Choosing Your GCSE Subjects...

Year 9 is an important year, choosing your subjects for Year 10 & 11 is a very important decision in your career education pathway.

These decisions will shape what happens when you leave full-time education. Getting the right mix of skills and qualifications to prepare you for your future isn’t easy. How do you know you are making the right subject choices, especially if you don’t know what career you would like to follow? So you must make your choices carefully.

This area of the website is intended to guide you through the choice process and give you some of the information you will need to help you to decide what to do.

You will need to think about the following things:

• The subjects you enjoy the most
• Subjects you may need for your future career
• Keeping your options open by choosing a wide range of subjects
• Trying a new subject which could give you a fresh challenge

You should also consider any advice you get from:

• Your Year Tutor
• Mr Evans, Careers Advisor, Careers Wales
• Mrs Howe, Careers Co-ordinator
• Your subject teachers, verbally and from comments made on reports or at parents evenings
• Parents, older brothers and sisters, and friends of the family
• Other materials published by subject departments and on careers websites

You will find that you do not have complete freedom to choose all your subjects.  Some are compulsory, and some have an element of choice. Government rules dictate some of the compulsory subjects, but there is a wide choice available for you to personalise your curriculum to suit your strengths, your aspirations and your interests.

We need the options completed on time so that we can begin the lengthy planning process of producing next year’s timetable to make sure we have the staff, resources and rooming in place to teach the courses that you choose by September. We will do our best to accommodate everyone’s choices, although it is important to point out that occasionally we cannot provide the exact combination of subjects that you have chosen. This is caused by the practicalities of staffing, rooming and resources. If this happens, we will tell you about it and ask you to consider an alternative combination.

We offer many options during the GCSE years.  There are five compulsory subjects (see below), accompanied by a choice of other subjects.

Compulsory Subjects:

• English Language
• English Literature
• Mathematics
• One Science Subject (Biology, Chemistry, Physics)
• One short course subject (see below)

Optional Subjects:

Pupils have 5 further subject choices from:

• Spanish
• French
• A second/third science (Biology, Chemistry or Physics)
• Art & Design
• Business Studies
• Catering
• Geography
• History
• Information Communication Technology
• Music
• Physical Education
• Religious Studies (World Religions)

Short Course Subjects:

• Graphic Communication
• ICT
• PE
• Preparing For Working Life
• Psychology
• Religious Studies (Christianity)

Additionally, study support skills will be available to those who might benefit. There is also a compulsory non-examined course in PE/Games and a lesson of PSE or Careers each week.

If you have any questions, just ask!

Option choices can be made by logging on to the Careers Wales website

www.careerswales.com

Pupils sign in with their username and password provided by Mrs Howe. Click on ‘In my school’ and from here click ‘Free Choices’. Pupils can then enter their choices and save. If they wish to make any changes they simply amend their choices and save again. This can be done as many times as necessary. Clicking on ‘Courses’ and then ‘Optional Courses’ provides a list of the subjects offered at St Clare’s and information on each subject.

Please read the subject pages carefully and make sure you keep to the deadline for finalising your option choices.