Three PE CPD sessions and two weeks in China - September 2026

Dear PE colleagues,

I write to you sat on a surprisingly comfy leather sofa in Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport in the southeast corner of China. Marta and I are waiting to board our flight to Beijing, where we will spend the next four days.

Throughout our trip, we have attended one major PE and Sport conference and delivered two full CPD days designed by us, in two districts. Here’s our itinerary:

Friday 4th September: Flight from Gatwick to Shanghai Pudong
Saturday 5th September: Arrive Shanghai Pudong
Thursday 10th September: Day one of the FOBISIA conference (no sessions) at Wellington College, Shanghai
Friday 11th September: Day two of the FOBISIA conference (two sessions):
- Application-first PE Teaching
- Increasing Student Activity in PE theory lessons through Questioning Techniques
Saturday 12th September: Day three of the FOBISIA conference (one session):
- Assessment Models on PE Theory Courses
Saturday 12th September: Flight from Shanghai Hongqiao to Xiamen Gaoqi
Sunday 13th September: Whole-day CPD session at Xiamen Manila International School, Xiamen. Four hours covering:
- Application-first PE Teaching
- Increasing Student Activity in PE theory lessons through Questioning Techniques
- Assessment Models on PE Theory Courses
Monday 14th September: Flight from Xiamen Gaoqi (where I am right now) to Beijing Capital Airport
Tuesday 15th September: Whole day CPD session at Dulwich College, Beijing. Four hours covering:
- Application-first PE Teaching
- Increasing Student Activity in PE theory lessons through Questioning Techniques
- Assessment Models on PE Theory Courses
Saturday 19th September: Flight from Beijing Daxing Airport to London Heathrow.

So, 15 days travelling through six different airports and delivering PE CPD to an estimated 100 different PE departments from China and many other countries in Asia.

Before the trip ends, I want to grasp the moment and write some things down that I think and feel right now, but that may dilute in my memory in the coming weeks. I want to write both about my experiences of the PE network but also of my experiences of China. In fact, let’s start with China:

What is China… to me?

China is not what I thought it was. The obvious things are true: it’s massive, it’s busy, it’s highly technological, at least within the cities. But China has surprised me in many, many ways. 

Firstly, I am fascinated to come back here and explore the countryside. I have spent time in the cities of Shanghai, Xiamen and Beijing and, whilst fascinating, I currently only have a sense of city life in China, as a result. I would like to bring my bike and spend days in the saddle travelling from village to village. 

Secondly, China is a very quiet place. Despite being hyper-busy, cities like Shanghai and Beijing are remarkably silent. I am accustomed to London and Barcelona, in each of which I spend a lot of my time. Chinese cities are very different. The electric car and, importantly, electric moped and scooter changeover has happened. Almost all vehicles are electric or simply leg-powered and, as such, the cities are near silent. I also noticed that I didn’t hear an ambulance or a police car. I mean, they must have been there doing their work but, somehow, the sirens did not blare. I don’t know why that is. 

Shanghai

Thirdly, Chinese people strike me, on average, as being confident. I kept using two words when trying to interpret the Chinese approach to life. Those words were calm and confident. I have found that Chinese people are patient and that, maybe, that patience comes from clarity in the destination they are aiming for. I also noticed that there was almost zero poverty, at least that I saw. Now, don’t get me wrong, a lot of Chinese people are working class. Most of the Chinese are, but I saw no homelessness at all, and every person that I saw on my travels was working or going about their business on school runs or shopping trips, etc. Poverty must exist here and, of course, using the word poverty is a subjective notion, but my own interpretation was that I saw no, or nearly no, poverty at all. 

Finally, many aspects of Chinese life are far, far cheaper than in the West. Some things here in China are relatively expensive. Hotels, for example, are not as cheap to Westerners as other items, but some things are very cheap! What springs to mind is transport and food. Urban metro trips are very affordable. Each of our journeys around Shanghai cost in the region of £0.45. Taxis (Didis) are also very cheap. The most we spent on a cab was approximately £17.00 and this was almost an hour from Shanghai city to the airport in rush hour in a luxury car. I literally didn’t want that journey to end, as I was sat in my reclined, business-class style leather seat pondering Shanghai’s high-rises. It was amazing! Other, more local cabs typically cost us between £2.00 and £5.00 for 15-25 minute journeys. 

