Introduction

Dear Year 9, September will arrive quickly. When it does, you will be in Year 10 studying ten subjects, all of which you will be expecting to do well at, in GCSE or IGCSE examinations at the end of Year 11. The aim of this booklet is to give you information about the subject choices available to you. Please read it carefully and use it to support informed decisions. Enjoying your GCSE studies and achieving the strongest grade profile across them all is the goal; above all I would recommend you chose subjects in which you have received strong learning and attainment scores, and ones that have content you enjoy at Year 9.

Because you will not sit AS examinations at St Dunstan’s at the end of Year 12, your GCSE grades will be the only public examination results visible to universities (and employers) when you make applications to them in Year 13. That may seem like a long time away, but you should be aware now; strong grades across your subjects, and not just in your favourite few, will matter. Never has this outcome been more important to work towards, and so the choices you make now must be made carefully. The school will help you with this, and you must help yourself too.

The Middle School (Years 10 and 11) is a time of growing independence, responsibility, and choice. Making informed decisions now and through Years 10 and 11 is the way to give yourself greater opportunities later – over A Levels, universities, and careers. Before going into more detail about the subject choices, it is also important to remember that a healthy, successful, and enjoyable future is built on more than just academic results. In the Middle School there will be plenty of opportunities for you to develop other talents, knowledge, skills and interests. We expect you to stay involved in our vibrant Forder co-curricular programme, and to become more self-reliant and confident; to acquire greater experience in leadership and to undertake more responsibility within the College. You should also see the Middle School years as vital foundations for any competitive applications you might wish to make in Year 13, be that to Oxford, Cambridge, or courses such as Medicine, Veterinary Science, Dentistry, Engineering, etc. Our thriving ‘Aiming High’ programme is open to students in Years 10 and 11, and Medical Society is a must attend for all students with future applications for medical related degrees.

Choosing Your Options

Back to the subjects - the key purpose of this booklet! You will study courses leading to GCSE or IGCSE examinations in a ‘core’ of subjects expected by employers and universities to be at the heart of a young person’s GCSE profile, whatever his or her ultimate ambitions. That core is:

• Mathematics

• English Language

• English Literature

• Sciences - Biology, Physics and Chemistry (students will study all three sciences, either on the Double Award pathway (resulting in 2 GCSEs) or the Triple Award pathway (resulting in 3 GCSEs); you will be given advice over which pathways is most suitable for you before the start of Year 10 and again before the start of Year 11.

• Either a Modern Language (chosen from French, German, or Spanish, continuing with your Year 8 and Year 9 MFL option) or Latin (if you have opted for this in Year 9). If you have engaged successfully with the Dual Linguist programme through Forder then you can also pick a second MFL as one of your three options.

In addition to your ten subject choices, your curriculum time in Year 10 will include Games. Sport and Exercise Science (SES) will only be examined if you choose it as a specific GCSE subject. Games is not examined.

There is no one right way to make your choices. You may find it useful to ask yourself these questions, however:

• What do I enjoy studying the most?

• What am I achieving the best in, thinking about both my learning and attainment scores?

• Do I want to keep a wide balance of subject areas (humanities and creatives)?

• Are some subjects examined in a way that suits me more or less (such as via coursework, or not)?

These are all insightful questions to ask yourself and to raise with your teachers. Please think carefully about your GCSE choices, and do discuss them with teachers and parents, as well as friends.

Full details on how to submit your choices using our online system will be made available after options evening. Full details on how to submit your choices using our online system will be made available after options evening.

ARE THERE RESTRICTIONS ON THE SUBJECTS THAT MAY BE CHOSEN?

In so far as possible, we give you free choice. We expect to be able to give you what you choose on your form. On rare occasions it might not always be possible to allocate a student to all their first three choices due to timetabling or other constraints. This is unusual, and please assume it will not happen. If it does happen to you, we will be in touch with you and your parents before Year 10 begins to discuss the situation and the options available to you.

CAN YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND?

We create the timetable based on the original choices made. If you change your mind after submission of your original choices, we will make a note of the new request and review it in August to see if it can be accommodated within the timetable that has been created. We will not adjust the lists and timetable planning from the original choices between now and August. You will understand that re-planning timetables every time any individual changes their mind would make the process impossible to complete effectively. What this means is that we cannot guarantee that changes will be possible to accommodate, but we will try if you have requested them. Please do, therefore, make the choices now that to the very best of your consideration, you intend to stick with.

Gcse Options Deadline

We ask that you complete the online form on or before Friday 10 March 2023. Shortly after options evening full instructions will be sent to parents and carers outlining how to use our online form.

Looking Ahead

The College looks forward to celebrating your achievements by the end of Year 11 based on the choices you make. Our expectation is that you will complete your ten chosen subjects and meet our entry requirements into Sixth Form; the vast majority of students at the school exceed this minimum level of attainment to transition automatically in our Sixth Form considerably. In the rare circumstances where evidence in Years 10 and 11 suggests a student is not on track to meet this level and have these options available to them, the school will offer academic support and educational advice over how best to proceed. If the situation persists, our advice and expectation may be that you withdraw from one or two appropriate subjects to support best achievement in the rest. Our priority will always be to support students to a position where they have choices at the end of Year 11 based on as strong an overall GCSE profile as possible.

Thank you very much in advance for your careful decision making at this important and exciting time. We, as a school, look forward to advising and supporting you.

Mr J Holmes Deputy Head (Academic)