Achievement Pathways Course Information For Year 9 students 2015/2016
Dear Student Key stage 4 marks an exciting and important phase in your life. It is the period when you build on your earlier learning and prepare for adult life, higher education and employment. This is a great opportunity for you to select and design part of the curriculum that you will study over the next two years at Thomas Deacon Academy. You won t have complete freedom to choose all your subjects; English, Maths, and Science remain compulsory and you will continue to study Religious Education, PD and Physical Education. You will be offered a range of other subjects to choose from those that you are making good progress in. These will be chosen from your checkpoint 2 data, from subjects where you are working at or above target. We have put in place a number of different activities to help you make these decisions; over the last term you will have listened to a number of presentations to explain the subjects on offer to you; in PD lessons you will have thought about future careers you might follow and in tutor time you will be discussing what you have learned with your tutor. In term three you will receive your personalised offer letter for you to discuss with your parent or guardian. You will have the opportunity to attend our Achievement Pathways Evening on 19 th January 2016 where you will be able to find out more about the choices on offer and talk to teachers about your possible choices. Your final form will need to be returned to your tutor on or before Wednesday 9th February 2016. Dear Parent Welcome to the Achievement Pathways information booklet; within this you will find information about the KS4 curriculum that your son or daughter will study in Years 10 and 11 and the range of subjects that your son or daughter will be able to choose from. Our aim is to ensure that all students are provided with a curriculum that enables them to succeed; that sparks their interest and gives them maximum opportunities to progress onto their next stage in life. We know that to help students make the best choices the Academy and parents/guardians must work in partnership to help guide them through this most important decision; we hope the information provided here helps you support your son or daughter through the options process. Kind regards Ms. Emma Taplin Deputy Vice Principal Curriculum
Timeline Term 2 Students learn about the range of courses on offer and consider careers guidance in PD lessons. Term 3 Checkpoint 2 report data is used to generate a personalised curriculum offer. Tuesday 19 th January 2016 Achievement Pathways Evening here parents can pick up their child s personalised offer. This is an opportunity to find out about Key Stage 4 and what option subjects are available. Presentations will be delivered in the Lecture Theatre by Ms Taplin at: 4.45pm 5.15pm 5.45pm Wednesday 9th February 2016 Final deadline for choices forms. Term 4 Friday 25 th March 2016 Parents receive letter to confirm choices.
The Key Stage 4 Curriculum The curriculum you will study for the next 2 years will consist of: Key Stage 4 - Subjects Hours per week English Language and English Literature 4 Maths 4 Science 4 RE 2 Core PE 2 PD 1 Option 1 2 Option 2 2 Option 3 2 Option 4 2 Total 25 We encourage students to follow a broad and balanced curriculum that will keep doors open for the future, which ever career path you choose to follow. English Baccalaureate (EBacc) The English Baccalaureate is currently the achievement of the following subjects at grade C or above: English Language GCSE Maths GCSE Science GCSE o Double or Triple History or Geography GCSE Spanish or German or French or Urdu GCSE This is neither a qualification or an extra certificate given; it is recognition of an achievement in this group of subjects. Curriculum Personalisation It is important that students follow a curriculum that allows them to achieve their potential. The KS4 curriculum is personalised for each student, for example, instead of an option subject some students may do Maths and/or English intervention to help them develop their literacy and numeracy skills and support their GCSE English and Maths course. Some students may take Functional Skills as one option which leads to a level 1 or level 2 qualification in literacy and numeracy. To ensure students follow the right curriculum for them we ask students to follow one of three pathways, tailored to meet their needs. Information on the three option pathways can be found on the next page.
