Students only need to select one of the compulsory humanities subjects (history or geography)
English Language
Exam Board: Edexcel
Specification Code: 1EN0
Course Content
Knowledge
- Knowledge of the stylistic conventions and historical context of 19th century fictional writing
- Knowledge of the rules governing a wide range of punctuation, including quotation marks
- Knowledge of the rules governing the full range of sentence structures and paragraph types
- Knowledge of a wide range of literary and structural features used by writers to create meaning
Skills
- How to select and synthesise evidence from different texts
- How to analyse writers’ use of language and structural features to achieve effects and influence readers
- How to use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation
- How to communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, selecting and adapting tone style and register for different forms of fiction, purposes and audiences
- How to organise information and ideas, using structural and grammatical features to support coherence and cohesion of fictional texts
Knowledge
- Knowledge of the stylistic conventions of a range of nonfiction writing
- Knowledge of the rules governing a wide range of punctuation, including quotation marks
- Knowledge of the rules governing the full range of sentence structures and paragraph types
- Knowledge of a wide range of rhetorical and structural features used by writers to create meaning
Skills
- How to compare writers’ ideas and perspectives, as well as how these are conveyed, across two or more texts
- How to use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation
- How to communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, selecting and adapting tone, style and register for different forms of nonfiction, purposes and audiences
- How to organise information and ideas, using structural and grammatical features to support coherence and cohesion of non-fiction texts
- How to use information provided by others to write in different non-fiction forms; maintaining a consistent point of view across a text
- How to write for impact; selecting, organising and emphasising facts, ideas and key points; and using language creatively and persuasively, including rhetorical devices
Assessment
You will be assessed on the basis of two exams, taken at the end of Year 11.
The first exam (worth 40% of the GCSE) lasts 1 hour and 45 minutes, and requires that you answer a series of questions on a previously unseen 19th century fictional text; you will then be asked to produce your own piece of imaginative writing.
The second exam (worth 60% of the GCSE) lasts 2 hour and 5 minutes, and requires that you answer a series of questions on 2 previously unseen 20th century nonfiction texts; you will then be asked to produce your own piece of nonfiction writing.
Future Options
GCSE English Language equips students for further study at sixth form and university. It is also provides vital skills for life and work by developing students’ ability to understand the written word with clarity and communicate their own views with precision. These skills are relevant in all career paths and essential in many. Indeed, English Language is the most commonly-quoted qualification for jobs, courses and promoted posts across the country.
Additional Information
GCSE English Language require a well-honed set of exam skills, developed through lots of in-class reading and extensive exam practise. If you work hard, ask lots of questions and listen attentively, you will achieve!
English Literature
Exam Board: Edexcel
Specification Code: 1ET0
Course Content
Knowledge
- The author’s own life and individual situation in relation to the text
- The historical setting, time and location of the text
- The social and cultural contexts (e.g., attitudes in society)
- The literary context of the text, for example, literary movements or genres
- The way in which texts are received and engaged with by different audiences, at different times
Skills
- How to maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response
- How to use textual references, including quotations, to support and illustrate
interpretations - How to analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create
meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate - Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written
- Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation
Knowledge
- Knowledge of the stylistic conventions of a range of 19th century fiction writing
- Knowledge of the stylistic conventions of a range of poetry
- Knowledge of the literary context of the text
Skills
- How to compare writers’ ideas and perspectives, as well as howthese are conveyed, across two poems
- How to compare and contrast texts studied critically, and refer where relevant to theme, characterisation, context (where known), style and literary quality
Assessment
You will be assessed on the basis of two exams, taken either at the end of Year 10 or Year 11.
The first exam (worth 50% of the GCSE) lasts 1 hour and 45 minutes, and requires that you study a Shakespeare play and a post-1914 British play or novel. It is a closed book exam which means texts are not allowed in the examination.
Section A of the exam will be based on a Shakespeare play and will comprise a two-part question, with the first task focused on an extract of approximately 30 lines. The second task is focused on how a theme reflected in the extract is explored elsewhere in the play.
Section B of the exam will be based on a post-1914 British play or novel and require you to answer one essay question.
The second exam (worth 50% of the GCSE) lasts 2 hour and 15 minutes, and requires that you study a 19th century novel and a poetry collection from the Pearson Poetry Anthology. It is a closed book exam which means texts are not allowed in the examination.
Section A of the exam will be based on your study of a 19th century novel comprising a two part question, with the first part focused on an extract of approximately 400 words. The second part is an essay question exploring the whole text.
Section B of the exam will be split into two parts. Part 1 requires that you answer one question comparing a named poem from the Pearson Poetry Anthology collection to another poem from that collection. The named poem will be shown in the question paper. Part 2 requires that you answer one question comparing two unseen contemporary poems.
