Key Stage 4 Options
KS4 QUALIFICATIONS GCSE S LEVEL 1 = TRADITIONALLY GRADES G TO D; LEVEL 2 = TRADITIONALLY GRADES C TO A* NON-GCSES BTEC FIRST AWARD (LEVELS 1 & 2) CAMBRIDGE NATIONAL AWARD (LEVELS 1 & 2) ECDL
CHANGES LINEAR EXAMS ALL AT END OF YEAR 11 NEW GCSE GRADING SYSTEM: 9-1 VOCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS TO INCLUDE EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT AND CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT IN ADDITION TO PORTFOLIO EVIDENCE THE ENGLISH BACCALAUREATE, ATTAINMENT 8 AND PROGRESS 8 FOCUS ON MATHEMATICS AND ENGLISH
NEW GRADING SYSTEM
WHAT IS THE ENGLISH BACCALAUREATE? A PERFORMANCE INDICATOR, NOT A QUALIFICATION IN ITSELF. FOR STUDENTS WHO HAVE GAINED AT LEAST 6 GCSES (I.E. LEVEL 2 QUALIFICATION) IN THE FOLLOWING: ENGLISH AND MATHS TWO SCIENCES LANGUAGES: FRENCH OR SPANISH (OR GERMAN) HUMANITIES: HISTORY OR GEOGRAPHY WE WILL NOT BE MAKING THIS COMPULSORY
ATTAINMENT AND PROGRESS 8 STUDENT AND SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENTS ARE NOW JUDGED BY THE BEST 8 APPROVED QUALIFICATIONS. THE FIRST 5 APPROVED QUALIFICATIONS MUST BE EBACC QUALIFICATIONS: ENGLISH, MATHS, SCIENCE, LANGUAGES, HUMANITIES QUALIFICATIONS 6, 7 AND 8 CAN BE ANY OTHER APPROVED QUALIFICATIONS, PROVIDED THEY DO NOT DISCOUNT EACH OTHER
KS4 CORE (60% OF TIMETABLE) ENGLISH (GCSE ENGLISH & ENGLISH LITERATURE = 2 GCSE S) MATHEMATICS (1 GCSE) SCIENCE COMBINED SCIENCE (2 GCSE S) 3 GCSE S IF TAKING TRIPLE SCIENCE (EXTRA OPTION) RE RELIGIOUS STUDIES = 1GCSE (OR) IT ECDL = 1GCSE (DEPENDANT ON ENGLISH SET) PSHE CITIZENSHIP, WORK-RELATED LEARNING AND CAREERS. PE CORE PE FOR ALL 6 GCSE s
KS4 EBACC ALL STUDENTS NEED TO TAKE 8 APPROVED QUALIFICATIONS INCLUDING 5 EBACC QUALIFICATIONS. 4 OF THESE EBACC QUALIFICATIONS WILL ALREADY BE TAKEN IN THE CORE CURRICULUM: ENGLISH, MATHS AND TWO SCIENCE GCSE S. THIS MEANS THAT ALL STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO SELECT AT LEAST ONE MORE EBACC QUALIFICATION IN THEIR OPTION SUBJECTS. CHOICES AVAILABLE ARE FRENCH SPANISH GEOGRAPHY HISTORY COMPUTER SCIENCE PHYSICS (FOR TRIPLE SCIENTISTS).
KS4 EBACC SUMMARY ALL STUDENTS MUST CHOOSE 1 ADDITIONAL EBACC QUALIFICATION IN THEIR OPTIONS TO MAKE 5 EBACC QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE MAJORITY: ENGLISH, MATHS, 2 GCSE SCIENCE, PLUS AT LEAST 1 ADDITIONAL EBACC OPTION. HIGH ACHIEVING SCIENCE STUDENTS IN THE TRIPLE SCIENCE CLASS WILL TAKE PHYSICS AS ONE OF THEIR OPTIONS. HIGH ACHIEVING COMPUTING STUDENTS WILL HAVE THE OPTION OF TAKING COMPUTER SCIENCE GCSE (RATHER THAN CAMBRIDGE NATIONALS IT) YOU ARE PERFECTLY FREE TO CHOOSE MORE THAN ONE OF THESE SUBJECTS.