Xiamen

I recommend that people visit China. It’s an amazing country and one that British people would definitely enjoy. It’s worth noting that levels of English are low, but this is a very good reason to enjoy learning some Mandarin. Marta and I have learned in the region of 30 words and a bunch of micro-sentences that have helped us get by. Marta was the first to break the sentence barrier when she proudly asked for a drink to be “bu re” or “no hot” meaning that she wanted her coffee cold (her Duolingo lessons had taught her the word for “hot”, but not the one for “cold”, hence her having to be a bit creative). She was very happy with herself. 

The FOBISIA PE and Sport Annual Conference

Wellington College, Shanghai

The event covered three whole days, with the FOBISIA PE and Sport AGM on day one, numerous keynotes from elite athletes, authors and educators (like New Zealand Paralympian Mitch Joynt and former Welsh international athlete and educator Fern Wise) and countless workshops on everything from IB SEHS exam preparation to how to teach mixed-sex swimming. 

In the region of 100 PE departments attended, with the Directors of Sport and Heads of PE being present, with other members of their departments in attendance in many cases, too.

The PE colleagues in attendance are almost universally in their department’s garb and look incredibly professional. It’s quite a sight. It’s a vista that only networks of PE teachers can provide. They sit on large consoles of 10 or 12 colleagues and take in keynotes whilst they make notes and try to resist the temptation of emails. As you can imagine, the conversations are very varied, but there do seem to be some themes. Colleagues seem to be trying to balance the need for high-performance sport in their schools and all the marketing that comes with it, with the need for holistic PE education. The pressures seem real and, when you add qualification PE in the form of IB, GCSEs and A-levels, the challenges appear very significant. 

I get the sense from the colleagues in the room that they get a good deal, often working in excellent environments with lots of resources, but they do so under very significant demands for their time and their results. 

CPD Event at Manila Xiamen International School, Xiamen

We arrived at Manila Xiamen International School and were blown away by the kindness and affability of Mitchel Africa, our host. It was Mitchel who made the event a possibility with his determination to host and provide an audience. Mitchel was joined by colleagues from local and distant schools in China and other parts of Asia, almost none of whom had visited Xiamen, China’s 24th largest city but still one that homes 5.5 million people. 

Manila Xiamen International School

We met early on Sunday, the preferred day for the event in order to get the best chance for good attendance, and set everything up ready for our colleagues to arrive. Sure enough, colleagues began entering through the hot, humid courtyard, mini-football pitch and past the small school swimming pool on the way to the conference room where we would deliver. 

We began the sessions at 09:30, focusing first on application-first PE teaching. A break followed at 10:45 before we all got stuck into the various questioning techniques before lunch at 12:30. At 13:30, we recommenced and dove into assessment models in PE theory courses before the day closed shortly after 15:15. 

The event was a major success. Our colleagues engaged and valued the day. They got stuck into everything that we threw at them, and I can genuinely tell you that I learned a great deal from their questions and feedback. I learned about the specific challenges facing PE teachers in British international schools compared to PE teachers in UK schools.

Ignacio Martinez, Jaime Dumaquita Jr and Mitchel Africa, from Manila Xiamen International School, with James and Marta

I presented, questions were asked and answered, and collectively we made ground in the three areas we focussed on.

The day closed in the region of 15:45 when Marta and I walked back through humid Xiamen to our hotel. Only moments later, I was flaked out on my hotel bed and asleep after an exhausting day, the fourth in succession delivering CPD to PE teachers.

CPD Event at Dulwich College, Beijing

Dulwich College, Beijing

We had attendees from multiple Beijing international schools, and the day took place in a magnificent gallery room above a large sports hall that seemed to go on forever. I believe there were eight badminton courts in that space, but there may well have been more than that. 

Fresh fruit, cold water and tea and coffee were made available throughout the day by our hosts, and the group settled in for sessions on application-first PE teaching, increasing student activity and assessment models in the afternoon. 