Future Options
GCSE English Literature equips students for further study at sixth form and university. It also provides vital skills for life and work by developing students’ ability to understand the written word with clarity and to challenge the world around them. With exposure to a wide range of classic literature students, with a good understanding, will be able to make connections across their reading. The course enables students to read in depth, critically and evaluatively, which are skills necessary for any job. It also encourages students to acquire and use a wide vocabulary.
Additional Information
GCSE English Literature is a joyous subject; English lessons so far have been leading you up to this very point. You will continue to develop the habit of reading widely and often and develop an appreciation of the depth and power of the English literary heritage. This qualification allows you to make sense of the world around you!
Maths
Exam Board: Edexcel
Specification Code: 1MA1
Course Content
Topic and Weighting
Number – 22-28%
Algebra – 17-23%
Ratio, Proportion and Rates of Change – 22-28%
Geometry and Measures – 12-18%
Statistics and Probability – 12-18%
Topic and Weighting
Number – 12-18%
Algebra – 27-33%
Ratio, Proportion and Rates of Change – 17-23%
Geometry and Measures – 17-23%
Statistics and Probability – 12-18%
Assessment
You will be entered for either Foundation or Higher Tier and assessed on the basis of three exams, taken at the end of year 11.
Regardless of the tier, the three equally weighted papers carry the same format:
- Paper 1 – Non-calculator, 90 minutes, 80 marks
- Paper 2 & 3 – Calculator, 90 minutes each, 80 marks each
Any of the papers can contain any topic, although some topics to be assessed fully require a calculator and will only appear in a certain format on Paper 2 & 3. Foundation Tier is graded 1 – 5, Higher Tier is graded 4 – 9 (although a grade 3 is allowed).
Future Options
GCSE Maths is useful regardless of the job, career or further study you pursue. Indeed the vast majority of jobs and educational courses expect you to be numerate and competent with basic mathematical skills.
Careers that specifically require maths range from medicine and forecasting the weather (meteorologist), to working in fashion design and finance.
Subjects that require a lot of mathematical knowledge include business, economics, all the sciences, geography, psychology and sociology.
Additional Information
Students that excel in mathematics could be entered for an additional GCSE in mathematics called Further Maths that acts as additional preparation for Key Stage 5 Mathematics.
All students are required to have a scientific calculator for their lessons and final exams.
Combined Science
Exam Board: AQA
Specification Code: 8464
Course Content
Combined Sciences is a Core Subject (meaning that it is compulsory), where students continue to study Science from all three disciplines to obtain two GCSEs.
The content in Combined Science is explained further below, but is designed to encompass a breadth of content in order to provide pupils with robust scientific knowledge and skill set for later life and further study post -16.
The majority of GCSE students nationally study Combined Sciences.
- Cell biology
- Organisation
- Infection and response
- Bioenergetics
- Homeostasis and response
- Inheritance variation and evolution
- Ecology
- Atomic structure and the periodic table
- Bonding, structure and the properties of matter
- Quantitative chemistry
- Chemical changes
- Energy changes
- The rate and extent of chemical change
- Organic chemicals
- Chemical analysis
- Chemistry of the atmosphere
- Using resources
- Energy
- Electricty
- Particle model of matter
- Atomic structure
- Forces
- Waves
- Magnetism and electromagnetism
Assessment
There are six papers: two biology, two chemistry and two physics.
Biology
- 2 written exams: each 1 hour 15 minutes (Foundation and Higher Tier)
- 70 marks each
- 16.7% of GCSE each paper
Chemistry
- 2 written exams: each 1 hour 15 minutes (Foundation and Higher Tier)
- 70 marks each
- 16.7% of GCSE each paper
Physics
- 2 written exams: each 1 hour 15 minutes (Foundation and Higher Tier)
- 70 marks each
- 16.7% of GCSE each paper
Each of the papers will assess knowledge and understanding from distinct topic areas, asking multiple choice, structured, closed short answer, and open response questions.
40% of marks will be based on demonstrating knowledge and understanding; 40% of marks will be based on applying that knowledge and understanding and 20% on analysing given information and ideas.
There is also a significant maths/numeracy component to the examinations,. (Overall 20% of marks will be derived from numeracy based questions (10% from Biology, 20% from Chemistry and 30% from Physics).
Future Options
GCSE Combined Science equips students for further study at sixth form and university. It is not necessary to study Separate Sciences in order to take a Science at A-Level or University. It is much more important to have higher quality grades rather than a higher quantity of grades.
KS4 Science provides students with a wide array of scientific knowledge about the world and universe around us. It enables students to identify, describe, explain, link, analyse and evaluate evidence and experience working with the scientific method to promote scientific study and instill these skills, necessary in all evidence based disciplines. Science promotes the use of numeracy and literacy to enable students to articulate, comment on and to prove evidence/data. It also requires students to consider the social, economic, environmental and ethical implications surrounding relevant aspects of science and to promote responsible and critical thinkers.