GCSE SCIENCE COMBINED SCIENCE COMPRISES 6 EXAMS: 2 FOR EACH OF BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS. STUDENTS WHO GAIN GOOD GRADES IN DOUBLE SCIENCE CAN GO ON TO TAKE A LEVEL SCIENCE. DOUBLE SCIENCE TAKES UP 20% OF TIMETABLE TIME I.E. AN AVERAGE 1 HOUR LESSON EACH DAY TRIPLE SCIENCE COMPRISES THE SAME 6 EXAMS AS DOUBLE, PLUS 3 MORE I.E. AN EXTRA EXAM IN EACH OF BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS. TRIPLE USES UP 1 OF THE 4 OPTION COLUMNS AND REQUIRES A TOTAL OF 30% OF TIMETABLE TIME. HALF OF ALL SCHOOL DAYS WILL HAVE 2 SCIENCE LESSONS.
WHO TAKES TRIPLE SCIENCE? THERE IS USUALLY 1 CLASS FOR TRIPLE SCIENCE FOR THOSE STUDENTS WHO ARE CURRENTLY CERTAIN THAT THEY WISH TO FOLLOW SCIENCES THROUGH TO A LEVEL AND PROBABLY BEYOND. STUDENTS HAVE EXPRESSED A CLEAR WISH TO BE CONSIDERED, HAVE HIGH LEVELS OF ACHIEVEMENT AND COMMITMENT AND BE PREPARED TO STUDY HARD THROUGHOUT KS4. AT THE END OF THE COURSE THEY WILL FACE 9 SCIENCE EXAMS ALONE, PLUS ALL THEIR OTHER SUBJECTS. SIMILAR ISSUES FOR COMPUTER SCIENCE HIGH ACHIEVING STUDENTS WHO SHOW APTITUDE AND HAVE GOOD MATHS SKILLS. THIS COURSE INVOLVES CODING WHICH IS DEMANDING
French Spanish EBacc Foundation GCSE s Vocational Geography History Computer Science Art Art (Photography) Business GCSE (or) BTEC Dance Drama DT Fashion Textiles DT Food DT Graphics DT Product Design Music BTEC Media BTEC Business BTEC Health and Social Care Foundation Learning Cam Nationals IT Physics PE GCSE (or) BTEC BTEC Sport Choose at least 1 EBACC and ANY 3 others
HOW TO CHOOSE? WHAT IS GOING TO CHALLENGE YOU TO ACHIEVE YOUR BEST? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT COLLEGE AND POST-18? INTEREST, ABILITY, COMMITMENT, CAREER IS THERE A GENUINE DESIRE TO TAKE A PARTICULAR SUBJECT? WHY? RANGE, BALANCE ARE DIFFERENT SUBJECT AREAS BEING FULLY CONSIDERED? ARE OPTIONS BEING USED WISELY?
NEXT STEPS DISCUSSIONS THIS EVENING AND AT HOME YEAR NINE PARENTS EVENING DISCUSS SUBJECTS WITH TEACHERS DISCUSSIONS WITH TEACHERS COMMENTS AND ADVICE SIGNATURES PARENT COMMENTS / QUESTIONS / SIGNATURE TUTOR COMMENTS / SIGNATURE 11 TH MARCH, HAND IN PROCESS CHOICES AND BUILD OPTION BLOCKS; 1 TO 1 MEETINGS DISCUSSIONS, SORT ANY ISSUES (CLASHES/COURSES NOT RUNNING) TIMETABLE DOES IT WORK? JUNE CONFIRMATION
INFORMED CHOICES A GUIDE TO MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT POST-16 EDUCATION WWW.RUSSELLGROUP.AC.UK UNIVERSITIES MAY ASK FOR A SPECIFIC NUMBER OF GCSES (OR THEIR EQUIVALENT). FOR EXAMPLE, A NUMBER OF MEDICAL COURSES ASK FOR FIVE (SOMETIMES MORE) A* GRADES (GRADE 8 OR 9) OCCASIONALLY, A UNIVERSITY WILL REQUIRE A FOREIGN LANGUAGE FOR ENTRY TO ANY COURSE, FOR EXAMPLE, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON PLANNED TO INTRODUCE SUCH A REQUIREMENT. FOR MANY COURSES A B GRADE AT LEAST IN GCSE ENGLISH IS NEEDED WITH SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING COURSES IN PARTICULAR OFTEN SPECIFYING THIS. EQUALLY, COURSES SUCH AS BUSINESS AND PSYCHOLOGY, WHICH MAY ATTRACT APPLICANTS WHO AREN T NECESSARILY STRONG MATHEMATICIANS, COMMONLY ASK FOR A B GRADE IN MATHEMATICS AND, IN SOME CASES, SCIENCES.
