The word individualism is increasingly being used by teachers of physical education to justify new approaches to teaching. This study investigates whether teachers' commitment to individualism is expressed in their practice of teaching. Data have been utilised from a three year case study at one 11-16 school in the South of England where particular consideration has been given to the structure, organisation, content of and pedagogic approaches to games teaching. The emphasis of the research focused on the interpretative paradigm adopting the qualitative principles associated with ethnography. Analysis of data indicates that individualistic approaches were expressed in the rhetoric of the formal intended curriculum but they were not always evident in the practice of physical education teaching. Issues of equality of opportunity and equal value were recognised by teachers but their practice did not express their commitment to these issues. In addition there was a mismatch between the meanings pupils attached to their experiences in physical education and the perception of what teachers thought pupils were experiencing. The capacity of teachers of physical education to achieve a child centred approach in their practice was also related to the distribution of power in schools and departments and the limits inherent in their own articulation, understanding and interpretation of individualism.