KS4 Course Choices, January 2015

“Shift Happens”
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNutcmyShW4
 6 minutes - 25seconds

KS4 Course Choices
Helping your child to prepare for Key
Stage 4 and beyond

KS4 Course Choice Evening 1
Tuesday 20th January
1. How does the KS4 course
choice process work?
2. What courses must your child study during
KS4?
3. What courses can your child choose to study
during KS4?
4. What advice and guidance do we give about
course choices?

Resources published on the school website
www.wilmslowhigh.com/curriculum/key-stage-3/course-choices-for-ks4/
Email queries to: hcurl@wilmslowhigh.cheshire.sch.uk
All the resources being
used will be available on
the school website:
• presentations
• guidance materials
• weblinks

Core subjects
 Mr Jones – Careers Education Coordinator
 Mr Williams – PE Curriculum Team Leader
 Mr Spence – English KS4 Team leader
 Mr Jones – Science Curriculum Team
Leader
 Mr Hughes – Maths Curriculum Team
Leader

Careers Education programme within the
PHSCE curriculum – 1
• PHSCE is led by Mr Munro
• Careers Education is
• coordinated by Mr P Jones
• supported by Mrs K Stephens
• with Careers Adviser input from Dr Rowe
 What am I like?
 What different types of qualification are there?
 How do I use the information about KS4 Courses to
make good choices?
 What will the world of work be like?
1. How does the KS4 Course Choice
process work?

 What am I like?
– What subjects, skills and issues do I like
learning about?
– In what ways do I learn best?
• Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills
– What targets for self-development do I need to
set?
process work?

 What different types of qualification are there?
– GCSEs and A-Levels
– Vocational qualifications like BTECs
– Applied learning routes like Apprenticeships
 How do I use the information about KS4 Courses to
make good choices?
process work?

1. How does the KS4 Course
Choice process work?

 What will the world of work be like?
– Next few years
• Work Related Learning during Years 10 & 11
– In the longer term
• “Shift Happens”
– How do I need to prepare? How will this affect
my KS4 option choices
process work?

What happens this term?
 Week beginning 12th January 2015
– KS4 Course Choice Assemblies
 Tuesday 20th January
Course Choice Evening 1 – presentation about Core Courses
 Thursday 22nd January
Course Choices Evening 2 – information stands about Option
Courses
 Thursday 29th January
Year 9 Parents’ Evening
 Monday 2nd February
– Initial Course Choice survey completed on VLE
 Friday 27th February
– Final Course Choice Form issued
 Monday 9th March
– Review Day with Tutors
 Friday 13th March
– Final Course Choices Form returned to tutors

1. How does the KS4 course choice process
work?
2. What courses must your child
study during KS4?
during KS4?
4. What advice and guidance do we give about
course choices?

 30 periods of 50 minutes per week
 10 courses studied per week
 Courses 1-4 are Core
 Courses 5-6 offer some choice about science
 Courses 7-10 offer free choice
 PHSCE – tutor time and suspended timetable days

 PHSCE =
– Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE)
Personal Wellbeing
– PSHE – Economic wellbeing
– Citizenship
 In KS4 – focus on preparing for the world
of work/study skills
study during KS4? – PHSCE

How is PHSCE covered?
 Form tutor
 PHSCE Days
Term Topic
1 Philosophy in Focus
2 Citizenship and social media
3 Britain and the world + work experience
prep
4 Interview skills
Term Topic
1 D of E training
2 Personal finance and debt
3 Britain and Europe
4 Work related learning
5 Science and Technology day
6 Interview Skills
7 Study skills
8 Careers fair

Work Experience
 Wilmslow High School believes that work
experience during Year 10 is valuable:
– Student feedback consistently states that important
lessons are learnt about the realities of the
workplace
– Employer feedback is invariably very positive
about attitudes, qualities and skills of our students
– Teacher feedback is that work experience
contributes significantly to a growing maturity
among students in Year 11
 Work experience will take place during June
Year 10 for one week.

Work Experience
 Until 2011, work experience was fully
funded by the government.
 School no longer receives money to pay for
the costs of risk assessing each of the
student’s placements.
 In 2015 these checks are costing the school
£37 each and we have asked parents for a
£10 contribution towards this cost.

study during KS4?
Course
Number
Course Title Ppw =
12/30
1 - CORE PE 3
2 – CORE GCSE English Language
- external exams in Y11
5
3 – CORE GCSE English Literature
4 - CORE GCSE Mathematics
4

Course 1 – Core PE – Mr Williams

Why is core PE an important part of
the KS4 curriculum?
 Kes days are gone
 Personalised learning
pathways
 Personal development
- PLTS
 Lifelong skills
 Encourage ‘X-tra’
 Health and fitness –
active body and mind
 Enjoyment

