Key Stage 4 Options 2025

Making your options choices is an exciting and important time.

You should give great thought and consideration to choosing your options and this booklet is designed to help you through this process.

This booklet contains the information you will need when making your Option choices.

Option choices should be made in discussion with your parents and your teachers.

Below are the key dates for your consideration:

Week commencing 12^th May	Assembly dedicated to careers and option choices.
Sessions during May/June	Tutors will begin options discussion with students
21st May	Options website goes live
22nd May	Options subject evening – 4pm-6pm
22nd May	Release date of the options form. This will be an electronic form emailed directly to the student’s school email address.
6^th June	Deadline for submission of the options form.
20^th June	Confirmation of options

Core Curriculum

All students will study a core compulsory curriculum with exams at the end of Year 11:

English Language and English Literature
Mathematics
Science (worth 2 or 3 GCSEs)*

Students will also study the following compulsory subjects that do not have an examination

Physical Education
PSHCE (Personal, Social, Health, and Citizenship Education) and Religious Studies**

*The majority of the students will complete a combined science course which will result in two GCSE qualifications. A select number of students who have shown aptitude for science in their studies will be selected to complete the trilogy science qualifications where they will sit three separate qualifications that result in three GCSE’s. The decision on which pathway students will take rests with the science department.

**It is a legal requirement for schools to deliver a form of religious education throughout key stage 4. The compulsory Religious Studies course will mirror a GCSE qualification, but students will have only one lesson on their timetable. If a student is doing particularly well in their compulsory studies by the end of year 10 then there will be an option for students to sit this is an extra GCSE in year 11. This will be at the discretion of the RE department.

Options Curriculum

Students will be allocated options pathways. The decision of which pathway a student will be on will be informed based on their progress data during key stage 3. Each pathway is designed to support students to make good decisions about their options choices.

The pathways are below:

Pathway 1	Pathway 2	Pathway 3
Must choose either History or Geography. Recommended for French and/or Further Mathematics. Able to choose a full suite of History, Geography and French. Likely to be chosen to complete Separate Science by the science department.	Must choose either History or Geography. Recommended for French. Cannot choose Further Mathematics. Able to choose two from History, Geography and French.	Must choose History or Geography. French, RE and Further Mathematics will not be an option for students on this pathway.
Criteria for Pathway 1 Working at age related expectation or above in all subjects. Mastering achieved consistently in many subjects including French from Year 7 to Year 9.	Criteria for Pathway 2 Working at age-related expectation in most subjects.	Criteria for Pathway 3 Working below age-related expectation in most subjects.

In total students will choose three options. Most students will study at least one subject from the academic core. It will be possible to choose all three of these subjects if on the correct pathway.

Geography
History
French