main presentation for parents 2016 for year 8

Archbishop Holgate’s SchoolCARE, VALUES, ACHIEVEMENT

Subject Choices for GCSE 2016/19Year 8 Options


The timetable of events

• Option booklets were given to your child on 11th February• Option Evening tonight – 24th February• Wednesday 2nd March is Year 8 Parents’ Evening

(4:00 – 7:00)• Friday 4th Match is the latest date for option forms to be

returned to tutors.


“I thought Options were done in Year 9 – why now?”


A changing National Picture• The measure 5 x A*-C including English and Maths no longer exist for schools. Instead all

schools are measured on the progress made in the best 8 subjects taken by your child. These are formed as follows:

• It is expected that 90% of all pupils will follow a curriculum model of this type, there is no doubt that this is more rigorous than for previous years – traditional subjects such as a Modern Foreign Language, Geography or History are tougher than practical counterparts.

• All GCSES and BTECs have had a full over-haul, the content and rigour have been stepped up, modular examinations have been scrapped. All GCSE examinations are taken in the summer of Year 11. Where coursework is taken this has been re-weighted to play a smaller role in overall grades.

By selecting options in Year 8, the longer time increases the opportunity for deeper revision in school, allowing larger parts of Year 11 to be made available to support final exams that count for 100%.

Literature and LanguageEnglish GCSEMaths

•Best 3 of…•Science, Geography, History, MFL or Computing

EBACC•Best 3 of….•All of the remaining qualifications taken

Other


Targets & Results – New methodology for Year 8

• The Department for Education has set a target for your child in each subject they study based upon their KS2 Maths and English scores. They are measured against this target throughout KS3 and KS4

• Maths and English and a number of other GCSEs follow a brand new more rigorous specification, which will be graded from 9 to 1 (9 is best) and where 5 is the pass mark.

• All other GCSEs have one last year of the old specification and are graded A*-G.

• BTECs continue until 2018 and are graded Distinction* to Pass• Your child will therefore leave with a mixture of result types in August

2019.


So is there really an option?• The Raising of the School Participation Age (RPA) has

moved from 16 to 18. This means all pupils must be in education or employment with training until aged 18. This has had a knock on effect on your child’s choices, as seen on the previous slide, since the government have used this as a chance to make Key Stage 4 much more uniform across all schools nationally, reducing choices, with the view that “options” are really made at aged 16.

• In short there isn’t very much choice at all…once pupils have picked their Humanity and most a Modern Foreign language, only 2 “choices” remain

• Pupils cannot get it wrong! Because the core offer is so strong, every course is open at the next level regardless of choice now.


How are options carried out at Archbishop’s

We have a wealth of data on your children, CATs, Fisher Family trust targets, DFE targets and classroom performance last year. This information is used to place your child on a tailored programme that meets the government guidance but also maximises the chances for each child.

We have 4 pathways:-– The Ebacc route– The Best 8 route– Study Plus– Work Skills


But what do the names mean?

• EBACC is the name the government gives to the suite of qualifications comprising of English, Maths, a Humanity (Geography or History), Science and a Modern Foreign Language

• Best 8 (Progress 8) is the name the government gives to the compulsory measure which comprises of a pupil’s best eight qualifications (English, Maths, x3 EBACC and x3 free choices)

• Study Plus is the name AHS gives to the programme of added Maths and English which these pupils would take

• Work Skills is the name of the BTEC course taken by pupils on this course


Core subjects

• Some subjects are compulsory in years 10 + 11:

English Languag

e

English Literature

MathematicsScience*

Guidance

Religious

Education

PE


– All pupils take Core & Additional Science. This forms the backbone of the Science provision and counts as two subjects. Progression onto A level courses is secure from this route.

– Those wishing to extend their Science provision can take Triple Science as an option. To accommodate the demands of the increased rigour and depth of this course, coupled with terminal exams there was a requirement to increase the amount of teaching time given over to Triple Science. By making Triple Science an option the Triple Science time increases from the 8 hours for Combined Science to 13 hours over 2 years .

– We recognise that this reduces the freedom of choice for pupils wishing to take Triple Science. However these pupils will be attaining 11 GCSEs overall – the Government expects pupils to achieve 8.

