Presdales School

GCSE CURRICULUM INFORMATION

2015/2016

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2013/2014

GCSE CORE CURRICULUM 2015-16

GCSE ENGLISH LANGUAGE (EDUQAS) Students’ reading and writing skills are assessed in two final examinations. Component 1 is worth 40% of the qualification. Section A tests students’ understanding of a twentieth century prose extract, assessed through a range of structured questions. Section B examines students’ creative writing skills. Component 2 is worth 60% of the qualification. Section A tests students’ understanding of a nineteenth century and twenty first century factual extract, assessed through a range of structured questions. Section B examines students’ transactional and persuasive writing tasks. Spoken English is not assessed but is an integral part of the lessons.

GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE (AQA) Students’ reading skills are assessed in two examinations. Paper 1 will test understanding of a Shakespeare play (Romeo and Juliet) and a nineteenth century novel. Students will be required to write about extracts from texts in detail initially and then explore the whole text. The second paper, entitled ‘Modern Texts and Poetry’ will test knowledge of a twentieth century text and a variety of poetry. Students will also be required to answer questions on unseen material.

MATHEMATICS (Edexcel) All students in Years 10 and 11 will study Mathematics according to the National Curriculum at Key Stage 4. Students will continue to work in sets based on mathematical ability. All students will be working towards the GCSE examination, taken with the Edexcel Examining Board. There are two tiers of assessment, Foundation Level and Higher Level. Targeted GCSE grades are 5-1 for Foundation Level and 9-4 for Higher Level. An “old” GCSE grade C is benchmarked at new grade 4. An old GCSE grade A is equivalent to the new grade 7. The assessment for GCSE is by three written examination papers, each 33⅓% of the total result, taken in June of Year 11 (two calculator and one non-calculator paper). Year 10 set 1 will also work towards GCSE Statistics (Edexcel) within their normal Mathematics lesson allocation. This has one piece of controlled assessment worth 25% that students work on in Year 11 and one examination paper (calculator allowed) worth 75% at the end of Year 11.

SCIENCE (AQA) GCSE SCIENCES We follow the Core Science, Additional Science, Biology, Chemistry and Physics syllabi provided by AQA. This suite of GCSE qualifications provides students with a choice of routes depending on their abilities and their intended post-GCSE choices. In Year 9 some students were offered the opportunity to do 3 GCSEs in the separate Sciences (Biology, Chemistry and Physics). The majority of students though will study for 2 GCSEs in Science, Science A and Additional Science (which is suitable for studying Sciences at A level).

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Year 10 All students in Year 10 follow the Core Science course. This comprises equal amounts of Biology, Chemistry and Physics, all taught by specialist teachers. All students will sit three structured question examinations in June. There is also a Science practical component (called an ISA) which is worth 25% of the marks available for each GCSE. This assessment is carried out in school time and students will sit at least two in Year 10. We will use the best ISA towards the Core Science GCSE. Year 11 In Year 11 students will go on to follow an Additional Science course. GCSE Additional Science  Builds on the knowledge and skills learnt in Core Science  In combination with Core Science provides a balanced science curriculum  Ensures appropriate knowledge and skills for progression to ‘AS’ subjects  Highlights explaining, theorising and modelling in science. This also comprises equal amounts of Biology, Chemistry and Physics and is assessed by three structured question tests (75%) in May/June and a further ISA (25%). Again, students will carry out at least two ISAs between September and March in school time. GCSE SEPARATE SCIENCES Students invited to take Separate Sciences will follow the above Core Science and Additional Science options and will then take extra units in Biology, Chemistry and Physics. These will be assessed by 3 structured question examinations for each GCSE, 9 in total, in June of Year 11. Over Years 10 and 11 they will also carry out ISAs for each subject which is the final component of their GCSEs.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION (GCSE Short Course: OCR ‘B’) All students in Year 10 will complete their study of a short GCSE course, which they began in their Year 9 RE lessons. All students in year 9 studied Unit B603 (‘Relationships’, ‘Poverty & Wealth’ and ‘Medical Ethics’). In Year 10, most students will continue with the study of applied ethics, taking Unit B604 (‘Equality’ and ‘Peace & Justice’). However, there is an option to study an introduction to the philosophy of religion; specifically Unit B602 (‘The problem of Evil’ and ‘Religion & Science’). The whole course (both Year 9 and Year 10 work) will be examined by a two hour examination at the end of Year 10. There is no controlled assessment. Students are encouraged to give full, articulate reasons for holding a point of view on spiritual and moral issues, to appreciate a variety of views, including religious perspectives and to reach conclusions based on a thoughtful and analytical evaluation of all ideas. Religious Education does not assume that any faith is more important than another and should be of equal value to students of any faith or of none. Please note that a GCSE short course is examined in the same depth as a full course and so an A grade shows the same depth of understanding as any other GCSE A grade. However, only half of the content is studied.

