Key Stage 4 and Year 9 Options
Key Stage 4 Curriculum and Year 9 Options Process
Our core purpose at Wyvern Academy is to ensure that all students strive for excellence and leave us ready for their next successful chapter, with our students attending college, university or starting a fulfilling career. Our aim is to enrich lives and inspire ambitions to ensure students thrive in the world around us.
Year 9 students confirm their Options choices for Key Stage 4 in the Spring Term. During their time in Years seven, eight and nine, students study a rich and varied curriculum. In Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11), there is an element of choice in order to allow students to specialise and study subjects of interest in greater depth.
Students will continue to study a number of compulsory subjects in Years 10 and 11. Our core curriculum consists of English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, Combined Sciences, Physical Education and Personal Development (PSHCE, RSE, Citizenship and RE).
All students in Year 9 will be required to choose either French, Geography or History as part of their Key Stage 4 curriculum. There are a wide range of additional options subjects to choose from, including Art, Business and Enterprise, Computer Science, Drama, Engineering, Health and Social Care, Music and Triple Sciences. A full list can be found in the accompanying booklet (link above).
At Wyvern Academy we support all learners to access the English Baccalaureate (EBacc). The EBacc is not a qualification in its own right but rather a combination of GCSE subjects. In order to achieve the English Baccalaureate, students should have a mix of GCSE subjects which includes English, Mathematics, Science, History or Geography
and a language. A study by the UCL Institute of Education shows that studying subjects included in the EBacc provides students with greater opportunities in further education and increases the likelihood that a pupil will stay on in
full-time education. Sutton Trust research reveals that studying the EBacc can help improve a young person’s performance in English and Maths.
In order to further support students in making informed and the correct decision for them, at the end of Key Stage 3, we hold a number of events which provide opportunities for students and parents, to gain a greater understanding of the process and what is on offer in Key Stage 4. These opportunities include:
- A one-hour careers meeting with our Careers Leader, Miss Longstaff, where students have the opportunity to explore options choices in depth as well as considering options at both Post-16 and Post-18
- A full presentation explaining the process, their available choices and the importance of the decisions
- A series of taster sessions delivered in departments to support decision-making about KS4 options
- A dedicated Parents’ Options Evening which explains the process in detail and supports a clearer understanding of how choices and decisions should be made