Year 9 Options: Curriculum

A Balanced Curriculum

Curriculum Rationale

Heart of England’s curriculum demonstrates our motto of ‘Creating Futures’.  It is designed to maintain a broad curriculum so that students don’t narrow their options too early.  This enables them to leave with a clutch of qualifications that help them to be competitive against their peer group in the modern jobs market.  In addition to this, the curriculum content broadens horizons and helps students understand the world we live in.

As a consequence, having studied a broad and balanced curriculum for three years in Key Stage 3, students now have the opportunity to make some choices about what they study at Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11).

The majority of students study the core curriculum, shown below:

The hours given to study in the core are as follows:

Subject

Hours per fortnight

Subject

Hours per fortnight

English

8

A Modern Foreign Language

5

Mathematics

7

History or Geography

5

Combined Science

9

Physical Education

4

Separate Sciences (must be taken as an option, see below)

14 =

9 (Core) + 5 (option)

Religious Studies

2

 

In addition to this, students pick two subjects from the selection below

Hours per fortnight

Art, Art Photography, Business Studies, Computer Science, Design BTEC, Drama, Food & Nutrition, Geography, Health & Social Care, History, Media Studies, Music, OCR Physical Education, Product Design, Separate Sciences

10

(5 per subject)

All courses, with the exception of PE, are externally assessed.

Reduced Core

We believe that the Core Curriculum is the best basis for our students to stand on equal footing with peers in a world of competitive applications for jobs, apprenticeships, and college courses. However, we also understand that for some students this suite of subjects does not fit their needs.  If parents and carers believe that a Reduced Core is more suitable for the educational needs of their child and their profile as a learner, then they are invited to apply for the Reduced Core Curriculum shown below:

 

In addition to this, students pick three subjects from the selection below

Hours per fortnight

Art, Art Photography, Business Studies, Computer Science, Design BTEC, Drama, Food & Nutrition, Geography, Health & Social Care, History, Media Studies, Music, OCR Physical Education, Product Design, Separate Sciences

10

(5 per subject)

To apply for the Reduced Core, please complete the short form found here by Friday 3 March:

Every effort is made to give students their first choice, regardless of whether students follow the Core Curriculum or Reduced Core; however, courses may be oversubscribed or there may be insufficient numbers for a course to be viable.  In either eventuality, all students’ choices will be considered carefully.  It is therefore extremely important that students also think very carefully about what they would choose if one of their options did not run.

Combinations of Subjects

Due to content overlap, it is not permissible to study the following combinations of subjects:

  • Art + Art Photography
  • Design BTEC + Art
  • Design BTEC + Product Design

Additionally

  • Product Design & Food Preparation & Nutrition cannot both be chosen as they will be timetabled concurrently

German ab initio

This year we are again running a GCSE language course from scratch in two years.  While we believe that passing a GCSE in a modern language, having studied it for 5 years, is achievable by most of our students, taking a GCSE in a new language from scratch is really challenging.  As such, the option of studying German from the beginning will only be open to those students who, in both their Autumn & Spring Term reports, have ‘excellent’ for every category of the language they are currently studying.  Students who achieve this will receive an email informing them that this option is open to them, but they are under no obligation to take it.  Other students will continue with the language that they are currently studying. 

Please note: if the number of students wishing to take this course is not great enough, it will not run.

Options: Key Dates 2023

  • w/c 30 January
    • Year 9 Assemblies
    • Virtual Launch to Parents/Carers
  • Weds 1 February: In-person Information Evening for Parents
  • Weds 8 February: Submission of Options Morning choices
  • Weds 15 February: Options Morning
  • Tues 28 February: Year 9 Parent/Teacher Consultation
  • Wed 1 March:  SIMS Options online portal open
  • Friday 3 March: Deadline for applications for Reduced Core
  • Wed 15 March: Deadline for submission of GCSE options
  • March – May: Processing of options forms
    • Consultation with individual students
    • Final option choices confirmed
  • May/June: Students informed of options choices
  • September 2023: Courses commence
 
 

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