Guided Pathways 2016 – Year 9 Mr Horton

Why is it important?  First time you have been able to specialise after 9 years of education  Can affect your future education and career  May affect university entry  Next two years of study leading to formal qualifications

Core Curriculum – 18 periods a week  English language  English literature  mathematics  science (two GCSEs for majority, possibility of three)  non-examined PE

Our Routes  You are put onto one of three routes.  These routes are based on your performance at middle school and your time with us so far at North.  The route you have been put on best suits your skills, abilities and aptitudes.

Our Routes  RUSSELL – students must choose at least one of French/Spanish and at least one of geography/history. They have a free choice for the other two subjects.  OPEN – students must choose at least one of French, Spanish (if studied in year 9), geography or history. They have a free choice for the other three subjects.  GATEWAY – students have a free choice for their four subjects. They can study French, geography and/or history, should they wish. A minority of students will follow a smaller number of options subjects.

Why do we encourage students towards humanities/languages?  These subjects form the foundations to prepare students for post-16 study  Long term opportunities in education and work  University/government requirements  Same opportunities as other schools

Some of the reasons why you should take a subject  You enjoy it  You are good at it – see your year 9 report  You feel it will be useful in your future education/career  The skills link to your strengths

Some of the reasons why you shouldn’t take a subject  You like the teacher  Your friends want to take it/your brother or sister did it  You want to try something different  You think it will be easy

Making the right choices  Find out what each subject entails. Common misconceptions include:  PE just involves playing sport  Not having to speak French/Spanish in French/Spanish  Not having to act in front of others in drama  Not having to play a musical instrument in music  Film is just watching films, food is just cooking etc.

Making the right choices  Four subjects plus reserve choices  Options are in blocks  All subject leaders need to approve your choices. You can start collecting signatures after tonight. Drama requires an audition; music an informal interview; pre-apprenticeship in engineering an interview with our off-site provider, ADI.  Teacher/tutor guidance  Parent and tutor signatures  Get the answers to your questions tonight and read the booklet carefully.

Making the right choices  400+ students to accommodate in years 10 and 11.  You will naturally end up liking some subjects more than others.  There will be a brief window a couple of weeks into starting the courses where students have the opportunity to change a course but there is a procedure and it’s dependent upon there being space in the group. You will also need to catch up on missed work as GCSE courses will have already started formally.  Beyond this point, subjects cannot be ‘dropped’ – you are studying them until you do your examinations at the end of year 11. Therefore, make sure you make the right choices!

What happens now  Take the time tonight to visit the subjects you are interested in. Ask questions. Any queries about the process – see Mrs Schofield or Mr Horton in the Conference Room. Any SEN queries see Ms Howard in the CRC.  Speak to teachers/tutor/parents over the following days.  Decide on your choices and reserves, getting subject leader signatures.  You also have the option of changing your college on the form.  Parent’s signature/your signature/tutor’s signature.  Return the form by tutor time on Friday 5 February to the school reception.