Pathways
The end of Year 8, and the Years 9, 10 and 11 that follow, are crucial in the life of The King’s Academy students as they strive to develop their characters, to understand the world around them better so that they can make good decisions, to seek answers to the big question of life, of course to achieve their very best results in a range of subjects and qualifications.
Information for students in Year 8 (Year 9 from September 2023)
At the beginning of Year 9, students begin to specialise in areas of personal interest as well as taking a core of essential subjects. The document below summarises the Year 9 curriculum for students and parents:
Year 9 Curriculum – Information for Students and Parents
Information for students in Year 9 (Year 10 from September 2022)
During Year 9, students have studied a range of subjects alongside their core academic curriculum. As they move into Year 10, students will make further choices to determine their final curriculum pathway for Key Stage 4. The document below summarises the Year 10 curriculum for students and parents:
Years 10 and 11 Curriculum – Information for Students and Parents
Subject Information
The following documents provide a summary of each of the courses available to students in Years 10 and 11.
Core Curriculum (statutory)
All students will study these courses, with students being allocated to either Triple Science or Combined Science on the basis of their aptitude and achievement across Key Stage 3. All of these courses are assessed fully by examinations at the end of Year 11. There is no coursework element in any of these subjects.
‘Academic’ GCSEs
These courses are assessed fully by examinations at the end of Year 11. There is no coursework element in any of these subjects.
‘Practical’ GCSEs
These courses are assessed through a mix of examinations and coursework, typically in roughly equal proportions. They have a larger emphasis on practical work than the ‘academic’ GCSE courses.
Vocational Courses
These courses are all equivalent to GCSE courses in the grades awarded but have a much greater emphasis on coursework and ongoing assessment. All courses have some element of external assessment but this is typically at a much lower level than GCSEs (around 25%). Students will produce portfolios of evidence across Key Stage 4 to submit for assessment at the end of Year 11.
Child Development (Vocational)
Engineering Design (Vocational)
Enterprise and Marketing (Vocational)
Health & Social Care (Vocational)
Hospitality and Catering (Vocational)
Information Technology (Vocational)