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GCSE OPTION SUBJECTS 2015-16

ART (AQA) Students follow the AQA GCSE 2 year course, which builds on work done at KS3. Within the 4 Assessment Objectives, students will: 

develop their ideas through investigations informed by contextual and other sources demonstrating analytical and cultural understanding

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refine their ideas through experimenting and selecting appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes

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record ideas, observations and insights relevant to their intentions in visual and/or other forms

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present a personal, informed and meaningful response demonstrating analytical and critical understanding, realising intentions and where appropriate, making connections between visual, written, oral or other elements.

Students are encouraged to make visits to Galleries, Museums and Art Collections in order to help inform their work. The students will experience several workshops run by professional artists throughout the course. Our main trip is to Burghley Sculpture Park, Stamford.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS (Edexcel) This course is made up of 3 modules: two explore small business and a third explores the economy. Students will be introduced to the world of small business and will look at what makes someone a successful business person. They will learn how to develop a business idea, how to spot an opportunity and how to turn that into a successful business. They will learn about the secrets of effective businesses and how to manage money. They will also explore how the world around us affects small businesses and all of the people involved. The third module will focus more on how the economy functions. Students will explore the role of the government in the economy and its impact on business. They will also examine what causes businesses to fail and how businesses grow and study many issues within the world of business such as inequality. During the course students will take written examinations and carry out a controlled assessment task. The written examination involves a multiple-choice paper followed by some objective test questions based on the module or unit. In unit 2, students will be given a list of controlled assessment tasks to choose from. The tasks will be based on the content of unit 1. The remaining 50% of the marks for the full GCSE will be achieved by a second written examination paper made up of a mixture of multiplechoice, data response, short-answer, extended writing and scenario based questions.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS (Edexcel) This course is exactly the same as Business and Economics for the first 2 modules but the third module will focus on how firms communicate, exploring different methods of communication and their advantages and disadvantages, barriers to good communication, the impact of poor communication and communication tools such as email, word documents, presentations, teleconferencing and websites. The final paper in Year 11 is worth 50% of their mark and is made up of a mixture of multiple choice and written responses, some based on a communication scenario.

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OCR Level 1 Certificate in Enterprise (Young Enterprise) and Edexcel GCSE Business (Short Course) This course combines two leading and successful existing qualifications to give students a taste of what it’s like to actually set up, finance, run and wind down a business over a period of one year (Year 10). The lessons will on occasions be structured more like business meetings and will focus on the different aspects of business as and when required. For example, the early lessons will be used to generate business ideas, explore market potential, prepare and carry out surveys and prepare a marketing plan. Later ones might look at revenue, costs and profit and even explore ways that the government could help small businesses. Throughout this year, staff will take the opportunity to cover some of the short course material in a more formal way. In Year 11, we will continue the business with a combination of practical doing sessions, meetings and more traditional lessons too. The students will then complete a short item of coursework based on an investigation into a real small business, perhaps one that they know! This will be worth 50% of their final short course mark. The other 50% will be examined in a 45 minute multiple choice test which will examine business terms and concepts. It is hoped that the combination of formal teaching and the “really doing business” will help the students to understand concepts and ideas that may otherwise seem abstract. The Young Enterprise component of the two years will be awarded by the teacher who will observe and assess students’ contributions to the business venture throughout the entire 5 terms. Under this flagship Company Programme students set up and run a real firm for a year under the guidance of their teachers. They get practical experience of the joys and pitfalls of creating a truly functioning business enterprise. They do everything from raising the initial share capital through to designing and making their product or service to selling directly to customers at specially organised trade fairs, events such as Dickensian Evening in Ware and school events. The course ends with the winding up the firm and paying their taxes!

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY (AQA) GCSE Design and Technology (Graphic Products, Textile Products) Design and Technology GCSE courses consist of two components: a controlled Design and Make assessment, which is an extended project worth 60% of the total mark, and a written examination worth 40% of their total marks. Students are encouraged to utilise ICT within many aspects of their work. Year 10 is primarily a skills based course consisting of short focused practical tasks. In addition, students are taught specialist knowledge. The aim is that by the end of Year 10 students will have a thorough understanding of the materials and components they will be using to design and make artifacts. This knowledge will form a substantial note base, which students can incorporate into their GCSE controlled assessment and revise from for the examination. During the summer term Year 10 students will begin to plan and research their project. The aim is that during the summer holidays they will have the time to gather information from a variety of sources. Then, until Easter in Year 11, students will use class time and homework time to complete their project that will consist of drawn design ideas, making and evaluating an artifact and considering the commercial viability of their design ideas. The remainder of the year is spent revising for the external examination. The students are given a research sheet that will outline the context of the examination and provide guidance to focus students’ revision.

