Key Stage 4 (Year 10, 11)

All students in Key stage 4 study the core subjects of English Language and Literature, Mathematics, Science, Religious Studies, Physical Education and PSHCE. In addition to these core subjects, students choose an appropriate personalised pathway from a range of courses which are carefully selected to match their learning needs and maximise achievement. Students choose one of three pathways which are detailed in the Key Stage 4 options booklet found below. As of September 2016, there have been changes to the way all GCSE courses have been taught and graded. The main features are:

• A new grading scale of 9 to 1, with 9 being the top grade. This is to allow greater differentiation between students and to help distinguish the new GCSEs from previous versions.
• Assessment is mainly by exam, with other types of assessment used only when they are needed to test essential skills.
• New, more demanding content, developed by the government and exam boards.
• Courses are designed for two years of study. They will no longer be divided into different modules and students will take all their exams in one period at the end of their course.
• Exams can only be split into ‘foundation tier’ and ‘higher tier’ if one exam paper does not give all students the opportunity to show their knowledge and abilities.
• Resit opportunities will only be available each November in English Language and Mathematics.

Effective GCSE Revision Skills 2020

For each subject area, there is an assessment overview which include information about the examation board, length of each examination and examination content.

There are links to the exam board websites, revision lists for Year 10 and Year 11, revision guides shared with students as well as links to the Open Evening and Year Ahead Curriculum pages.