Year 10 Curriculum Overview
An audience of nearly 200 parents and students attended the Year 10 Curriculum Information Evening on Monday 14 September in the School Hall, Isa Town. The evening, presented by Assistant Head of Senior School, Bryon Pearce, and Head of Year 10, Mary Jarvis, focused on some of the significant curriculum changes affecting the current Year 10. Pastoral care and support, information regarding the wealth of leadership opportunities available to our students as well as details of some important educational initiatives that the school are currently pursuing were presented. The Head of Senior School, Mr Nick Wilson, outlined the many positive comments regarding the student body from the School’s latest BSME/BSO inspection report and celebrated the recent examination successes at GCSE, A-Level and IB.
New GCSE English Curriculum
On Sunday 20 September, Year 10 students and parents were invited to a presentation given by Head of English, Mrs Emma Dodson and Key Stage 4 English Co-ordinator, Ms Felicity Percival regarding the new GCSE curriculum from September 2015. The presentation was well attended and was an opportunity for parents and students to become familiar with and discuss the new content and assessment criteria for GCSE English Language and GCSE English Literature. Mrs Dodson and Ms Percival highlighted the need for wider reading and regular practice assessments to help prepare students for the examinations. The presentation was received positively by parents and all resources shared have been made available on Portal.
Year 11 History Controlled Assessment Information Evening
The History Controlled Assessment Information Evening took place on Tuesday 15 September 2015 at 6.30pm in the School Hall. Students and parents were invited to hear their History Teachers discuss the requirements and protocol of the Controlled Assessment activities, which comprise 25% of the final grade for the Edexcel GCSE History. The parameters for the three individual questions were shared, as well as tips for ensuring that the planning process is as effective as possible. One of the main differences between the questions that students will encounter in the Controlled Assessment and in the final Examinations is that students will know the questions for the Controlled Assessments in advance, as well as being able to complete a plan, which they can use in the write-up stage. The questions themselves will be revealed to students two weeks in advance of the write-up stage. Furthermore, a number of factors concerning the assessment of each of the Controlled Assessment questions were shared, as well as tips for completing a successful response to each of the questions. The evening concluded with the opportunity for students and parents to discuss queries with members of the History Department. The presentation used on the evening can be downloaded from Parent Portal. The Historians would very much like to thank everyone who attended what was a very successful and informative evening.
Year 12 Curriculum Information Evening
On Wednesday 9 September, a Year 12 Curriculum Information Evening was attended by over 150 students and parents. Following a welcome and presentation by Andrew Beck, Head of Year 12, Steve Keeble, Deputy Head of Senior School, underlined the importance of Year 12 in terms of university applications in June 2017. Nick Wilson, Head of Senior School, provided an overview of how the School uses data to monitor student progress and Adrian Walker, Assistant Head of Senior School, clarified issues relating to Oxbridge/Medicine applications and also to the Extended Essay Qualification (EPQ). Also in attendance to answer parent and student queries were Rola Al Hammoud. Head of Year 13, Emma Thomas, IB Diploma Co-ordinator, Luke Tayler, IB Diploma CAS Co-ordinator, and Year 12 Form Tutors, Matthew Gillard and Faye Hill. The evening provided an opportunity for students and parents to ask a range of questions about all aspects of Sixth Form life.
