Elthorne Park High School KS4 Options

General Guidance and Support for the Options Process

Students will be provided with guidance and information relating to KS4 GCSE and BTEC subject courses and the options process through a range of experiences. During the remainder of this academic year, students will participate in a range of experiences to enable them to make informed decisions about the curriculum options that are available to them. Information will be shared with Year 9 students through assemblies, tutor time and specific options events in a process that will be supported by their tutor, the Year 9 Team and the wider Senior Leadership Team. Students will be provided with careers guidance and our Connexions team will also be available to provide support to individual students on request.

Allocation of options pathways 

In order to direct students towards a Key Stage 4 curriculum that is appropriate, broad, balanced and ambitious, the school will allocate each student to an options pathway that will indicate the subjects and subject-combinations that students may select from. Options pathways will be determined by considering a range of pieces of information including current attainment, prior attainment in benchmark tests and the reading ages of students. We will share the information and progress data that has been considered in the process of determining options pathways through the bi-annual progress reports that will be shared with parents/ carers in readiness for Parents Evening on Thursday 30th April. We will also use this opportunity to share each student’s individual options pathway.

Friday 13th March – GCSE Options Taster Day

Students will be given the opportunity to take part in some Key Stage 4 taster lessons which will allow them to experience a typical KS4 lesson. These lessons will showcase the increased rigour and challenge that students will experience during their 14-16 courses and support them in making informed and appropriate KS4 choices. Your child will be able to select their subjects for taster day using the link on the website and the deadline for doing this is Thursday 5th March at 4pm. There are no restrictions on subjects or subject combinations for taster day.

Monday 16th March - Options event for parents and carers 

We invite all parents and carers to attend our Year 9 Key Stage 4 options event on Monday 16th March at 5:30pm. This event will enable parents and carers to gain a fuller understanding of the information that has been shared with students through school-based events and is designed to be an opportunity to ask any questions that you may have. This meeting, which wasn’t advertised during the Year Ahead meeting in September, has been scheduled as a response to the changing Department for Education guidance surrounding the Key Stage 4 curriculum. 

Thursday 30th April – Year 9 Parents Evening (4:30pm - 7:30pm)

This will provide you an opportunity to discuss your child’s progress in each subject area and ask questions relating to KS4 courses. Students will be able to make their options choices via the options portal from the end of parents evening onwards.

Monday 11th May – deadline for submission of subject KS4 subject choices

Your child will be required to submit their final KS4 subject choices through our online Options portal. This is a secure area that will require them to securely login. More details about this process will be shared on the options website in advance of parents evening.

We will then commence the process of quality assuring student choices and creating option blocks to allow as many students as possible to study their preferred course choices. If a selected subject can not be offered to your child, we will communicate with you to discuss suitable alternatives.  It is therefore important that you give very careful consideration to your child’s reserve option.

Later in the Summer term, once the timetabling and quality assurance processes have been completed, we will send you a letter confirming the subjects that your child will be studying at KS4. I would like to thank you in advance for your support with the options process. If you have any further queries about the process outlined in this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,

Peter Bardsley             Jonathan Kelley

Mr P Bardsley Mr J Kelley

Year Leader - Year 9 Deputy Headteacher - Curiculum & Achievement