Careers Development Programme

Choosing the right subjects for GCSE Daily Routine

WHAT TO WEAR Your son/daughter will make initial GCSE choices in You should wear your full school uniform or LWC sports kit during the school working day, so until February so that next year’s timetable can be blocked 4.00pm or the end of your activities (whatever is later). and staffing planned. They will confirm their choices at the end of this term. There is the opportunity to add The dress code for tea is ‘relaxed’ BUT please don’t wear dirty shorts. You will be sent back to your any supporting comments on both initial and final boarding house to change if you do. option-choice forms if you feel particularly strongly about the choices that have been made. Once the final Exeats and Half Terms options form is submitted, the allocation of options It is also worth remembering College finishes at 4.00pm (or after your activity) on exeat or half terms. will be made based on the information supplied on the form. Once choices have been made, the College reserves Saturday the right to withdraw any courses for which there is 8.45—9.15 am Breakfast insufficient demand.

We try to accommodate all subject choices within 9.10 am Latest time for all boys to register the prescribed framework. However, subjects are 9.30 am Activity sometimes oversubscribed and availability of staffing prevents additional classes. If this is the case, we will 11.30 am End of Saturday School contact you to discuss alternatives. 12.00 pm Lunch

On the following pages, you will find more information about each subject, as well as some useful advice from Afternoon Sports Fixtures the Head of Careers and Higher Education, Sharon 3.45 pm End of lessons

Allmark. These will help you when weighing up the various factors involved in making the most appropriate choices.

Stephen Badger

Deputy Head (Teaching & Learning)

GCSE Reforms House Life

EVENING ROUTINE

• All GCSE subjects are now graded and assessed using the new 9-1 structure; • 9 is the highest grade, awarded to the very best candidates in the subject. The official definition of a grade-9 candidate is that they will be ‘in the top 20% of those achieving grades 7-9 in the subject’; • In every subject, the content is more demanding and the assessment more rigorous than previously; • The assessment will be mainly by exam. In some subjects such as Drama and Art, other types of assessment will be used only where they are needed to test essential skills. For further information about assessment, please speak to the relevant Head of Department. Tiering of exams The new GCSEs are only split into foundation tier and higher tier if one single exam paper does not give all students the opportunity to show their knowledge and abilities. Consequently, exams are tiered in Biology, Chemistry, French, German, Maths, Physics and Spanish. New grading structure Current grading structure 9 A* 8 7 6 5 4 C 3 D 2 E F 1 G U U

9 is awarded to those pupils achieving what would currently be a top A*: perhaps at around 96%+

GOOD PASS (DfE) 5 and above = top of C and above Schools are no longer AWARDING assessed on A*-C 4 and above = bottom of C and above statistics, but on ‘9-4’ statistics.

Activities may run at any time in the evenings between 4.00pm and 9.00pm. These may be academic, cultural or sporting. These are voluntary, but pupils (including day pupils) will be expected to attend some specified compulsory enrichment or school events, and are expected to attend rehearsals, etc. to which they are committed. You may be collected at any time in the evening but you must sign out before you leave. 6.45 pm Registration in houses 7.00-9.00 pm Quiet time in houses in which prep is to be completed. 9.00 pm 6th Formers may go to 6th Form Centre until 10.10 pm 9.30 pm 3rd Form should be in rooms ready for bed with a book to read 9.45 pm 3rd Form lights out 9.45 pm 4th Form should be in rooms ready for bed with a book to read 10.00 pm 4th Form lights out 10.00 pm 5th Form should be in rooms ready for bed with a book to read 10.15 pm 5th Form lights out A Under the updated 6th Form must be back in house. External doors are locked and intruder alarm set structure, the ‘good 11.00 pm B 6th Form should be in their own rooms and be quiet. pass’ for Maths and English is a 5, which is on the border between a C and a B under the old system.