Resilient minds, achieving together …making the difference / Meddwl gwydn, cyd-gyflawni …yn gwneud y gwahaniaeth
The final option, Google Form, for Key Stage 4, will be available in the Year 9 Google Classroom from Friday 31st January 2025. The deadline for completing is Friday 21st February 2025.
Please read through the Options booklet 2025-2027 carefully, as this outlines what each subject contains and how you will be assessed, either throughout your course or at the end of your course.
Year 9 Options Evening took place today. A copy of the presentation can be found Here.
Please direct any questions or queries to: Miss S Rouillé- RouilleS@Hwbcymru.net
Information regarding the Year 9 (Key Stage 4) Options 2025-27, can be found here. If you have any queries or questions regarding the options process, please email Miss S Rouille (Year 9 Wellbeing Leader) or Mr J Coombes (Deputy Headteacher).
Year 9 Options Evening will take place on Thursday 30th January 2025, 4:00pm - 5:40pm, in R3.
(Curriculum Summary)
Aims
From a wide range feedback and input, from all stakeholders (pupils, teachers, parents/carers and governors), the school’s curriculum follows the mandatory and statutory requirements of the Curriculum for Wales, set by the Welsh Government, and aims to mirror the national mission to raise standards, reduce the attainment gap, and deliver an education system that is a source of national pride and public confidence.
In addition to this, as we continue to develop and refine the learning experiences and assessment activities, we aim to fully support the development of our pupils as:
ambitious, capable learners, ready to learn throughout their lives
enterprising, creative contributors, ready to play a full part in life and work
ethical, informed citizens of Wales and the world
healthy, confident individuals, ready to lead fulfilling lives as valued members of society.
Curriculum Vision
Risca Community Comprehensive School’s curriculum is designed to enable all pupils to achieve their full potential and to develop wider personal qualities within a caring and supportive environment. Our broad, balanced, and inclusive curriculum builds on the pupils’ experiences from the primary schools, and allows all pupils to follow appropriate pathways to succeed. We have a purposeful provision for the valuable, progressive development of skills and assessment processes are effective at all levels.
Teaching & Learning Vision
Effective and meaningful Teaching and Learning, striving to be outstanding, is at the heart of everything we are about at Risca Community Comprehensive School. Pupils of all abilities will be given equal learning opportunities and appropriate levels of support in order for them to achieve their full potential. High impact and varied teaching strategies will be used effectively to ensure positive learning outcomes for our pupils.
Teaching & Learning Experiences
All pupils will experience a broad range of subjects delivered by subject specialist teachers.
Area of Learning Experience
See table of subjects and AoLEs below.
Information for each subject can be found in the RCCS Year 7 to 9 Curriculum Booklet. Year 9 Options booklet information 2025-2027 can be found here Year 9 Options booklet 2025-2027 .
Skills and cross-cutting themes of the new curriculum
The development of skills, especially literacy skills, has been a priority for us for a long time. We use a range of interventions to focus specifically on developing the reading skills of many of our pupils. There is also a clear focus, in our curriculum, on writing and oracy, alongside numeracy and digital competency. The Literacy and Numeracy Framework, as well as the Digital Competency Framework are used by all teachers to ensure our provision for pupils is appropriate in these areas.
The wider skills are also important within our curriculum; these are skills that prepare pupils for the Skills Challenge Certificate (Welsh Baccalaureate) in Years 10 & 11 and are very beneficial throughout all year groups.
These skills are:
Creativity and Innovation
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Personal Effectiveness
Planning and Organising
The cross-cutting themes of the new curriculum are:
Relationships and Sexuality Education
Human Rights/The Rights of the Child
Diversity
Careers and Work-Related Experience
Local, national and international contexts, with a particular focus on Cynefin (a sense of Welsh identity and belonging)
R.I.S.C.A. Teaching & Learning principles
Our five principles, using the acronym of R.I.S.C.A, underpin what effective teaching and learning is at RCCS. We endeavour to use these principles in our planning, delivery and evaluation of teaching and learning. They are:
Relationships
Informed Practice
Skills
Challenge
Achieve
Assessment, Progress & Reporting
At Risca Community Comprehensive School we believe that the aim of assessment is to support pupil achievement and progress. Through our range of ongoing (formative) assessments, summative assessments, and reports, we aim to:
• Enable pupils to understand what they must do to reach end of lesson, unit, topic, academic year expectations.
