YEAR 10 GUIDANCE EVENING 2015

Progress 8

The Government have introduced a new value-added performance measure which will replace 5+ A*-C inc Maths/English as the main accountability measure

The Progress 8 measure is designed to encourage schools to offer a broad and balanced curriculum at KS4, and reward schools for the teaching of all their pupils. (DfE Feb 2014) Progress 8 is designed to better reflect the performance of schools.

The main published performance measure for schools will be: Average Attainment8/Progress 8 score % or pupils achieving grade 5 in both English & Maths School - % of pupils achieving the Ebacc % of pupils who went on to sustained education, employment or training

Pupils average this many GCSE grades above similar ability peers Pupils average this Grade across their best 8 GCSEs This % of pupils pass both English and Maths This % of pupils attain the Ebacc How it might look when published +0.4B−65%34%

It is being suggested that the following figures will also be published: Pupil - Average grade above/below similar ability peers Pupil - Average grade across the best 8 subjects

A pupil’s Progress 8 score is defined by the DfE as being their actual Attainment 8 Score minus the estimated Attainment 8 score (based on KS2 levels) The estimated Attainment 8 score comes from an average of a pupil’s KS2 Reading Level and Maths Level Pupil targets have been set and are (generally) higher than the DfE estimated figures

In 2017 grades 1−9 will be used for English, English Literature & Maths. All other subjects will continue with A*-G grades (1−8) until 2018 A Further complication ! Targets have been set for Year 10 but we are in the process of adjusting English, Literature & Maths to account for the change

English Maths CORE Ebacc 1 Other 1 Ebacc Group Ebacc 2 Ebacc 3 Other 2Other 3 Open Group or English Literature or English Literature History, Geography, MFL1, MFL2, Science1, Science2, Science3 Computer Science RE, PE, Art, Drama, Music, ICT Product Design, Food + anything not already counted in previous categories Can use 3 non-GCSE quali’s Attainment 8 Structure

1 2 English or English Literature Maths Ebacc GroupOpen Group Science (1, 2 or 3) MFL (1 or 2) Geography History Computer Science R.E. P.E. Art Drama Music Product Design Food & Nutrition ICT GCSE/CNAT BTEC Dance BTEC Sport BTEC Hospitality Any qualification not already counted in a previous category If a pupil has not taken English Lit then their English Language score will not be doubled (ie a zero box)

Example of how this works: Georgia achieved the following grades in 2015: Art – A*, English – B, English Lit – B, French – E History – B, ICT – L1D, Maths – C, PE GCSE – C, RE – B, Core Science – D, Additional Science - C We have to use Maths and this grade will be doubled We can choose either English or English Literature so we choose English and this will be doubled Choose 3 Ebacc subjects: History, Core Science & Additional Science are the best 3 grades Choose the best 3 ‘other’ subjects: Art, English Lit, RE Georgia’s estimated P8 score based on prior attainment was 56 (KS2=5.0) GEORGIA

CORE Ebacc 1 Other 1 Ebacc Group Ebacc 2 Ebacc 3 Other 2Other 3 Open Group English Maths Grade 6 Grade 5 Grade 6 B = 6 History D = 4 Core Sci C = 5 Addl Sci A* = 8 Art B = 6 Eng Lit B = 6 RE Attainment 8 Score 57 Estimated A8 Score 56 Progress 8 Score (57−56) ÷ 10 = +0.1 GEORGIA

Why are we informing parents? Some schools have concentrated so heavily on A* to C in E & M that other subjects have been marginalised. This is NOT our philosophy. Every grade matters so we treat a G to F with the same priority as D to C or A to A* Because P8 is a more accurate measure of progress we will be using it to track the performance of our pupils and identify underachievement Because Maths & English are doubled, we will continue to ensure intervention is focused on these two subjects, however… Subjects

Curriculum & Syllabus Information

CONTEXT Government has an open agenda to “strengthen” GCSE qualifications Make it harder to achieve the highest grades Make the benchmark (currently grade C) have greater integrity with further/higher education and also outside education (workplace etc) Compare favourably with other countries education systems and performance  The number of A* grades awarded has fallen every year for the past 4 years  New GCSE courses have been (and are being) developed with increased difficulty – Year 10: English Language, English Literature, Mathematics

ENGLISH LANGUAGE Two exam papers: Non-Fiction Fiction Both papers will be taken at the end of Year 11 Papers equally weighted 50/50 No controlled assessment No tiering Result of this exam will NOT COUNT unless an exam has been taken in English Literature Graded 1-9 The new syllabus will require better reading skills and good written English We have 8 sets throughout Key Stage 4. Students can access any GCSE grade.

ENGLISH LITERATURE Two exam papers: Shakespeare & 20 th Century Prose Blood Brothers & Poetry Both papers will be taken at the end of Year 11 Papers equally weighted 50/50 No controlled assessment No tiering Increased content Graded 1-9 The new syllabus will encourage students to read, write and think critically; it will assess students on challenging and substantial whole texts and on shorter unseen texts Pupils are taught in the same 8 English sets and can access any GCSE grade

MATHEMATICS Three exam papers: 2 Calculator Papers 1 Non-Calculator Paper Both papers will be taken at the end of Year 11 Papers equally weighted No controlled assessment (this is not a change) Tiered entry (1-5 & 4-9) Significantly increased content Graded 1-9 The new syllabus will provide greater coverage of areas such as ratio, proportion and rates of change; it will require all students to master the basics, and will be more challenging for those aiming to achieve top grades. We have 8 sets throughout Key Stage 4. Initially students will be following either higher (4-9) or foundation (1-5). The exam boards have strongly advised that only students considered “safe” grade B on the old system they should be following the Higher course.

NEW GCSE GRADING Old system of A*− G has 8 possible grades New system has 1 − 9 has 9 possible grades Old system: the benchmark grade was C New system the benchmark grade will be 5 (half to two thirds higher than current grade C) In 2017 Colleges will take Grade 4 as the entry benchmark (similar to Grade C now) but this is expected to rise to Grade 5 in subsequent years Grade 5 will be positioned in the top third of the marks for a current grade C and bottom third of the marks for a current grade B. This will mean it will be of greater demand than the present grade C

For this year group everything else remains the same: Most subjects have controlled assessments which are completed at certain stages throughout the 2 years – these are critical to the final grades! Most subjects have a terminal exam at the end of year 11 (Art does not) ALL subjects require a lot of hard work and commitment ALWAYS complete homework ALWAYS graft in lessons ALWAYS ask questions when you are unsure ALWAYS complete work to your highest possible standard