– This is the third year of operating this model and it is working well with the current year 10 and 11

Science


Every pupil has a personalised booklet based

on four routes


In addition to core subjects pupils choose four subjects made up as follows:• 1 x Humanity or Computer Science• 1 x MFL – as your child has three years of study they can

freely choose from French, German or Spanish• 2x free choices

ENTRY TO THE TOP UNIVERSITIES IS OFTEN RESTRICTED IF YOUR CHILD HAS NOT TAKEN A MFL. IF YOUR CHILD CAN BE SUCCESSFUL IN LANGUAGES, THEY SHOULD

PICK ONE, AT AHS THIS IS COMPULSORY FOR MOST PUPILS

EBACC route


Best 8 routeThe government recognises that not all pupils will be successful in a modern foreign language; the Best 8 route allows for this, but still brings breadth and depth to the courses studied. In addition to core subjects pupils select:• Any 2 from: History, Geography, Computer science, or a

MFL. • Plus 2 other subjects to compliment this suite of subjects

from a selected list.• Invitation only.


Study Plus• We have identified some pupils who will need extra support to

achieve a 5 in English and Maths. 5 will be the new passport to success and replaces the C grade.

• Pupils not achieving a 5 in Year 11 must continue their GCSE study whilst at Sixth form or college – this is now statute. It is therefore essential to maximise opportunities of support for those that need it to help them secure this benchmark in Key Stage 4.

• These pupils are invited to take Study Plus.• Study Plus replaces one choice – and represents 2 hours of extra

Maths teaching and 3 hours of extra English teaching per week in Year 10 and Year 11.

• We have used our tracking data and national targets to identify these pupils, there are limited numbers. No other pupils may apply.


Work Skills

• This course is for pupils who would gain benefit from experiencing the work environment alongside learning valuable skills needed for life. • The BTEC Work Skills Level 1 course takes the space of 2

options as this includes a day at a work placement. You may freely select the third & fourth options from the list.• There has been a parents’ meeting to explain this in more

detail – a letter home was sent inviting you to this.• No other pupils may apply.


SociologyTextilesTravel & Tourism

German FrenchSpanishGeographyHistoryComputer ScienceTriple Science

Free choices

ArtBusiness StudiesDrama EngineeringFood & NutritionGraphicsICTMedia StudiesMusicPhysical Education GCSEProduct Design

All qualifications are equal in

weighting and count once,

whether BTEC or GCSE


The process of telling us about choices

There are two pages to write in choices at

the back of the option booklet:

• One to keep for reference

• One to return to your child’s form tutor


Completing the option

form:EBACC

“I want to do Art, French, Media & History”


Completing the option form:BEST

8

“I want to History, Geography, Sociology and Graphics


Completing the option

form:Study+

“I want to do Study Plus, Geography, Sociology and Travel & Tourism”


Completing the option form:Work

skills

“I want to do Work Skills and Media and History”


Will my child get their Choices?

• I endeavour to give all students their first choices, normally due to the sheer volume of permutations, approximately 80% of students achieve this. I see every pupil who doesn’t fit personally to look at alternatives.• Reasons for ‘non fit’ include unusual combinations, or group

sizes that are unviable. A course with less than 15 students is unlikely to run.• Parents are informed of the confirmed choices by May Half

term.


Which subjects to choose?ASK your child to consider the following…• Which subjects do you enjoy? (not which teachers)• Consider workload – some subjects have high

coursework requirements.• Keep options as open as possible.• It is also sensible not to combine certain subjects

because of their similarity/overlap.You cannot go wrong! By taking the compulsory core subjects with ANY choice, pupils can progress to ALL the courses in the Sixth form.


Some common questions:

Can I take Geography and History – YESCan I take French and German – YES Can I take ICT and Computing – YES in theory but I wouldn’t advise it, and Maths must be over level 5 for computingCan I take Graphics and Art – YESCan I take Art and Textiles –NOCan I take Graphics and Product design – NOCan anyone do Triple Science – No, you must be over level 5 potential.


More information

• Mrs Adamson as the AHS careers advisor will be

available at Parents’ Evening and can give advice

and information about courses, employment,

careers interviews etc.


Final thoughts

• Try to encourage your child to stick to their decision and not change their mind!• Before I hand you over to the heads of subject are there any

questions that will be of value to the whole audience?• If you have any specific questions please talk to Miss Turvey

or myself.• Please stick to the final deadline of 4th March.