1. Welcome to our BTEC Information Evening 2013

2. Outline of the Evening  Why change the curriculum?  What are BTECs & what BTECs do we offer?  What do our pupils think of BTECs?  How do BTECs compare to GCSEs?  What are the impacts of wider educational reform?  Questions

3. Choosing Your Options From September 2013 pupils will be able to study:  GCSEs  BTECs  Other qualifications (ASDAN, OCR, NCfE)

4. Why Change the Curriculum? 2009  76% 5 A*-C grades  72 % 5A*-C grades including En & Ma 2010  90% 5 A*-C grades  75 % 5A*-C grades including En & Ma 2011  98% 5 A*-C grades  77% 5A*-C grades including En & Ma 2012  99.4% 5 A*-C grades  80% 5A*-C grades including En & Ma

5. The Trend  In 2009, 24% of pupils did not gain 5 A*-C grades in their GCSE’s  By 2010 this had fallen to 10%......  ………and by 2012 this was less than 1%! Why?  Sharper use of data to focus specific support  Introduction of new courses  New BTEC Courses  Wider Key Skills  Adult literacy & numeracy (ALaN)  Nutrition & Health (NCfE)  IT OCR

6. BTECs  What are they?  Qualifications that….  …offer an alternative to GCSEs & can be studied alongside these  …focus on learning that is practical and relevant to the workplace  …are mostly continually assessed – some external assessment!  …will help pupils to progress to Further Education, Higher Education and the world of work.

7. What BTECs Can pupils study?  Sport  Business Studies  IT  Performing Arts  Health and Social Care  Principles of Applied Science  Application of Science All subjects and will give the equivalent of 1 GCSE graded A*-C

8. Last Year’s Option Form Option A Option B Option C Option D Art & Design DramaMusic Child Development GeographyGraphics Physical Education Sport BTEC SpanishFoodGraphicsRMSystemsTextiles Art & Design Business Studies Business BTEC FrenchHistoryGeographyHistoryRSDrama H & S Care BTEC ICT BTEC PEStatistics College Link FrenchGerman Business Studies ComputingHistory P. Arts BTEC RSRM College Link

9. Why Study BTECs Instead of GCSEs?  All pupils will study GCSEs in Year 10 & some will opt to study BTECs alongside these.  Pass rates are generally higher in BTECs due to the nature of the courses and the way in which they are assessed.  Since September 2012 GCSEs have become linear in nature (no more modular exams).  Pupils who opt only to study GCSEs may not always gain the grades required to access ‘A’ Levels at Post-16

10. How Will BTECs Help My Child?  BTECs are equivalent in value to GCSEs and can compliment pupils’ learning styles.  We offer progression routes from Level 2-3 for all BTECs courses  Some pupils will achieve greater success by following a Level 3 course at Post-16  BTEC qualifications are widely recognised by employers and educational institutions alike.

11. Educational Reform  The Government recently published details of their reforms to KS 4 performance tables, which come into force in 2014 (current Yr 10).  Vocational qualifications will be recognised alongside a core of GCSEs in the headline measures and in the wider performance tables from 2014 onwards.

12. The key changes being introduced are:  All KS4 qualifications will be recorded and published.  The Government has published a list of qualifications that will contribute to the headline measures, including 5 GCSEs (or equivalent) at A*-C including English and Maths.  The headline measures will count all qualifications, regardless of size, as being equivalent to 1 GCSE. Qualifications must:  be at least as big as a GCSE (120 GLH)  be Graded (not just pass/fail)  have an element of external assessment worth at least 20% of the final grade

13. Questions