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DRAMA (OCR) Drama is a largely practical course, which gives students the opportunity to create their own work and study plays from a performance point of view. Students work in small groups exploring scripts, devising their own pieces, learning to use stage lighting, sound, set and costume, and then performing their work in the drama studio. They develop characters and ideas, learn to use space effectively and express their thoughts to the audience. The students are assessed on the exploration of ideas, as shown in their working notebooks, and the performance of their pieces. Three units are assessed: Unit 1: From Page to Stage 30% In this unit we explore scripted pieces, looking at acting, design and direction. The final performance and the written working record are assessed. Unit 2: Drama in the Making 30% This unit is about creating your own work, based on a theme. The students devise and perform their own pieces, which are assessed together with the written working record. Unit 3: From Concept to Creation 40% This is the final examination, taken in May of Year 11. Students can choose whether to work on a theme or a scripted piece; then they devise, rehearse and perform their work. There is no written examination.

GEOGRAPHY (Edexcel) Studying Geography at GCSE will allow students to deepen their knowledge of a range of topics drawing from physical, human and environmental aspects of the discipline. The topics studied include:     

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Coastal environments Tectonic hazards River Landscapes Population dynamics Waste and energy

Climate change Sustainable development Tourism Economic Change Settlement Change

This course is designed to equip students with many skills that are useful in other subjects and in the workplace. They will become confident at handling a variety of data sources and develop competent decision making skills through the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS). They will also understand the complexities of managing the environment and using problem-solving skills to suggest and evaluate solutions to many problems facing our planet today. Fieldwork Opportunities Fieldwork is an integral part of Geography GCSE and will actively develop research skills and reinforce ideas that are covered within the classroom. All students have the opportunity to participate in a 3-day residential fieldtrip to Dorset (Charmouth, Lulworth Cove and Lyme Regis) where they collect data used in the controlled assessment task, a project worth 25% of the final GCSE grade. Controlled assessment has replaced the traditional piece of coursework and is mainly completed within the classroom under controlled conditions. Within school students are offered some enrichment activities such as mini climate change summits and film showings. Assessment Students will be assessed by three written examinations of between 1 hour and 1 hour 15 minutes in length and the submission of the controlled assessment task. Each component is worth 25% of the final GCSE grade. Students sit either higher tier or Foundation tier examinations, dependent on their ability. 6

HISTORY The History GCSE course is divided into four units and aims to give students an understanding of some of the key issues in the modern world, looking at political, social, cultural and economic history, and international relations. Students begin in Year 10 with a unit on Weimar and Nazi Germany, exploring the problems facing Germany after her defeat in the First World War, and analysing the reasons for Hitler’s rise to power and the impact of the Nazi regime up to 1939. After Christmas, we move on to a unit focusing on the causes, crises and end of the Cold War, which dominated international relations for much of the second half of the twentieth century. A study visit to Berlin, for those students who choose to participate, complements both these courses and reinforces students’ knowledge and understanding. In Year 11 the course continues with a unit of Controlled Assessment (completed in class) on the impact of war on Britain, 1914-1945. This explores and compares the way in which the government organised Britain for war in both the First and Second World Wars, and the economic and social impact of this, including the impact on social attitudes and on the role of women. We consider the debate about civilian morale during the Second World War and the extent to which ‘Blitz Spirit’ was a propaganda myth. The final examined unit, studied in Year 11, looks at political, social, economic and cultural developments in post-war Britain, 1951-1979. We study changes in education and employment, and in leisure activities and culture including the development of youth culture and the trends of the ‘Swinging Sixties’ and the extent to which these were widespread across society. Lastly, the course considers changes in social attitudes, for example the abolition of the death penalty, the impact of post-war immigration on attitudes to race and the development of a more multicultural society and the extent to which attitudes towards abortion, divorce and homosexuality became more permissive by 1979. Examinations for each of the three examined units are taken at the end of Year 11.

