The english baccalaureate (ebacc)
During the first three years at Idsall School, each student will have studied many subjects including what are called the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) subjects: English, Maths, Science, History, Geography and a language; French or German. The government has set ambitious targets for us to meet, whereby 75% of students, nationally, will continue to study these EBacc subjects up to GCSE level. The government see the EBacc combination as a broad and balanced curriculum and have emphasised their importance with employers, colleges and universities. This is also emphasised by OFSTED. The knowledge and skills developed in each area of this curriculum, support and reinforce other areas of the curriculum. It is also shown that the study of a foreign language supports and improves outcomes in English Language as well as being worthwhile and useful in its own right leading to careers where salaries are, on average, 15% higher than other sectors.
Choosing your courses
In the context of continuing to study the EBacc subjects, students can also concentrate on those subjects which will be most important to their future. This is important because the chosen subjects will lead to examinations in 2023. The courses that students follow will lead to Level 2, GCSE or BTEC/CNAT qualifications with grades 9 – 1 (9 being the top grade).
Choosing the right courses to ensure that you both succeed and have some challenge in your work is very important. All courses will have some form of examination, some will have a controlled assessment element, others will be assessed entirely on a final examination, so choosing the right type of course for you is vital.
There are some courses that all of you have to follow and can’t opt out of doing. These are English Language, English Literature, Maths, Combined Science (unless separate science is chosen as an option), PE and Individual Development (ID). The groupings for these courses will be based on your progress and predicted grades at the end of Year 9 in the core subjects. These will be based on internal test results as well as teacher assessments.
Aspects of Personal and Social Education, Religious Education and Careers will also be compulsory and all students will study these within their Individual Development course. All students are expected to do core PE; where all students will have the opportunity to demonstrate leadership skills.
After that there is a range of subject choices to fill the remaining hours of school time, but there are a few limitations as well. For example, all students will have to choose at least one subject from the EBacc combination; Separate Science, Computer Science, History, Geography, French/German. Any other limitations are shown on the ‘Option Blocks’ page.
Changes to Selected Options
If a subject is under-subscribed or over-subscribed, a student may have to choose the subject in another block or may have to choose a different subject. This is why we ask students to indicate an alternative subject on the ‘online’ form.
Where selected option choices are not possible or where Idsall School decide not to run a course, the individual student and parents will be contacted.
Further Information
If you require additional details, please contact the teachers indicated in the Options booklet…