THE CORE CURRICULUM


ENGLISH LANGUAGE & ENGLISH LITERATURE


GCSE Exam Board: AQA


English Language and English Literature are compulsory subjects for the majority of pupils (the exception being pupils for whom English is not their first language). The course is taught across Years 10 and 11, and leads to two GCSE qualifications at the end of Year 11; pupils who study both Language and Literature will greatly benefit from the transferable skills learnt across the two subjects. Pupils will be placed in a group appropriate to their ability, taking into account their performance in English in the middle school and particularly in Year 9. The content of the course is designed to inspire and motivate pupils; it is an extension of the type of tasks encountered by pupils in KS3, with new skills being introduced to stretch and challenge them further. Pupils will develop their language analysis; they will write coherently and accurately for different purposes and audiences; they will read and study a range of texts; they will be encouraged to read a variety of literature for enjoyment; they will participate in spoken language tasks. How is the course assessed? The course will prepare pupils for the examinations in the summer term of Year 11; all assessments are compulsory. English Language: • Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing – 50% of final mark.


• Paper 2: Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives – 50% of final mark.


• Non-examination Assessment: Spoken Language – separate endorsement.


English Literature: • Paper 1: Shakespeare and the 19th Century Novel – 40% of final mark.


• Paper 2: Modern Texts and Poetry – 60% of final mark.


MATHEMATICS GCSE Exam Board: Edexcel


Mathematics is a compulsory subject which is examined at two levels, Foundation and Higher. Foundation tier candidates can attain grades 1 to 5 and Higher tier grades range from 4 to 9.


Students will be put into appropriate sets. For many of our students it will be clear which tier will be most suitable for them, and they will study the relevant curriculum throughout the two years. For some students, we can make the decision on the most appropriate tier further into the course. This is due to the large amount of crossover material in the Foundation and Higher curriculum. The GCSE is studied over years 10 and 11,


however it assumes prior knowledge of the Maths covered in the middle school. It is broken down into 6 areas: Number, Algebra, Geometry, Ratio and Proportion, Probability and Statistics. This new GCSE has been designed to be more challenging than in previous years with students being required to memorise far more formulae with a greater emphasis on problem solving and reasoning techniques. How is the course assessed? The course is linear, so all the exams are sat at the end of Year 11. All candidates will sit three examinations, one non-calculator and the other two calculator. Students can expect all the curriculum content to be covered in the examination with many skills being required more than once. There is no controlled assessment component in Mathematics.


SCIENCE All pupils have to study Science at Key Stage 4; some pupils will take a Combined Science course which leads to two GCSEs and some pupils will opt for the three single sciences leading to GCSE Biology, GCSE Chemistry and GCSE Physics. The GCSE (9-1) science courses have been designed be more challenging than in previous years with students being required to memorise far more formulae. Core practicals are a feature of the course and these are assessed within the exam papers.


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