St Benedicts Catholic High School

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St Benedicts CatholicHigh School

• Curriculum Guidance for KS4 Options Evening
• 12 March 2008

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PhilosophyWhy we offer what we do.

• Opportunities

• Balance

• Breadth

• Areas of Experience

• Personalisation

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Breadth Balance

• Providing a range of educational opportunities
  across all curriculum areas.

• A sense of equal worth and parity without over
  emphasis on a particular area of the curriculum.

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Areas of Learning Experience

• Aesthetic creative

• Human social

• Linguistic literary

• Mathematical

• Moral

• Physical

• Scientific

• Spiritual

• Technological

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Pupil Areas of Experience
Linguistic / literary

• Aesthetic / creative

English / English literature French Spanish
Art Design Drama Theatre Arts Music
Moral / spiritual
Religious Education
Mathematical
Physical
Mathematics
Scientific
Physical Education
Balanced Science
Human / social
Technology
Information Technology Food Nutrition Product
Design Technology Graphics Products Technology
Geography History Integrated Humanities Personal
Social Education
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What makes a subject area unique?

• Essential ideas
• ?
• Key concepts

Key processes ? Skills and ways of
learning
Range and content ? Knowledge and
understanding
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Where does learning happen?
Locations Homework / school / college /
WE

Lessons A wide range of approaches e.g. enquiry,
active learning, practical, independent learning
Environment Fit for purpose / beyond school
Events Residential experiences sports activities
/ D of E whole school day
Out of school balance Part-time jobs / home
life holidays / support stability
Extended hours Beyond the classroom colleges,
Xtend, community based activities, active
citizenship
Routines Day to day learning and structure within
the learning environment Relationships ?
personal
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Personalisation
The concept that the curriculum needs of the
pupil are built around the pupil, personalising
the curriculum.
Allows for a range of curriculum opportunities to
meet the individual needs and requirements of the
pupil.
It allows individual students to achieve 5 14
different qualifications on leaving at 16 to give
appropriate access to their next stage of
learning at the highest level possible.
It requires of the pupil, parent and school to be
FLEXIBLE to enable the conflicting demands of
resourcing and meeting individual needs.
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Move from KS3 ?KS4

• 14 19 continuum 14 16 not in isolation

Progression routes - post 16 Access Colleges of
Further Education - G.C.S.Es entry
level Grammar 4 A C and Higher Level 5 A C
On-line prospectus
Range of qualifications GCSE VGCSE GNVQ NVQ
BTEC AiDA
GCSE A G E Average ???
Levels of Prediction 6/7 A C
Government policy to promote languages 60
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St Benedicts Catholic High SchoolNumber of
pupils achieving 5 x A - C grades
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What will a Year 10 timetable look like?25
period week of 1 hour lessons
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What will a Year 10 timetable look like?contd
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What will a Year 10 timetable look like?contd
4 Options of 2 hours per block of Options
16 of time - 84 other
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Typical Year 11 Timetable
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Typical Year 11 Timetable with SWIFT
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Examples of How Option Choicesare Structured
116 pupils 6 groups 19.3
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Examples of Subject Advice

• What you will do

• How you will do it

• What you will achieve

• Homework Requirements

• Parental Support

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KS4 Curriculum Guide Options Booklet 2008

• Pages
• Help Chart 8
• Tips for Parents 9 - 10
• Useful Websites 11
• Glossary of Terms 12
• GCSE 13
• Methods of Assessment 14
• Progress File 14
• Snags 15
• Key Tasks for Pupils 16
• What can I choose? 17
• Advice from Connexions 18
• What is on offer 19 - 73

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St Benedicts Catholic High SchoolKinwarton
Road, Alcester, Warks. B49 6PXOPTION PRIORITY
FORM(Please read instructions carefully overleaf)

• Pupils Name Form
• The subjects your son/daughter can choose from
  for Years 10 and 11 are
• Art, Business Communication Systems,
  Citizenship, Drama, Food Nutrition, French,
  French Spanish Asset Languages , Geography,
  Graphic Products Technology, History, ICT AiDA,
  ICT CiDA, Learning Support, Music, Physical
  Education, Product Design Technology,
  SWIFT, Textiles Technology, Spanish, Science
  (students taking 3 Sciences must opt for Science
  in 4a), ICT Functional Skills, Study Plus for
  identified and invited students requiring
  additional support in Maths and English.

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OPTION PRIORITY FORM contd

• Available for Short Course only.
• Available in Full and Short Course time.
• Please note that if you opt for ICT CiDA
  it requires 4 hours contact time which needs
  to be negotiated (see page 60 in this booklet).
• If you are taking SWIFT you must have a
  P.E. lesson in 4b unless studying GCSE
  P.E. (See Mr Nallen)
• Certain other GCSE subjects and other
  qualifications can be taken after school as part
  of the Xtend programme within SWIFT.

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Subject Priorities

• 1. Full Course
• 2. Full Course
• 3. .... Full Course
• Then either
• Full Course
• OR 4a. . Only complete 4a or b if
  you are doing 3 Sciences, ICT CiDA, and/or other
  short courses see list above.
• AND 4b. .. If you are doing other
  short courses you must place them in 4a or 4b.
  If you are doing SWIFT you must have a PE lesson
  in 4b.
• I would like my son/daughter to be considered
  for a qualification in ______________________
  after school as part of the
  Xtend programme.
• My reserve subject would be
• Comments or questions i.e. you may wish your
  son or daughter to be considered for the 3
  sciences. (Any other questions or concerns
  could also be included here.)
• 
  
• .
  
  .
• Signed .............
  Parent/Guardian Date ..

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Asset Languages

• A course with an external qualification, of
  varying level, which gives an alternative to GCSE
  MFL, allowing pupils to continue with foreign
  language acquisition in French and Spanish.

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English and Maths Study

• Additional study time to increase pupils on D /
  E borderline to achieve a C grade and to see
  the relevance of the application of maths and
  English across curriculum areas.
• BY INVITATION ONLY

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SWIFT P.E

• If students opt to do subjects on the SWIFT
  Programme and cannot access P.E within that
  programme/context they must opt to do P.E within
  option block D. This will mean a limited choice
  of activity, ie
• Boys football/rugby
• Girls hockey/netball

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Snags !

• Snag 1
• Not everyone gets his or her first choice some
  subjects have to be timetabled at the same time
  and you cannot be in two lessons at once.

Snag 2 If some subjects are chosen by too few
people, it may not be possible to run a course.
Please note I am not a con man or I try not to
be.