HIGHER EDUCATION AND GCSES WWW.RUSSELLGROUP.AC.UK APPLICANTS TO STUDY MEDICINE ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE VERY GOOD GCSE RESULTS IN MATHS, SCIENCE, AND ENGLISH. FOR A DEGREE IN ENGLISH, UNIVERSITIES OFTEN LOOK FOR APPLICANTS TO HAVE A GCSE IN A MODERN OR CLASSICAL LANGUAGE. FOR A BUSINESS DEGREE, A GRADE B IN GCSE MATHS IS OFTEN REQUIRED. A GRADE B IN MATHS AND SCIENCE IS OFTEN REQUIRED FOR A DEGREE IN PSYCHOLOGY. TO STUDY A SCIENCE SUBJECT AT UNIVERSITY (INCLUDING BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY OR PHYSICS) APPLICANTS WHO ARE NOT OFFERING MATHS AT ADVANCED LEVEL WILL OFTEN NEED TO HAVE ACHIEVED A HIGHER GRADE IN MATHS AT GCSE. RUSSEL GROUP OFTEN HAVE OFFERS OF 3 A S AT A LEVEL SO REALISTICALLY NEED A GRADE 7-9 TO ACHIEVE THIS.
ADVICE FROM RUSSELL GROUP UNIVERSITIES SUBJECTS THAT CAN BE VIEWED AS FACILITATING SUBJECTS AT A LEVEL ARE: MATHEMATICS AND FURTHER MATHEMATICS ENGLISH (LITERATURE) PHYSICS BIOLOGY CHEMISTRY GEOGRAPHY HISTORY LANGUAGES (CLASSICAL AND MODERN) NON RUSSEL GROUP UNIVERSITIES DO NOT HAVE THIS REQUIREMENT AND HAVE A MUCH MORE FLEXIBLE ENTRY REGIME.
Y9 AN IMPORTANT YEAR KS3 IS FAR FROM OVER; GOOD HABITS SECURED BEFORE GCSE BEGINS; SUCCESSFUL END TO KS3 END OF KS3 EXAMS IN ALL SUBJECTS ENTERPRISE AND EMPLOYABILITY EXAM IN MAY TEACHER ASSESSMENTS IN JUNE EXCELLENT ATTENDANCE IS ESSENTIAL TO SUCCESS IN SCHOOL KS4 BANDING AND SETS FOR CORE SUBJECTS DETERMINED BY EXAMS AND TEACHER ASSESSMENTS GOOD READING SKILLS SUPPORT ACHIEVEMENT IN ALL AREAS OF LEARNING
IMPORTANT DATES FEBURARY 25 th YEAR 9 PARENTS EVENING MARCH 11 th YEAR 9 OPTION CHOICES DEADLINE APRIL: MOCK EXAM FOR ENTERPRISE AND EMPLOYABILITY CERTIFICATE MAY: KS3 EXAMS IN ENGLISH, MATHS, SCIENCE - LEVEL 6+ INDICATES 9-5 GCSE POTENTIAL - LEVEL 5 INDICATES 4 GCSE POTENTIAL - LEVEL 4 INDICATES 1-3 GCSE PASS POTENTIAL END OF JUNE KS4 SUBJECTS CONFIRMED JULY FULL REPORT OF TEACHER ASSESSMENTS
Questions?