What does PE look like?
 Not set on ability
 Personalised -
Pathway choices
 Double and single
period
Maximum performers
Outwitting opponents
Creative performers
Healthy lifestyle
 Coaching/Leadership

Opportunities/Accreditation
 Coaching awards
 Leadership
experience – School
Games makers,
Ambassadors.
 Rugby Referees,
Football Referees,
Netball Umpires,
Trampolining Judges
 Links with
Community Clubs

What do the students say?
Years 10 and 11
 “Fun”
 “Appreciate that we get to choose our own
activities”
 “Work with people with similar interests and
abilities”
 “Enjoy high activity, game based lessons”
 “Focus on things I really enjoy”
 “Break from exam pressure”
 Audit: 91% KS4 Students rate their lessons as
Good or Excellent in terms of Enjoyment

Courses 2 & 3 – English – Mr
Spence

English Language and English
Literature
• Students are awarded 2 GCSEs
• Students are currently taught in 4
ability bands and have 5 lessons per
week
• Both courses are assessed through
external examination

English Language (AQA)
 Explorations in Creative Reading and
Writing (Unit 1)
a. Reading and analysing a range of non-
fiction and literary non-fiction texts from
the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries
b. Writing for a specific audience, purpose
and form linked to section A

How can parents support this?
 Encourage reading of varied material

 Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives
(Unit 2)
a. Reading a literary text (extract) and
identifying how writers engage and
influence their readers
b. Writing their own creative text exploring a
theme identified in section A

 Non-examination assessment (Unit 3)
Allowing students to demonstrate their
speaking and listening skills by:
 giving a presentation in a formal context
 responding to questions and feedback
 using spoken Standard English

English Literature (AQA)
 Shakespeare and the C19th Novel (Unit 1)

English Literature
 Modern Texts and Poetry
a. Drama or Prose
Is there a choice of texts?

English Literature
 Modern Texts and Poetry
b. Poetry
 15 poems that are set by the exam board and
studied in class (1789 – present day)
 A response to an unseen poem

…and finally…
 All of the literature examinations are closed
text
 There are now no tiers of entry for English
Language or Literature so all students will
sit exactly the same examinations
 Assessment will be carried out regularly
during the course so that the progress of all
students can be monitored

Course 4 – Maths – Mr Hughes
• Course structure
• What can I expect
my child to
achieve?
• Assessment
demands
• Support available

Course structure
Higher tier
 2 year linear course
 100% examination over
3x1½ hr exams
 Exam board – Edexcel
 Most suitable for sets 1-3
 Range of grades available
9-4
Foundation tier
 2 year linear course
 100% examination over
3x1½ hr exams
 Exam board - Edexcel
 Suitable for sets 4-6
 Range of grades
available 5-1

What can I expect my child to
achieve?
• Monitoring performance
GCSE 9 7 5 4 1
Y11
set A* A B C D E F G U Total
1 33 25 5 63
2 1 13 38 11 1 64
3 1 29 26 5 61
4 2 35 13 1 51
5 4 13 17 13 47
6 1 2 10 6 19

Assessment demands
 Multi-step/problem solving element
Eg Chris owns a clothes shop.
He bought 50 shirts at £12 for each shirt.
He chose the selling price of each shirt so that he would make a
profit of 30% on each shirt.
He sold 20 shirts at this price.
Chris then reduced the selling price of each shirt by 15%.
He then sold the remaining shirts at this reduced selling price.
Has Chris made a profit or loss?
You must explain your answer clearly.
• Assessed under 5 general headings – Number;
Algebra; Ratio, proportion and rates of change;
Geometry & Measures; Probability & Statistics

Support available (1)
• www.mymaths.co.uk
• Lunchtime support with Mr Hughes and Mrs Mackintosh

Courses 5 & 6 – Science – Mr G
Jones
Route 2 – “Double” GCSE
science
• Year 10 external exams
 GCSE Science
 GCSE Additional
Science
or
 GCSE Additional
Applied Science
Keeps Course 7 free to select a
different GCSE subject
For the student who prefers to have
more breadth to their portfolio of
KS4 qualifications
You can pursue GCSE A-Level
science subjects with this route
Students taught in sets based on
ability

Courses 5, 6 & 7– Science – Mr G
Jones
Route 1 – “Triple” GCSE
science
 GCSE Biology
 GCSE Chemistry
 GCSE Physics
Only for students attaining
National Curriculum level of
6.5 or higher
Students taught in two-groups of
similar ability
Requires “Triple Science” to
be selected in Course 7
leaving only 3 other choices
from Courses 8 - 10
For the student already keen
to specialise in the sciences
and willing to have less
breadth to their portfolio of
KS4 qualifications

