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Key Dates for our Year 8 options programme
Thursday 27th February - Year 8 KS4 Options Assembly
Monday 3rd March - Option Day Subjects chosen (Non KS3 subjects only)
Tuesday 18th March 2025 - Y8 Options Day
Thursday 20th March - Y8 Parents & Carers Options Information Evening
(Options Form Goes Live)
First presentation at 4pm in the Main Hall and Repeated at 5pm. There will be an opportunity to meet subject leaders from all the option subjects in-between presentations. The evening will finish at 6pm.
Thursday 27th March - Y8 Options Form Deadline
Curriculum Design at Priory - What can I study?
Everyone studies the core subjects:
English (two GCSEs);
Maths (one GCSE);
Science (up to three GCSEs);
Citizenship and Religious Education (CRE)
Physical Education (non examination)
Everyone has a range of courses to choose from for their KS4 Curriculum. For most students this will mean studying four further GCSE subjects, whilst for others the right decision might mean choosing BTECs as well as GCSEs.
All students will select a Humanities, either Geography or History.
We also encourage students to consider continuing to study their current language course.
Students will then also select a first, second, third choice, and a reserve from the list of 'option' subjects.
What support is available?
We offer a parental information evening to all Y8 parents and carers. This year's will be held on TBC
All Year 8 students will be involved in our Year 8 Options Day on TBC. The day will offer all students an opportunity to choose a range of subjects they'd like more information about before their final decision is made. They will have a choice of ten key stage 4 subjects which they are not currently studying in key stage 3.
Tutors and the Year 8 leadership team - The team are there to support you with additional questions you may have.
This website is designed to support you with key dates, course information etc.
Any unanswered questions please email jkent@priorysouthsea.org
When selecting my options what should I be considering?
We are determined to ensure all our learners achieve everything they can. A major part of our guidance process is to make sure all students choose subjects which will maximise their success. We encourage a broad and balanced curriculum but we know that some students might have areas of specialism and we encourage these where appropriate.
What subjects have you been making good progress in?
What subjects do you particularly enjoy?
What subjects might support your career aspirations at this time (although these may change over the 3 year courses of course so keep this in mind)? (And it is now clear that most of us will have a variety of careers over a lifetime, so its worth thinking about having a range of subjects with a balance)
Have I selected a balanced curriculum for myself?
Am I aware of whether each subject is a GCSE or BTEC - and am I happy with these choices?
And much more!
National GCSE Reform
The Government has introduced a programme of GCSE reform, and all GCSEs offered at the school follow this new format. Maths and English were the first subjects to be reformed and all other subjects have now moved onto the new syllabus content.
Key features of the new GCSEs are:
Graded on a scale 1-9 (9 being the highest), this replaces the current A*- G grading
No tiering except in maths, science and MFL. Under the previous system, foundation and higher tier papers were available in many subjects to support students of different abilities
A fully linear structure, i.e. no modules, no coursework, no controlled assessments, except 10% in science for practical
experiments
Exams are the default method of assessment, ‘except where they cannot provide valid assessment of the skills required’
Increased extended writing with fewer bite sized questions in examinations
Focus on a knowledge-based curriculum.
There are a couple of terms that you may have heard about:
English Baccalaureate (EBacc)
EBacc is a performance measure, not a qualification. The measure shows where students have secured a GCSE grade 4 or above across a core of academic subjects at KS4:
English; Maths; the Sciences; History or Geography, and a language.
The EBacc is gaining increasing importance as a performance measure for schools, and the Government has made it clear of their wish for a higher percentage of students to study it in the future. We recommend that students who are strong in both humanities and languages consider taking the EBacc. However, it is not compulsory, and we appreciate that in many cases it is not appropriate.
Progress 8 captures the progress a student makes from the end of primary school (KS2) to the end of KS4. Progress 8 is a type of value-added measure, it will show how the students have performed and the average of all students’ progress will create the school’s result. This result will be published by all schools in a standard format.
Our pathways have been designed to steer students to the most appropriate choices within the compulsory framework of Progress 8
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