Option Choices

All students will be directed into one of four pathways at the beginning of Year 9. Each is designed to ensure that choices are appropriate taking into account prior data, progress during Year 7 and Year 8 and future aspirations. The aim is to keep the curriculum as broad as possible in Year 9 before further refinement of choices happens in Year 10. There will be a selection of choices which will be compulsory for all students to ensure as many options as possible are open to students at the end of the GCSE course. All students as they move from Year 8 to Year 9 will continue with their core studies in English, Maths, Science, Modern Foriegn Languages and at least one Humanities subject.. PE and PSHE will also continue to be delivered as part of the core curriculum. Students following the GCSE PE course will be selected by the PE Department. To ensure all students have access to an EBacc qualification at the end of Year 9 it will be a requirement that all students continue with their Languages studies in either French or Spanish. They will also be required to choose between continuing to study either History or Geography. Finally, inline with our commitment as a MISST School, Music will continue to be delivered to all students in Year 9. As students continue through from Year 9 to Year 10 they will further refine their guided choices. Taking into account their future aspirations and academic performance they will choose to complete one of their courses of study in Year 9 and focus on the options they will be most successful in. The Pathways are outlined below with the required subjects for each and the suggested choices for each pathway.