This document summarizes an ongoing curriculum review at Biddenham school regarding their AS level courses. It outlines several issues being considered, such as whether students are sufficiently prepared for AS level after GCSEs, if entrance requirements should be increased, and whether changes should be made to the AS course structure and offerings. Staff are invited to contribute to an online wiki to help inform the review.

1. Biddenham Curriculum Review 2009-10 Contribute to the Biddenham Curriculum Review wiki. You can access this using the following details: http://sites.google.com/site/sites/system/app/pages/meta/dashboard User name: [email_address] Password: improvement

2. This week’s live issue: How can we improve achievement on AS courses?

3. Do we spoonfeed KS4 students? Does this undermine development of the skills needed for AS courses? If we made all students study an applied course in KS4 would this: Teach them skills they need for AS? Increase spoonfeeding? Should we teach PeLTS in year 11?

4. Dumbed down? Have GCSEs have become so easy that intelligent students pass without doing much work & then assume that they can do the same at AS level?

5. Are we allowing too many weak students onto AS courses: "setting them up to fail". Should we increase the entrance requirements? How do we decide what they should be? For all subjects or some subjects?

6. Should we have a trial period for AS students? How long should it last? Should they be allowed to switch to another subject if they “failed” at the first subject? Should they be required top study the Access course instead. Would this lead to a super-motivated start to AS?

7. Should we teach PeLTS? In year 11 or at AS? Will PeLTS lead to Deep Learning? Should we teach PeLTS instead of Critical Thinking or the EPQ?

8. Should we increase the number of BTEC level 3 courses? Are we creating a sheep and goats curriculum? Will we spread the number of learners over too many courses pushing some subjects over the cliff of viability? Why aren’t the goats doing this?

9. Should we encourage more students to take the Access course? Would a three year Sixth form be acceptable to many? Do we need to change what the Access course offers to achieve this? Is this more sheep and goats?

10. AS at present: Personalisation We offer a wider range of subjects at AS then anyone locally but Sharnbrook. We have six option blocks to reduce clashes and maximise choice*. We expect all students (except ex Access students) to study 4 AS subjects *However, this means that period 6 becomes inevitable for some sixth form students.

11. AS at present: Inclusion We have the lowest entrance requirements for AS courses locally. We offer a limited number of level 3 non-AS courses We make it very difficult for students to drop an AS subject or to change to another one

12. AS at present: Achievement We only offer 4⅜ hours teaching per week for each subject as opposed to the national benchmark of 5 hours per week. We expect all AS students to study Critical Thinking We have a 78% pass rate (A-E) at AS.

13. Contribute, comment, advise, inform: Contribute to the Biddenham Curriculum Review wiki. You can access this using the following details: http://sites.google.com/site/sites/system/app/pages/meta/dashboard User name: [email_address] Password: improvement Email [email_address] Respond on the Sharepoint debate Put a note in DA’s pigeonhole