Year 9 Options
Options Choices for Yr9 students (2023-2024)
You can view an introductory video for parents about the option process here.
You can download a presentation on the Year 9 to Year 10 transition process below:
Years 10 and 11
Over the next two years you will be following a course that will enable you to achieve a strong GCSE profile.
Everyone will study:
English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, Science that will lead to a triple or double award and at least one Modern Foreign Language.
Everyone has a lesson a week of Games.
In addition, there are the subjects you can choose: the options.
THE OPTIONS
We expect that you have been thinking about these already but now is the time to start thinking very seriously about what subjects you would like to choose and what subjects you ought to be choosing. There are no easy subjects or hard subjects. You may find some subjects easier or harder than others but the most important factors that will decide how well you do in a specific subject are your motivation, your effort, your organisation and your determination to do well. You need to ask yourself some very searching questions:
- Am I on target to achieve a grade 5 in the subjects (or similar subjects) I would like to do?
- If not, what can I do to raise the level of my work?
- Have I discussed my progress with my form tutor recently?
- Have I spoken to my subject teacher and taken on board their recommendations?
- Have I shown good motivation so far?
- Do I really know what the subject involves?
- Have I thought ahead and considered possible career paths to see if this subject would be useful?
Don’t forget that it is also essential to have a balanced option choice so that if you have a change of mind about what you want to do at a later date you can do so because you have a good range of GCSEs.
Find out as much as you can about the subjects by asking the staff who teach you. Ask lots of questions at the Options Fair.
Remember to discuss your options at home as well although when you make your final choices it must be your decision because you are the one who has got to put in all the hard work.
Teaching staff have their own views on your suitability for their subject and have put forward a recommendation on a 1-4 scale (issued in December).
Option Choices
We ask you to make three option choices.
You can choose from the subjects below.
In addition all Students will have a choice of French or Spanish as their core language. If they wish to choose both languages they will study French as their core language and Spanish as their option.
Some notes of caution
Before you make your choice you must read the information in this booklet very carefully.
You also need to make sure that your parents attend the GCSE Options Fair and the Parents’ Consultation Evening.
In order to ensure you have as much breadth as possible in your options you MUST choose one of the Humanities (Geography, History, Religious Studies) and we suggest that you choose a 'Creative subject' such as Art, Drama, Music, Computing, Catering or Product Design-DT.
You cannot select both Business Studies and Health & Social Care
When making your choices, remember that some subjects can be picked up again in Year 12, if you don’t choose them now.
Here is list of the option choices:
- Art and Design
- Business Studies
- Geography
- Health & Social Care
- Music
- Drama
- Computer Science
- Religion & Philosophy
- Product Design (DT)
- History
- Spanish
- Catering (Food Technology)
- Physical Education
Your reserve choices
It is important that you think about this carefully. You may be asked to use a reserve choice if the combination of subjects you have asked for cannot be fitted into the timetable. We may also ask you to use your reserve choice if a group is oversubscribed. In this instance, your career choice, your commitment and your motivation towards work in Year 9 will be taken into consideration. The number of groups we can offer for a subject is dictated by how many staff are available to teach a subject and it is not always possible to create another group just because we have a large number of students who are requesting a certain subject. We wish we could! Sometimes the number of students who wish to choose a subject may be very small and these groups are not financially viable. For every small group that is taught groups will be correspondingly bigger in other subjects and we do try to make our option groups as small as possible.
If you are asked to use your reserve choice then we will sit down and talk to you about this and discuss what is a good way forward bearing in mind what you have put down for your career choice.
Your career choice
Some of you already have a very clear idea of what you want to do but very many of you do not know what career path you want to do but others may not. So write down what sort of career you would like to do or whether you would like to work in a particular environment. You might complete the form like this.
- I definitely want to be a teacher.
- I think I might be a lawyer.
- I want to work with people.
- Something to do with computers or technology.
- I want to be able to travel a lot.
- I would like to do something with aeronautics.
- Working with animals appeals to me.
- I want to be a leader.
- Media and advertising really appeal to me.
Filling in and submitting the form
When you fill in the form it is important to put your choice in order with your most preferred choice first and it is equally important that you think about the order for your reserve choice of subjects.
Your option choices are checked against what staff have recommended.
If you do not fill in the form fully, it will be returned to you.
The deadline for handing in the form is Monday, 19th February 2024. If you are absent on the day and you do not telephone your information into school, it will be counted as late.
You can, of course, give in your option form earlier but this does not mean that your choices will be considered ahead of someone who has handed in their form on Monday, 19th February 2024.
Late option forms will be treated differently to forms received on time and could mean that your choices will automatically be considered for using the reserved choice, if the need arises.
Once you have handed in your form, you have made your choice.
Completed forms should be handed in to the Lower School.
Hard copies of the form are available via the lower office if you cannot download the form.
What happens next?
Firstly, we enter your choices into the school administrative network and then we send this information out to you via your form tutor to check that we have entered it correctly. Then we work on the possible combinations. If there are any problems with your choices we will speak to you as soon as possible.
Good luck in choosing!
KEY DATES
Monday 8th January: Subject recommendations issued to students in PSHE lesson. Electronic version sent to parents.
Thursday 11th January: Options fair and Consultation Evening
Monday 19th February: deadline for option form completion and return