilities you have to take account of, there are genetic factors that determine how fit a person can be as well. Which means that a persons fitness is limited by their not only any disabilities they may have, but also their DNA, which varies for everyone.

Apart from the fact it's obviously a very daft idea, there's also the fact it isn't very well thought out.

I know plenty of physically fit women who couldn't do 50 push ups because they simply don't have the upper body strength. Conversely they could do 40 crunches in less than a minute because they have great core strength.

It's very hard to measure 'fitness' with an arbitrary test because fitness comes in many different forms.

If this government seriously wanted to include health and fitness into school life, they would make it less easy for schools to do the bare minimum.

Whilst PE is compulsory up to 16, schools are allowed to choose how much or little they give of their school week to it. Instead government simply give guidance, a suggestion of 2 hours a week, but schools don't have to adhere to that. That's 2 hours including getting to where they need to go, changing into and out of PE kit. Some schools do less, my daughter's included.

Looking at the attached site, some schools do 3 hours over 2 weeks, not a lot at all. https://schoolleaders.thekeysupport....ed-judgements/

Making it a part of their daily routine would be the way to encourage continued activity.

Testing them on it - unless they are doing a GCSE in PE - is ridiculous. Ensuring they have PE regularly would be a step in the right direction though.

All they'd get doing that is a sore lower back. Ten slower, controlled crunches with correct breathing are better (and more difficult) than a frenzied and damaging race against the clock.

PE teachers are last people that would be able to control a child's diet and mental health. Unless schools have changed dramatically since I was there they were simply able to teach sports and were pretty horrible characters if you weren't already fit and able.

Kids need mental health help and diet help not a pe teacher telling them to run faster.

Depends how strong their back is. Pilates (which is all about core strength) concentrates a lot on the lower back and abs.

Quite how someone with a disability could make up for it elsewhere in your mind, I have no idea!
Just terrible all round, we have P.E. lessons at school anyway is that not enough already?

all this does is confuse the kids, they have enough problems with physics and maths

Having a stong back is great, still no reason to do something which has the potential to cause damage. There are efficient ways to develop a strong core, as many crunches as you can in a minute isn't one of them.

In Russia its a part of the educational system that you have to pass along with advanced vodka drinking and bear wrestling

To get a degree in Russia you do have to do some PE from what i've heard.

Absolutely not.

But schools should be required to make improvements to PE and the curriculum should be changed. I'm not entirely sure how. But more of a focus on health, fitness, and exercising (for the right reasons, the health benefits of exercise, the psychological benefits), rather than the types of school sports that tend to put a lot of young people off sport/exercise for a good while. Not just the responsibility of schools, of course, but school PE has a massive impact. I hated PE so much I stopped it in Year 11 because they didn't think I should put myself through the distress every week. I figured I was just 'not sporty', 'unfit', lazy' or whatever. Found a sport I love, actually got my MSc in Sport & Exercise Psychology in 2015, and love exercise ridiculously much, love learning about the psychological aspects of it. If they encompassed any of that in PE it could be hugely positive.

Swimming, though. That maybe needs more focus in schools.