• Help set targets and involve pupils in their own learning.
• Give parents/carers a clear idea of what their child can do and what they need to do to progress.
• Provide information that can be used to evaluate teaching and learning practice.
• Give pupils effective feedback so they know what they have done well and what they need to improve.
• Enable all pupils, including pupils with Additional Learning Needs (ALN) to make effective progress.
During the academic year, pupils and parents/carers will receive two Progress Reports and one Annual Academic Report. Here's the schedule for parents'/carers' evenings and pupil reports for 2024-25.
Progress and Annual reports will contain information on the pupils’ progress (not attainment), in Years 7 to 9, in each individual subject, as well as the pupils’ engagement in the subject (attitudes to their learning). The pupils’ Annual Report will also contain the pupils’ subject strengths and targets for improvements. In Years 10 and 11, all reports will contain predicted and target grades for each subject.
Subject Progress: How well the individual pupil is developing their knowledge, skills and understanding in each subject.
Key to Subject Progress Judgments:
Strong- Above the individual pupil’s expected level of progress.
Appropriate- The Individual pupil’s expected level of progress.
Limited- Below the individual pupil’s expected level of progress.
Subject Engagement: The pupil’s attitudes towards their learning in each subject.
Excellent, Good, Adequate, Limited, Unsatisfactory
* Descriptions of each engagement judgement can be found within in the reports
Welsh Government (Education Wales) Curriculum for Wales 2022- Information for parents, carers, and pupils.
An information booklet for pupils regarding the New Curriculum for Wales can be found here. An information booklet for parents/carers regarding the New Curriculum for Wales can be found here.
You can also find an animation, from the Welsh Government (Education Wales), explaining the New Curriculum for Wales here.
Mr J L Coombes
Dirprwy Bennaeth / Deputy Headteacher
Above, is the timetable for the Years 7-9 Personalised Assessments (Reading and Numeracy- Procedural and Reasoning) that will be taking place from 20th to 27th June 2024.
The final option, Google Form, for Key Stage 4, can be found in the Year 9PE 2023-24 Google classroom. The code for the class is: z7vsrq7
Please read through the Options booklet 2024-2026 carefully, as this outlines what each subject contains and how you will be assessed, either throughout your course or at the end of your course.
Year 9 Options Evening took place on Thursday 1st February 2024. A copy of the presentation can also be found in the Google classroom.
Information regarding the Year 9 (Key Stage 4) Options can be found here. If you have any queries or questions regarding the Options, please email y9options@riscacom.net
Year 9 Options Evening will take place on Thursday 1st February, 4:30pm - 6pm in R3.
1st February 2023
Year 9 Final Option Choices 2023-2025
Dear Year 9,
The final option choices Google Form, for Key Stage 4 2023-2025, can be found in the Year 9 Google classroom (from 9 am). If you have not already joined, the code for the class can be found in your Class Charts announcements.
Please read through the Options booklet 2023-2025 carefully, as this outlines what each subject contains and how you will be assessed, either throughout your course or at the end of your course.
Please direct any questions to: y9options@riscacom.net
Mr J Coombes Mr J Knott
Pennaeth Cynorthwyol / Assistant Headteacher Arweinydd Lles Blwyddyn 9 / Year 9 Wellbeing Leader
Information regarding the Year 9 (Key Stage 4) Options can be found here. If you have any queries or questions regarding the Options, please email y9options@riscacom.net
Year 9 Options Evening will take place on Tuesday 31st January 2023, 5pm - 6pm in R3.
You can also find an animation, from the Welsh Government (Education Wales), explaining the New Curriculum for Wales here.
Information regarding the Year 9 (Key Stage 4) Options can be found on the Year 9 Page from Monday 24th January. If you have any queries or questions regarding the Options, please email y9options@riscacom.net.
Information regarding the Year 9 (Key Stage 4) Options can be found on the Year 9 Page from Monday 18th January. If you have any queries or questions regarding the Options, please email y9options@riscacom.net.