KS4 Courses Booklet - Index Topic or course Page ref Introduction 2 - 12 Art Craft & Design 35 - 38 Art & Design: Graphic Communication 39 - 42 Art & Design: Photography 43 - 46 Biology 24 BTEC Dance 58 - 59 BTEC Sport 56 - 57 Business Education 60 – 62 Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance at Wilmslow High School 4 – 6 Chemistry 25 Combined Science – Trilogy 27 – 28 Computer Science 85 – 86 D&T: Food Preparation & Nutrition 93 – 95 D&T: Home Economics: Child Development 96 – 97 D&T: Product Design 89 – 90 D&T: Resistant Materials 90 – 91 D&T: Systems and Control 92 – 93 D&T: Textile Technology 87 – 89 Drama 47 – 49 English Language 14 – 17 English Literature 14 – 17 Entry Level Certificate (ELC) in Science 29 – 30 Geography 63 – 65 History 66 – 68 ICT 83 – 84 KS4 Course Choice Timetable 4 – 6 KS4 Curriculum 11 Mathematics 18 – 19 Media Studies 79 – 80 Modern Foreign Languages 74 – 78 Music / Music Technology 50 – 52 National Careers Service, Information, Advice and Guidance at Wilmslow High School 10 Parents & Carers - preparing for the future 7 Parents & Carers – getting support 8 Parents & Carers – tips on how to help your child choose well 9 PE – Core 20 – 21 PE – GCSE 53 – 55 Personal Studies 12 PHSCE 32 – 33 Physics 26 Religious Studies 69 – 71 Science 22 – 31 Sociology 72 - 73 Statistics 81 - 82 Supporting Choices for Parents 5 - 6 Who is available at school to help you make good choices 4 Wilmslow High School – Key Stage 4 Courses – for teaching from September 2016 P a g e 1 Getting Ahead: Preparing for Key Stage 4 and beyond 2016 Introduction Year 9 is an exciting year in which our students get the opportunity to choose the courses that they want to study in Key Stage 4. At Wilmslow, we are very proud of the wide range of courses on offer to our students. This booklet is designed to give our students and parents information, advice and guidance about how to make balanced and informed decisions at this important point. Getting the balance right We would advise all our students and parents to be aware of the following: Most of our students will not be looking to ‘specialise’ into a chosen field until after university, further education or training; therefore, we would usually recommend that our students choose a broad and balanced curriculum that provides them with plenty of options in the future For students who are ‘spoilt for choice’ please remember that some courses can be picked up again at A Level allowing students to do a wide range of subjects across their Key Stage 4 and 5 programme of study Most universities and employers favour students with an excellent work ethic and a broad and balanced education. Therefore, whatever choices students decide to pursue in Key Stage 4, effort and performance are expected and remain important for the whole of Year 9 in every subject Information on the new GCSEs Students beginning Key Stage 4 in September 2016 will be taking the new GCSEs in many of their subjects. These will be different in the following ways: A new grading system with 9-1 replacing A*-G. The top grade, 9, will be harder to achieve than the current A* grade. Assessment will be mainly by terminal exam at the end of the two-year course; fewer courses will contain controlled assessments. There will be new, more demanding content for students to learn and remember. There will be a greater focus on literacy across all subjects. To help you to distinguish between ‘old’ and ‘new’ GCSEs, we have labelled all our courses as follows: ‘Old GCSEs’ - titled as in this example: Statistics (A*-G) ‘New GCSEs’ – titled as in this example: English Language (9-1) More information about the new GCSEs can be found in the presentation that we shared with parents at our Preparing for Success Evening in September; this can be found at the following link: http://www.wilmslowhigh.com/year-9-preparing-for-success-evening/ Wilmslow High School – Key Stage 4 Courses – for teaching from September 2016 P a g e 2 How do the new grades compare to the old grades? A*-G GCSE Grade 9-1 GCSE Grade A* 9 This grade will be awarded to the top 20% of students nationally gaining a 7 or above 8 A 7 B 6 5 C 4 D 3 E 2 F 1 G What does a ‘broad and balanced’ KS4 curriculum look like? At Wilmslow we are proud of our longstanding commitment to a broad and balanced high quality curriculum. In recent years, the Department for Education has used the term ‘English Baccalaureate’ to describe a programme of study that includes English, mathematics, a science (including Computer Science), a language and history or geography. In order to ensure that our students receive their entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum we expect the majority of our students to study: