Introduction

You are about to make one of the most important decisions of your life - the selection of subjects for study in Key Stage 4. Increasingly, you need to see this as a step taking you to your destination at the age of 18 or even 21. Here are some key things to remember:

• Your working life will go far beyond the present economic climate - so think LONG TERM!

• Be realistic and ambitious - do not settle for being less than you are

• The greater qualifications you have the more you are likely to earn over your lifetime and the greater your freedom to choose your own pathway

Alder Grange School has always aimed to combine the advantages of a school where pupils are well known by the staff, with the opportunities of a large school in terms of the number of subjects available to pupils. However, once begun, it is usually impossible to change courses.

Pupils with special educational needs will have the same choice as all others and will enjoy continuing supports from the various support agencies. Where we feel that the burden of a full range of GCSE's and/or applied subjects would not be appropriate for a pupil, we shall discuss alternative routes. Further advice for individual pupils will be an integral part of the process of setting up next year's curriculum.

With such a wide degree of opportunity a great deal of careful and informed thought is needed before making final choices and we are here to give you as much help, information and support as we can.