Childwall Sports and Science Academy

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Guided Choices

Welcome to the Guided Choices section of the website. This is an exciting and important time for Year 9 students. It is the first time that they and their parent/carers can make decisions about what they study. There are many different types of courses available at Key Stage 4, some that students have not studied before. There are also many changes to the curriculum for our students at Key Stage 4.

Some of these changes have been made in school to ensure that we offer a broad and balanced curriculum which allows clear pathways for all our students up to the age of eighteen and beyond.

There are several compulsory subjects that all students in Years 10 and 11 must study as part of the Key Stage 4 curriculum. These subjects are:

  • English Language and Literature
  • Mathematics
  • Science (Trilogy - new double award) 
  • Core Physical Education
  • Religious Education

The other subjects that students select are dependent on what they may wish to study in the future and what their career pathways may be. Often students do not have any ideas at this stage which is why we encourage a broad curriculum to keep post-16 pathways open. Students are guided to make choices with advice from experts in school who know them well, such as their form tutors, their head of year and subject teachers, together with senior teachers with responsibility for careers and pathways.

THE PATHWAYS

Childwall Sports and Science Academy offer students four individualised pathways which are outlined below.

Pathway  

Pathway 1 - ASPIRE

(The English Baccalaureate Pathway)    

 Pathway 1 (The English-Baccalaureate Pathway) is for our most able students who are capable of achieving the top grades at GCSE. They are the students who are most likely to progress to take A-levels at the end of Year 11 and then go on to a Russell Group University. The English Baccalaureate is a combination of subjects that must be achieved together at grade 5 or above. It is not a qualification and it is not a subject.
  • We strongly advise all students to take Triple Science (Physics, Chemistry and Biology) which is the most suitable progression route for A-level Sciences.      
  • We strongly advise all students to take a combination of subjects that gives them the English Baccalaureate. To obtain the English Baccalaureate you will need to choose Spanish and at least one from History or Geography GCSE and achieve at least a grade 5 (old grade C) or above.
  • If the students choose Triple Science, a humanity subject and Spanish, they have one other option from a range of GCSE subjects that will be on offer. Note: BTEC courses are not on offer on this pathway.

Pathway 2 - INSPIRE

(The Dual Pathway)

 Pathway 2 (The Dual Pathway) is for students who are capable of gaining at least a grade 5 (old grade C) in a range of GCSE qualifications. This pathway offers two options:
  • Option 1 offers the English Baccalaureate combination of subjects.
  • Option 2 offers a combination of GCSE's and GCSE equivalents.
The pathway offers a range of subjects from academic GCSE courses to applied BTEC courses. This gives students a range of options at the end of Year 11.These students will not have the choice of Triple Science, they will be studying for the new GCSE Science – Trilogy (worth 2 GCSEs). However, there will be a range of GCSE and BTEC subjects on offer which will include humanities and Spanish.

Pathway 3 - PRAISE

(The Foundation Pathway)

 Pathway 3 (The Foundation Pathway) is for students who may take more time to gain a range of level 2 qualifications at grades 5 (old grade C) and above. It offers a steady progression route where students can take a level 1 course or a combination of level 1 and level 2 courses during Years 10 and 11. Level 1 courses are equivalent to a GCSE grade 4-1 (old grades D-G) and are suitable as a stepping stone to level 2 courses taken in the sixth form. These courses give students a range of options at the end of Year 11. They could come to our sixth form and progress to a level 2 course such as level 2 Business Studies or Sport or a mixed level 2 and level 3 BTEC course. These are the students that will be in the sixth form for 3 years. These students will not have access to Triple Science, History or Geography and possibly a language.

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