English (both literature and language) and mathematics Double or Triple Science At least one additional subject from the English Baccalaureate Two to three further subjects chosen from the full range of options In addition, all our students continue to receive PE and PSHCE lessons. For students interested in applying to a Russell Group university in the future you may find the Informed Choices document of use: http://russellgroup.ac.uk/for-students/school-and-college-in-the-uk/subject-choices-at-school- and-college/ How are we preparing our students for the new GCSEs? We are using GCSE grades on Year 9 indicators. We are using more GCSE-derived assessment tasks during Year 9. We are expecting our students to explicitly reflect upon and respond to the feedback they get on class work and homework – without this, the effort and hard work put in by students and teachers can lose impact. Wilmslow High School – Key Stage 4 Courses – for teaching from September 2016 P a g e 3 We are reinforcing the importance of reading with our students with our expectation that students read for at least 30 minutes a day. We are emphasising the need for students to build their stock of ‘powerful knowledge’ – knowledge held in their minds, ready for recall and use in interpreting the value and significance of information gathered later. Key Stage 4 Course Choices Timetable Monday 11th – Launch of Key Stage 4 Course Choice process Thursday 14th A sequence of house assemblies for Year 9 students on the January 2016 Course Choices process Wednesday 20th Key Stage 4 Course Choices Evening: January 2016 A market place format in various locations around school with: 6.00 - 8.00 pm . An opening presentation for parents (6.00 – 6.15pm repeated at 7.45-8.00pm) . All course choices on offer . A careers advice drop-in opportunity Teachers will be available to discuss whether the courses they offer will suit your child. Students should accompany parents in full school uniform. Monday 1st Deadline for submission of Initial Course Choices February 2016 We will use the information students submit through the VLE to: . Provide additional advice and guidance to students regarding the suitability of their initial course choices. Decide whether there should be any change to course availability. Friday 26th Final Course Choice form issued to students February 2016 This form will contain students’ initial choices submitted online on the Initial Course Choice form, giving parents and students a final chance to discuss their choices. Thursday 10th Year 9 Parents' Evening March 2016 An opportunity to discuss progress in those subjects presently studied and gain further advice regarding which courses to study in Years 10 and 11. Monday 14th Deadline for return of Final Course Choices form to tutors March 2016 Summer term Confirmation of Course Choice letter issued to students Who is available at school to help you to make good choices? You will want to talk to your parents about the right choices for you, but the following staff at school can also give you helpful advice: Your form tutor and subject teachers Your Head of House Any member of the Leadership Group Mrs Glover - SENCO Mr Jones – Careers Education Coordinator Mr Munro – CTL for PHSCE Dr Rowe – Independent Careers Advisor Wilmslow High School – Key Stage 4 Courses – for teaching from September 2016 P a g e 4 You should choose courses that: You think you can do well in, and that you find interesting and challenging. Provide you with a broad and balanced programme of study providing plenty of future options. May be useful in your future university, training and career decisions. You should not choose a course: Because your friend is doing it. Because you like, or dislike, the teachers. We cannot say who your teachers will be at this stage. Because it is new. Because you think it will be easy. Remember that all GCSEs are designed to be challenging. So that we can be sure that you have thought about all of this, you will be required to write an explanation for your choices when you submit you’re Final Course Choice Form (deadline – Monday 14th March 2016). Supporting Choices: Wilmslow High School We recognise the importance of the Key Stage 4 Course Choices as the first time that our students are able to choose the courses that they want to study. We provide the activities and events below in order to support our Year 9 students in making informed choices. Aspirations Questionnaire (September) – students from all year groups provided details of their ambitions and aspirations, which are regularly updated. Preparing for Success Evening (September) – a presentation provided information for Year 9 parents on how to achieve success in the new GCSE courses.