Year 9 Options

Our Year 9 students are at a critical stage of their secondary education, where key decisions need to be made about what to study for the next two years for GCSEs.

It is important that the Academy and your family work together to help guide you and inform these important decisions. The GCSE choices you make will be amongst the most important decisions in your school career. 

Our curriculum is outstanding and designed to ensure you can study the subjects that will lead to your chosen destination. There are a range of subjects offered within each option block, which will enable you to flourish in the next step of your education and life. 

Some key questions to discuss before making your decisions should include:

• What areas would I like to work in as an adult? 
• What university courses would I like to apply for? 
• What A-Levels or Apprenticeships would be best for me to begin studying? 
• What subjects am I successful in? 
• What are my strengths? 

We have high expectations for all of our students and would encourage as many students as possible to study subjects that allow them to achieve the EBacc (English Baccalaureate). This would include choosing either history or geography and a language. This route is strongly recommended for those students considering applying to a top university.

We also offer a range of high quality vocational qualifications that combine coursework and examinations, alongside a number of creative subjects that ensure students can develop their passions. 

Students should not make their choices based on what their friends are doing or whether they like a particular teacher. They should choose options that they enjoy and are likely to have the best possible outcomes. 

If you have any questions about particular subjects, you can email the Subject Leaders directly using the email addresses found on the Subjects webpage.

Making the right choices

It is important that you have a broad and balanced curriculum. Get as much help and information from your subject teachers, tutor, Faculty Directors and parents or carers. Try to consider the following factors when considering your choices:

• Your interest and enjoyment of those subjects
• Your ability and progression in those subjects so far
• That they are a sensible combinations (they give you a broad and balanced education) 

It is too easy for students’ choices to be determined by a single narrow consideration. Above all, we recommend that students study the subjects that they enjoy most and at which they perform best. It is most likely that these are the subjects which would earn them the best grades at GCSE and that they will be among the subjects from which the students will eventually select their A-Levels.

Students should avoid choosing a subject if, in the opinion of their teachers, they are unlikely to secure a good GCSE in line with their target grade.

It is worth remembering that a choice of career at this stage is premature and, experience shows, unlikely to last. A large proportion of students change their minds about careers (if they have any firm ideas at all) many times before the end of their education. It is important in choosing option subjects to decide, not just based on current interests, but with a view to retaining a breadth of options for A-Level or Further Education and beyond.

Universities will increasingly look to GCSE results when considering applications from students. Furthermore, there are entry requirements for individual A-Level subjects. It is therefore important that students choose subjects in which they can expect to achieve good grades.

Whilst a change of course can be considered in the first two weeks of the Autumn term, it is not always possible or wise to change options.

What subjects will you study? 

Every student will study all of the core subjects:

•     English Language
•     English Literature 
•     Mathematics 
•     Science
•     Core Physical Education (which is not assessed)

Students will then need to consider four option subjects from the list of subjects we offer. This information will be set out in our Year 9 Pathways booklet, which will be given to families during our Options Evening during Year 8.

Can I study a Community Language? 

All students who can already speak, read and write a language other than English, such as German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Polish, Turkish, Mandarin, Japanese, Urdu, Bengali or Arabic, may be able to take a GCSE in the language. This is a fantastic opportunity to gain an additional qualification and have this linguistic ability officially recognised. This is also a skill that is much sought after by employers. Students will need to provide evidence of their ability and study independently for the exam. More details will be available in our Year 9 Pathways booklet.