LANGUAGES FRENCH (Cambridge International Examination) Most Year 10 students are following the Cambridge International GCSE (IGCSE). Building on the skills learnt at KS3, students also cover broader topics such as the environment, the world of work and education and the international world. There is an emphasis on being able to communicate through a variety of tasks and the course is an excellent preparation for further studies at AS and A2 level and beyond. The assessed components are listening, reading, speaking and writing, each worth 25% of the total marks. Assessment in the shape of final examinations takes place at the end of Year 11. The speaking exam is conducted by the class teacher in March of Year 11. There are no foundation or higher papers so results are by outcome. A smaller group studies the Edexcel GCSE course where controlled assessments are used for the writing and speaking components of the course. Listening and reading are assessed during a final examination at the end of the year when students are advised to choose the foundation or higher level. GERMAN (Cambridge International Examination/Edexcel) In the academic year 2014/2015, our top set is following the IGCSE course (Cambridge International examination board) and the second set is following the GCSE course (Edexcel examination board). The GCSE course builds on the skills learnt at KS3. Students continue to develop all four skill areas; listening, speaking, reading and writing through a variety of topics such as holidays, school, leisure, the town and the environment as well as new technologies and living a healthy life style. The GCSE German course uses the Edexcel textbook, which is published in conjunction with the examining board. During Years 10 and 11 writing and speaking tasks are completed under controlled conditions and the best two in each skill are submitted to the examination board with each component being worth 30% of the overall grade. Reading and listening skills, each of which is worth 20% of the overall grade, are tested at the end of Year 11 at foundation or higher level. For the IGCSE course, all skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) are assessed at the end of Year 11. It means that all examinations are final and students do not have to take controlled assessments over the 2 years. Each skill is worth 25% of the final grade. Pupils complete a whole examination in June at the end of Year 10 and in January at the end of year in order to understand the requirements of the examination and understand their progress. 7

ITALIAN (AQA) The course aims to develop the students’ understanding of the language, their ability to communicate effectively, their knowledge and application of grammar and their knowledge and understanding of Italian life and culture. In Year 10, students have the opportunity to visit Italy and stay with Italian families whilst studying at an Italian language school in Urbania. The topics covered on which GCSE assessment will be based are: Lifestyle, Leisure, Home and Environment and Work and Education. The GCSE assesses the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Listening and reading each make up 20% of the mark; these skills are assessed by final examinations. Speaking and writing each make up 30% of the mark. Two controlled assessment tasks are submitted each for the written and the speaking components; these are conducted during Years 10 and 11.

RUSSIAN (Edexcel) The course continues to cover the four skill areas, listening, speaking, reading and writing for which there are 4 separate exams at the end of Year 11. There are no controlled assessment tasks for Russian. In Years 10 and 11 students will continue to work on the topics covered in Years 8 and 9 but will also look at work and unemployment, restaurants and cafes, health and lost property. Considerable emphasis will be placed on oral exam preparation, exam techniques and exam style questions.

SPANISH (Edexcel) Year 10 Students build on grammar and vocabulary acquired in Year 9 through topic areas such as holidays and travel, food and drink, daily routine and school and work. By the end of the year, students should be confident in their use of present, past and future tenses. Emphasis is placed on the four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing and more extended reading and writing tasks encourage greater fluency and creativity. At the end of Year 10, students complete their first written and oral controlled assessment. Year 11 The remaining grammar and topic areas of the GCSE syllabus are taught and assessed and oral and written assignments are completed. Topics include hobbies and leisure, health, the town and the environment. The mock examination in January will be a clear indication of whether the students should be taking foundation or higher papers. It is possible to take different levels in different skills. After February half term, regular examination practice is provided in the skills of listening and reading.

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MUSIC (OCR) In Year 10 students compose, perform, improvise and listen to a range of music. Regular homework is set for composing and listening. Students should practise regularly as part of their instrumental/vocal development but periodically each individual student will prepare a piece to perform to the rest of the class. Improvising is covered in class time (although relevant tasks may be set occasionally for homework). For the summer examination, students will need to perform 2 pieces. They will need to present 2 complete compositions and improvise a piece of music on a given melody or rhythm. There will also be a listening examination covering topic areas set by the board (OCR). The final tasks for composing, performing and improvising are conducted under controlled assessment conditions.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION (AQA) GCSE Physical Education provides students with exciting opportunities to lead a healthy and active lifestyle by choosing from a variety of roles and activities in which to participate in physical activity. In addition to this, the content of the course provides a route to further study in Further Education awards, such as A levels and to Higher Education in PE, as well as to related career opportunities, for example; sports coach/manager, PE teacher, physiotherapist, fitness instructor, sports development officer, sports nutritionist, sports psychologist. The course offers flexibility and choices that lead to a full GCSE award. PE Full Course 

Theory (Unit 3) 40% of GCSE Written paper – 1 hour 30 minutes. Scenario issued to centres before examination.

Practical (Unit 4) 60% of GCSE 4 practical assessments chosen from; performer; organiser; leader/coach; or official. (At least 2 as a performer). Assessment available in a wide variety of sports from netball to windsurfing.

GCSE Physical Education students are expected to attend a minimum of two extra-curricular activities, showing commitment and enthusiasm.

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