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Tel: 01287 621010

Fax: 01287 621011

Email: slc@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk

Compulsory Subjects

The government minimum requirement for all Key Stage 4 students includes:

• English (Which at Huntcliff includes English Literature)
• Mathematics
• Science  (single award) (At Huntcliff students have the choice of Triple Science or Applied Science

Under the National Curriculum, all students must also cover, though not necessarily at examination level, the following subject areas:   

• Physical Education (At Huntcliff this remains as a compulsory double period but students have a choice of accredited courses)
• Religion Philosophy and Ethics (At Huntcliff Students who complete the RE course in Years 9 and 10, will have the opportunity to enter a short course GCSE at the end of Year 10.
• Information & Communication Technology (At Huntcliff this can lead to an OCR National qualification if all the modules are completed to a high standard.)
• Sex Education  

Assessment

Judgement on how well a student has worked - called assessment - is not only done in a written examination.   Almost every course has at least 20% of the final grade based on work done during lesson time and at home during Years 10 & 11.  In some cases controlled internal assessment (coursework) can be worth more than 20% of the final grade. Music for example, has 60% of the final mark assessed on coursework, while PE (BTEC) and ICT (OCR national) are 100% course work.

The effect of this is not to make subjects easier to pass, but to make them more relevant to the real world. Most subjects retain a final written examination, which is very important, but it is not the sole judge of two years’ work.  A student will fail a course if the internal assessment does not reach a required standard.

The controlled assessment or coursework can be carried out during any point over the two years. It is therefore vital that students studying for GCSE’s are not taken out of school during term time if this can be avoided.

Some subjects have their written examination at different levels or “tiers” allowing a student to be successful at a level which is appropriate to his/her ability. This should not deter a student from choosing the subject, as the decision on which level of examination to take is not made until closer to the examination which may be a module sat in Year 10 or 11.

You should look carefully at the assessment arrangements for the subjects which interest you; it is important to choose so that there is a balance between the amount of written coursework, and examination assessment.

Options Subjects

The rest of the subjects are offered as Options. Students have four choices to make (plus 2 reserve subjects) and are advised to choose an appropriate range of subjects, so that their education does not become too narrow.

To help you choose an appropriate range, look at the way the subjects are classified on the home page and try to pick something from each category.

Study Support

Please note that some students will be eligible to take Study Support as an option, this will not result in a GCSE qualification but will provide the opportunity to consolidate learning from other subjects and work towards a Functional Skills and A Certificate of Personal Effectiveness qualification. If you would like more information on Study Support then please tick the box on the initial choices form.