LEARNING FOR LIFE • LEARNING FOR LIFE • LEARNING FOR LIFE • LEARNING FOR LIFE
…Continued from page 22 Independent schools may also be able to offer a more flexible approach to subjects at GCSE than state schools, where juggling the resources of timetables and teaching staff mean not all students are able to pursue their preferred subjects
Most schools offer option ‘blocks’ based on subject demand and availability of staff and a handful of students each year struggle to fit their chosen subjects into this strict spreadsheet system. The pressure on schools themselves to ‘perform’ in terms of league tables means some now introduce GCSE coursework as early as Year 9 and, by Year 11 (the fifth form in ‘old money’) pupils are taking AS and A level exams, more usually associated with sixth form studies.
A wide variety of subjects can be no bad thing, however, offering students a greater choice of further education and career prospects. Many students who enjoy a subject to GCSE level find the A- level syllabus much more demanding, different – or plain tedious – and it soon slips down their list of preferred options! Fortunately, pupil appraisals,
who have no real idea where their future lies is always to follow the subjects they enjoy the most – as this is more likely to yield good results – as well as a happy student.
Well-rounded students with a broad-based knowledge are always welcome at colleges and universities – hence some schools deciding to offer the IB (International Baccalaureate) as an alternative to A-levels.
It’s a system which has worked well in Europe for years and one which enthusiastic, outgoing and good ‘all-rounders’ find especially attractive.
However, even your choice of university degree is not the be all and end all. How many of us know someone who has gone into a job totally unrelated to his or her degree subject?
careers interviews and ‘enrichment days’ tend to ‘guide’ the student in the right direction, to maximise their talents and their aspirations. Scholars who have firm ideas on
a future career will naturally select the appropriate subjects at A-level which will gain them a place at University.
However, the advice to those
Obviously, if you want to be a doctor, a lawyer or a vet, it’s a different matter …..but arts, science, humanities and ‘ologies’ still open doors to a wide choice of exciting careers.
Whatever stage of life your children have reached, welcome to the new term, together with its new challenges – and have a happy New Year!
24
Maidstone South September 2014
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