Do you need more information about
the science GCSEs before deciding?
 Pages 25-34 of the Key Stage 4 Courses
booklet describe the content of the different
science GCSEs in more detail using
diagrams supplied by the AQA exam board
 Science Team Leaders will be in Room 48
on Thursday 22nd January to answer any
further questions

3. What courses can your child
study during KS4?
Course
Number
Course Title Ppw =
12/30
7 – CHOICE See option booklet 3
8 – CHOICE
See option booklet 3

3. What courses can your child study
during KS4?

SINGLE CHOICE ie 10% of curriculum (3ppw)
 Art and Design / Art Graphic Communications / 3-
Dimensional Design / Photography
 Drama
 Music/ Music (Technology)
 PE – either GCSE or BTEC qualification
study during KS4?

 French
 German
 Spanish
 Media Studies
 Statistics
 ICT: two qualification pathways guided by
teachers
study during KS4?

 Geography
 History
 Religious Studies (1 year) – ‘full’ GCSE
– Followed by Sociology in Y11
 Business – two qualification pathways guided by
teachers
study during KS4?

 Design and Technology:
– Food Technology
– Catering
– Textiles
– Resistant Materials
– Product Design
– Systems and Control
– Child Development
study during KS4?

3. What courses can your child study
during KS4?
EXTRAS?
 GCSE Dance within Core PE
(Course 1)
 Other suggestions?

study during KS4?
Individual Programmes – making your
learning personalised to you
 MySkills Programme
– builds on Core PHSCE programme
– Students identified by Heads of House
 Personal Studies
– support course for students who work with Learning
Support

BE AWARE
 Courses can only run if…
– … enough students want to do them to make
them affordable
 Courses that need highly specialist
facilities…
– … will have limited numbers of places on
them
 We will use our professional judgement to
decide if a course is appropriate
study during KS4?

1. How does the KS4 course choice process
work?
2. What courses must your child study during
KS4?
during KS4?
4. What advice and guidance do
we give about course choices?

4. What advice and guidance do we
give about course choices?

KS4
Courses
booklet
p.8
4. What advice and guidance do we
give about course choices?

How am I going to decide?
English Baccalaureate subjects at GCSE
The following core academic subjects at GCSE are termed English Baccalaureate subjects:
English; mathematics; the sciences (including computing); history or geography; a language.
This combination is believed:
• To provide a strong grounding for lifelong learning
• and enables students to maximise the post-16 progression routes open to them.
Consequently, although this will not be appropriate for all students, we do recommend that you
give very serious consideration to selecting at least one (or more) of the following subjects
through the options process:
• computing;
• French;
• geography;
• German;
• history;
• Spanish;
• triple science.

“English Baccalaureate”
 Recognises GCSE achievement at grade C or better in English, maths, double science PLUS....
 1 x MFL – ie French, German or Spanish from Courses 7 - 10
 1 x “humanity” – ie Geography or History from Courses 7 -10
 WOULD LEAVE YOU between 1 and 2 other choices from Courses 7-10

Examination reforms
 Only English Lang/Lit and maths
 A-G = 9 – 1 (9 = top grade)
 Mainly examinations
 More depth/demanding
 2 years, no modules
 Foundation and higher tier
 November re-sits (Eng Lang/maths)

Date / times Event 3
Thursday 22nd
January 2015
6.00 - 8.00 pm
KS4 Course Choices Evening 2:
Market place format in various locations around
school:
 All Curriculum Teams offering courses in course
choice columns
 Careers advice drop-in opportunity
Staff will be available to discuss whether the courses
they offer will suit your child. Students should
accompany parents in full school uniform

Thursday 29th
January 2015
Year 9 Parents' Evening
 opportunity to discuss progress in those subjects
presently studied and gain further advice regarding
which courses to study in Years 10 and 11.
Monday 2nd
February 2015
Deadline for return of Initial Course Choices
We will use this information to
 provide additional advice and guidance to students
regarding the suitability of their initial course
choices
 determine whether there should be any change to
course availability

Do the same
for Courses,
8, 9 & 10

Friday 27th
February 2015
Final Course Choices questionnaire made available
to students

What happens next?
Monday 9th
March 2015
Review Day with tutors - advice and guidance on
option choices.
Friday 13th
March 2015
Deadline for submission of Final Course Choices
form

What happens in summer
term?
Date / times Activities
March - July
• Analysis of student choices
• Determination of course viability – remember
courses can only run if enough students opt for
them
• Advice and guidance if new choices required
• Confirmed choices letter

Thank you for listening
Drive home safely

KS4 Course Choices, January 2015

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KS4 Course Choices, January 2015