Eight growth factors in two groups
The syllabus names eight growth factors in two groups. Group A -- time, health, motivation: increase in leisure time, improvements in healthcare, better health awareness, wider media coverage. Group B -- access, affordability: advances in technology, more leisure facilities, reduced cost of equipment, improvements in travel methods. Growth needs several factors together; name one, explain HOW it raises participation, and apply it to an activity.
Group A: time, health, motivation
Four factors give more TIME, HEALTH or MOTIVATION. Increase in leisure time: shorter working weeks, more holiday and automation free up hours. Improvements in healthcare: people live longer and recover faster, so more take part. Better health awareness: campaigns on inactivity's risks prompt people to start. Wider media coverage: televised sport and social media create inspiring role models. Each is a reason or opportunity, not a guarantee.
Group B: access and affordability
The other four factors make participation more ACCESSIBLE or AFFORDABLE: advances in technology (apps and trackers motivate; better materials ease starting); more leisure facilities (gyms, pools and parks, often council-funded); reduced cost of equipment (budget brands cut the price); improvements in travel methods (cheap transport and flights reach facilities, enabling skiing abroad). Group A creates desire, Group B removes barriers.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Vague factors earn no marks
The most examined error: writing that leisure grew "because it's easier now" names none of the eight factors, so nothing is credited. A creditable answer names the precise factor (reduced cost of equipment, not "it's cheaper") and, if marks allow, adds the mechanism. Reach for the exact factor name, not a loose paraphrase.
Flagged w22 P11 Q7b
Don't repeat the question stem
Some candidates restate part of the question as if it were an answer -- writing "leisure activities have grown" when the question already says so adds no marking point. The stem's wording is never itself a reason. Every sentence should introduce a new factor, mechanism or applied example not already given in the question.
Apply the factor to a named activity
On higher-tariff questions, candidates explain a factor in the abstract but never name a leisure activity it applies to, capping the answer below the top band. A secure answer ends with a real activity -- linking reduced cost of equipment to more people taking up running. Name the activity and show the factor working in it.
Leisure time is not leisure facilities
"Increase in leisure time" and "more leisure facilities" are different factors candidates often merge. Leisure time is the OPPORTUNITY -- free hours to fill. Leisure facilities are the ACCESS -- somewhere nearby to spend them. Having one does not supply the other, so keep them as separate marking points.
Restating one factor isn't a range
Questions asking for several factors reward a genuine RANGE, not one point reworded. "More facilities", "facilities are closer" and "bigger facilities" are the same factor three times, credited once. Pick factors from different groups -- one about time or motivation, one about access or cost -- so each earns its own mark.
Growth needs more than one factor
Many treat "more leisure time" as a full explanation of growth -- the single-cause thinking examiners flag as too vague. Free time only creates the OPPORTUNITY; it does not remove the barriers Group B factors address. Someone with spare time still won't start if no affordable facility is nearby. Growth needs a Group A factor to meet a Group B factor.
Name, explain, apply
Higher-tariff growth questions reward three separate steps: name the exact factor (not a vague paraphrase); explain the mechanism -- how it removes a barrier or creates a reason to take part; then apply it to a named leisure activity, showing the factor at work.
Match the command word
Let the command word set the depth. "State"/"identify" wants the factor named only -- do not over-elaborate. "Explain" wants the mechanism too and must not stay at description level. "Describe" sits between: name the factor and say briefly how it helps.
Show a genuine range of factors
When asked for more than one factor, spread choices across the two groups to avoid overlap. Pair a Group A factor (time, health, motivation) with a Group B factor (access, affordability), e.g. media coverage + facilities. This gives distinct marking points, not one reworded.
Growth in leisure activities -- an increase, over time, in the number of people taking part in leisure and recreational activities (see 4.1 for the definitions of leisure and recreation themselves).
No single factor explains this growth on its own. Eight named factors combine, and a good answer always names a specific factor, not a vague general claim.
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