High School Pathways

Uplands High School Diploma

A high school diploma is an accredited academic award in recognition of a student’s satisfactory completion of the courses undertaken in Years 10 – 13 (final four academic years in secondary school). All students in the High School at Uplands are working towards achieving a CIS accredited High School Diploma. This will be awarded at the final Year 13 Graduation ceremony.

The pathway for each individual student will be different. Some will choose to take all IGCSE certifications and the full IB Diploma, others may take some certificate courses and other non-certificate courses with no external examinations as a hybrid pathway. We design a bespoke, personalised programme for each student in the High School to meet their individual needs, interests and goals.

Introduction to the HSD for parents and students.mp4

Student voice, Student choice

The Courses Available

High School students can build their programme from a combination of the different courses outlined below:

IGCSE and IBDP Certification Course

IGCSE and IBDP Non-certification Course

High School Course

Self-Guided or Externally Approved Course

Students study the full IGCSE and IBDP curriculum including undertaking external examinations (this may include coursework in some courses) at the end of the two-year course. They obtain a certificate for each course and the IB Diploma if they meet the requirements.

Students study the full IGCSE and IBDP curriculum but do not take the external examinations at the end of the two-year course. Their end-of-year grade is determined based on their performance throughout the year using the IGCSE and IBDP assessment criteria.

Students study an adapted IGCSE or IBDP curriculum that meets them at their point of need and supports them to find success. They will not take external examinations, and the end-of-year grade is determined based on their performance throughout the year in a range of assessments.

Students study the full IGCSE and IBDP curriculum including undertaking external examinations (this may include coursework in some courses) at the end of the two-year course. They obtain a certificate for each course and the IB Diploma if they meet the requirements.

Find out more about the individual pathways...

Year 10-13

Year 10-11

Year 12-13

How do our students achieve the High School Diploma?

High School Diploma students must achieve 24 credits in order to obtain their Diploma.

Each year long course receiving a passing grade in Years 10 through to 13 will be recorded on the official Uplands transcript as 1 credit. The minimum credit that may be awarded is 0.5 - equivalent to Term 1 or Term 2 & 3. Students continuing into further or higher education may be required to produce this document for entry into colleges and universities.

Students transferring to Uplands mid-way through Year 10 or later may receive credit for equivalent courses at other schools or have certain requirements waived with the approval of the Head of Secondary.

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High School Diploma Regulations

  1. A maximum of 4 credits only will be approved for School Approved courses. Prior approval from the Head of Secondary is required before pursuing these courses.

  2. EAL and Learning Support are considered an elective.

  3. Satisfactory completion of IB CAS requirements or High School Diploma adapted CAS.

  4. Comply with the minimum 90% attendance requirement for all Uplands students.

  5. Students must attend for 3 consecutive terms (equivalent of one school year) and gain at least 6 Uplands credits.

  6. Students must be enrolled in the graduation year at the time of graduation.

  7. Credit is given only to courses in Years 10 to 13.

  8. Courses may only be waived at the discretion of the Head of School. Waivers for students with Learning or Language needs must have an educational assessment to support the application.

  9. Students must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 credits per year.

  10. Credit recovery will be offered to students who fail to meet the success criteria. Depending on the circumstance this may require additional study or further assessment evidence.

  11. A passing grade for IGCSE subjects is a C or 4 for UK GCSEs subjects, and for IB is a 3. For students on High School courses the passing grades as the same but the criteria may be adapted.

  12. Uplands IGCSE and IB subjects taken at High School level - assessment may be determined through an adapted rubric and should not be based on examination performance. All IGCSE and IB subjects taken at the High School level will be identified on the transcript with the initials HS as part of the subject name eg. HS Literature.