The Three Pathways All students follow one of three pathways, each tailored to meet their needs. Within each pathway is a compulsory element. Alongside this there is also the opportunity for students to select subjects of their choice. The Core Curriculum 5 GCSEs English Literature GCSE Maths GCSE Science GCSE Religious Education GCSE Physical Education Personal Development Qualifications on offer Compulsory element Academic (for students in the Express and Secondary Ready pathway) Blended (for students in the Booster pathway) Vocational (for students in the Support pathway) GCSEs GCSE and BTEC GCSE and BTEC One of the EBacc subjects: History Geography French German Spanish Urdu Computer Science Triple Science EMIT- Additional Maths and English plus ICT Qualification (ECDL) + One of the Ebacc subjects: History Geography French German Spanish Urdu Computer Science Triple Science Functional Skills Offer 3 optional subjects 3 optional subjects not ICT 3 optional subjects only one to be a GCSE The optional subjects other high value qualifications choose 2/3 (can include Ebacc subjects above) Sports Studies Public Services Textiles Food Business Studies Physical Education Graphic Products Art ICT Vocational Construction Photography ICT Drama Music Dance Engineering Resistant Materials Media Studies NB: Please note that any options subjects with less than 16 students may not run.
Types of Qualification Currently new GCSE qualifications are being developed. The class of 2017 will take a combination of mainly new and some old GCSEs. The individual subject information will clarify the content and assessment method for each GCSE option. GCSEs - New For the new GCSEs there will be a new grading scale that uses the numbers 9 1 instead of A*- G with 9 being the top grade. Students will get a U where performance is below the minimum required to pass the GCSE. The courses will be fully linear, with all assessment at the end of the course and content not divided into modules. Assessment for these courses will be end of course exams. GCSEs Old style Subjects that follow the old style GCSE may include elements of coursework or controlled assessment. In some subjects the final exams have different papers at different levels of difficulty, i.e. foundation and higher tier. Teachers will enter you for the appropriate papers. GCSE - old style courses are all graded A*- U. BTEC First Award (Level 1/2) These qualifications provide a nationally recognised, work-related focus that helps to develop knowledge, skills and understanding relevant to a broad vocational area and encourage independent learning in practical contexts. BTEC Level 2 First Award involves a number of units, usually 3 or 4 depending on the course and are undertaken throughout the duration of the course. The majority of these units will be internally assessed and externally verified. 25% of the qualification will be externally assessed. The external assessment will vary depending on the subject but they will be tasks set and marked by the exam board. The qualification is graded at level 1 and level 2. - Level 2 Pass (C), Merit (B), Distinction (A) or Distinction* (A*) - Level 1 Pass (G), Merit (F), Distinction (E) or Distinction* (D) VCERT These vocational qualifications are graded and follow project and theme-based learning as well as hands-on practical learning opportunities. They contain both internally and externally assessed elements; Pupils are entitled to one re-sit for the external assessment. Each V Cert qualification is equivalent to one GCSE The qualification is graded at Pass (C), Merit (B), Distinction (A) Distinction* (A*)
Contents The following pages describe every subject on offer. Each page outlines what is taught, how it is assessed, where it leads to and the work demands for that subject. Please read through this information with your son or daughter. Page Subject Qualification and level 1 Art and Design VCert 2 Art and Design GCSE 3 Business Studies VCert 4 Business Studies GCSE 5 Computer Science GCSE 6 Construction* BTEC 7 Creative Studies: Graphic Design VCert 8 Dance GCSE 9 Drama GCSE 10 Dual Linguist (MFL) GCSE 11 Engineering GCSE 12 Food Preparation and Nutrition GCSE 13 Food and Cookery VCert 14 Functional Skills 15 French GCSE 16 Geography GCSE 17 German GCSE 18 Health and Social Care BTEC 19 History GCSE 20 ICT GCSE 21 Media Studies GCSE 22 Music GCSE 23 Photography GCSE 24 Physical Education GCSE 25 Public Services BTEC 26 Resistant Materials GCSE 27 Spanish GCSE 28 Sports Studies BTEC 29 Textiles GCSE 30 Triple Science GCSE 31 Urdu GCSE Please note: Some options require double the amount of teaching lessons and are asterisked* above. These subjects take up two option choices. Where can I seek more information? If after the Achievement Pathways Evening you still have further questions please contact your child s Form Tutor who will be able to help or connect you to other staff who can.