I’ll be honest with you: After all of our travels and zooming around China, this was a stretch for me but, somehow, my best delivery came through at Dulwich. Maybe the sessions were more honed or more precise or, somehow, more impactful for the delegates, but my sense was that this was my peak day. Conversations were profound and meaningful, and I enjoyed every second of the day. 

During the afternoon, Marta kept quietly saying to me things like “Come on, you’re almost there.” And “It’s going great. Finish it off well.” These moments really helped me, and we closed the day in the region of 3pm with a warm and enthusiastic sense.

Dulwich College Beijing is amazing! Samantha and her colleague Adam toured us around the site at the end of the day, and we were amazed at everything we saw. We paused in the theatre to listen to an orchestra rehearsal. We paused in the gym, in the sports hall and in the swimming pool to take in all the amazing spaces that PE students get to experience. We even took in the gardens and the quiet spaces of the school. It was fascinating. 

As I write these sentences, it is Wednesday 16th September, and we are lucky enough to have Samantha, Adam and Peter, another colleague from Dulwich who attended the sessions, take us out for dinner in Beijing tonight. I believe we may be going for hot pot, but we shall see what’s in store for us in Beijing. Peter was also incredibly kind to connect with us on WeChat and suggest some nice restaurants and other places to visit in the city, and Andy, one of the attendees to the sessions, connected us with a driver and private tour guide who is taking Marta and I to the Great Wall tomorrow (Thursday). How lucky we are!

I cannot thank our colleagues at Dulwich College Beijing enough. It was a privilege meeting them, and I’m deeply proud of the experiences we had together. 

James with Adam Livingstone and Samantha Welford, from Dulwich College Beijing

The Three Sessions

Session 1: Application-first PE Teaching

These were the first three occasions when I delivered this session, which I developed and designed during summer 2026. After much reading, thinking and, being blunt, the development of the book that I am writing, I firmly believe that what codifies a PE theory lesson is that the learning content and skills are application-first. This notion is not insignificant. In fact, it is fundamental.

If we, as the PE sector, enter PE classrooms and teach AO1 concepts in isolation, it is my contention that this is not PE teaching. For example, in my session, I argued that in a PE lesson, there is no place for defining diffusion, isotonic eccentric contractions or a model of aggression, say, unless this teaching is commenced with application. Think about how many times you or I have taught scientific concepts, psychological concepts or sociocultural concepts before we have applied those concepts to some form of movement. I believe this is very, very common, but that it is not, strictly speaking, PE teaching. 

In my CPD session, I explain how to bring your PE course to life by commencing each and every learning episode with an application-first setting. Throughout the CPD delivery, I explain not only why this matters but how to achieve it, culminating the session with one of the most shocking and high-risk strategies that I believe has ever been attempted by a PE teacher.

If you’d like me to deliver the application-first PE teaching CPD session to you, your colleagues and your networks, please express interest here. 

Session 2: Increasing PE Student Activity Through Questioning Techniques

I have delivered this session to many colleagues over the years, ranging from PE departments, whole schools and even teaching networks. I have also used each and every method that I advocate for many, many times in my own teaching. 

As I introduce this session, I tell colleagues that what they are about to experience will feel a little bit like their favourite game show. I invite them to tell me which game shows they love, and I pray that someone will respond with “Pointless”, the BBC show that Marta and I went on in 2024, where we reached the final and won a “Pointless Trophy”. This is always a great moment. 

We start the session with questioning techniques and move from Numbered Heads Together to Rally Robin, to Gauntlet to Agreement Circles and Folded Lines. But we also look at more challenging models like Stand and Stare and One Stray Two Stray before we focus on exam questioning techniques, such as Pass the Buck and Idea Piles. The delegates are my students for the session, and they answer questions and complete challenges with one central theme:

Every question posed by me/the teacher challenges every student in the room every single time. 

Session 3: Assessment Models in PE Theory Courses

Once these points are clarified, we go on to detail the methodologies of five different assessment models that any PE department could utilise:

1. End of unit assessment model;
2. Skill-based assessment model;
3. Spaced assessment model;
4. Interleaved assessment model;
5. Announced-Unannounced assessment model.

Each model is evaluated for both impact and practicality, and the session ends with teachers reflecting on one central question:

Which of the five assessment models is right for us right now?

Conclusion