Dear all,
Thank you to those who attended our recent Year 9 Options Evening. Your engagement in this important process plays a vital role in ensuring a relevant and successful KS4 curriculum for your child.
As outlined in our presentations, there will be some changes to the KS4 curriculum. A number of variables influence the final structure, including staffing, Department for Education guidance, and ongoing GCSE reforms, all of which we must carefully navigate.
What has been agreed is that students will study three option subjects. This decision is based on evidence that allocating more curriculum time to fewer option subjects leads to improved outcomes for all students. Students will be allocated 6 hours a fortnight for each of their options next year, as opposed to the current allocation of 5 hours.
We plan to offer the GCSE Statistics qualification to all students. This course is highly relevant across a wide range of subjects, including Geography, the Sciences, Psychology, and Design Technology. With a slight increase in mathematics lesson time, this qualification can be delivered alongside GCSE Mathematics, allowing students to gain an additional GCSE with minimal extra workload.
We are also required to deliver Religious Education / Religious Studies (RE/RS) to all students during KS4. This will be taught through timetabled lessons rather than the current model of ‘drop-down’ days and ‘content mapping’ across other subjects. As this subject must be taught, it is both sensible and beneficial for students to gain the GCSE qualification. GCSE Religious Studies typically involves the study of two major world religions, alongside key philosophical and ethical themes. The course develops critical thinking, empathy, and a deeper understanding of religious and non-religious worldviews, preparing students well for life in a diverse modern society.
Following constructive conversations with parents at the Options Evening, meetings with the leadership team, and many reassuring discussions with students, it has been clear how invested we all are in getting this process right. As a result, we have been able to slightly de-restrict the options process, and we are confident this will provide the reassurance and choice some of you were seeking.
Please note that there can be a difference between what should fit and what can fit due to capacity, class sizes, and staffing. This marks the beginning of the options process, which we aim to conclude by May half term.
Options Preferences
For your three preferences, please select one subject from each list below.
Preference 1 (choose one):
History, Geography, Triple Science, French, Spanish
Preference 2 (choose one):
History, Geography, Triple Science, French, Spanish, Design Technology, Food, Music, Art, Photography, Drama, Sport, Business, ICT
Preference 3 (choose one):
History, Geography, Triple Science, French, Spanish, Design Technology, Food, Music, Art, Photography, Drama, Sport, Business, ICT
Reserve choice:
History, Geography, Triple Science, French, Spanish, Design Technology, Food, Music, Art, Photography, Drama, Sport, Business, ICT
Please note the following combinations are not permitted:
-
French and Spanish
-
Art and Photography
Thank you for your continued support throughout this process.
Kind regards,