Pupils also need to discuss and evaluate different viewpoints with their peers whilst considering their own views and those of others with regards to key philosophical questions. Finally, Science builds pupils’ communication, teamwork and leadership skills through group work and discussion exercises throughout the curriculum.
Additional Information
GCSE Sciences requires an extensive set of practical skills. There is therefore a required practical element that is not explicitly assessed but compulsory, and will be met repeatedly throughout the course.
French / Spanish
Exam Board: AQA
Specification Code: French: 8652, Spanish: 8692
Course Content
- Identity and relationships with others
- Healthy living and lifestyle
- Education and work
- Free-time activities
- Customs, festivals and celebrations
- Celebrity culture
- Travel and tourism, including places of interest
- Media and technology
- The environment and where people live
Assessment
You will be assessed on the basis of four exams, taken at the end of Year 11. GCSE Spanish/French has a Foundation Tier (grades 1–5) and a Higher Tier (grades 4–9). Students must take all four question papers at the same tier.
Listening Exam
- Written exam: 35 minutes
- 40 marks
- 25% of GCSE
- Section A – listening comprehension questions in English, to be answered in English or non-verbally
- Section B – dictation where students transcribe short sentences, including a small number of words from outside the prescribed vocabulary list
Speaking Exam
- Non-exam assessment (NEA)
- 7–9 minutes + 15 minutes’ supervised preparation time
- 50 marks
- 25% of GCSE
- Role-play – 15 marks (2 minutes)
- Photo card – 15 marks (2 minutes)
- General conversation – 30 marks (3–5 minutes)
Reading Exam
- Written exam: 45 minutes
- 60 marks
- 25% of GCSE
- Section A – reading comprehension questions in English, to be answered in English or non- verbally (40 marks)
- Section B – translation from French/Spanish into English, minimum of 35 words
Writing Exam
- Written exam: 1 hour 10 minutes
- 50 marks
- 25% of GCSE
- Question 1 – student produces five short sentences in response to a photo (10 marks)
- Question 2 – student produces a short piece of writing in response to five compulsory bullet points, approximately 50 words in total (10 marks)
- Question 3 – student completes five short grammar tasks (5 marks)
- Question 4 – translation of sentences from English into French/Spanish, minimum 35 words in total (10 marks)
- Question 5 (overlap question) – student produces a piece of writing in response to three compulsory bullet points, approximately 90 words in total. There is a choice from two questions (15 marks)
Listening Exam
- Written exam: 45 minutes
- 50 marks
- 25% of GCSE
- Section A – listening comprehension questions in English, to be answered in English or non-verbally
- Section B – dictation where students transcribe short sentences, including a small number of words from outside the prescribed vocabulary list
Speaking Exam
- Non-exam assessment (NEA)
- 10–12 minutes + 15 minutes’ supervised preparation time
- 50 marks25% of GCSE
- Role-play – 15 marks (2 minutes)
- Photo card – 15 marks (3 minutes)
- General conversation – 30 marks (5–7 minutes)
Reading Exam
- Written exam: 1 hour
- 60 marks
- 25% of GCSE
- Section A – reading comprehension questions in English, to be answered in English or non- verbally (40 marks)
- Section B – translation from French/Spanish into English, minimum of 50 words
Writing Exam
- Written exam: 1 hour 15 minutes
- 50 marks
- 25% of GCSE
- Question 1 – translation of sentences from English into French/Spanish, minimum 50 words in total (10 marks)
- Question 2 (overlap question) – student produces a piece of writing in response to three compulsory bullet points, approximately 90 words in total. There is a choice from two questions (15 marks)
- Question 3 – open-ended writing task (student responds to two bullets, producing approximately 150 words in total). There is a choice from two questions (25 marks)
Future Options
French/Spanish GCSE offers students the opportunity to develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills to their full potential, while equipping them with the knowledge of the Francophone/Hispanic world. It will be a key course to help you stand out in applications for Sixth Form, University and future jobs. Some UK universities ask for a modern foreign language at GCSE as part of their entrance requirements, even if the student is not planning to study a language. This is because they believe it to be proof of great aptitude and flexibility. If you wish to continue language study at University, it is advantageous to study French/Spanish in conjunction with another degree, such as Business management, English Literature, Law, Politics, Film, Mathematics, etc.
If you would like more information about what degrees you can do, please visit the WhatUni website. You can also find careers information here.
At LAB we are passionate about the benefits of learning a language and the opportunities it can afford our students. We strongly believe that learning a language is a skill for life and will help to prepare young people for a globalised workplace, where collaboration across cultures is of great benefit to a variety of industries. We believe languages are something students can find rewarding, contributing to the development of fully rounded individuals with a holistic view of the world in which we live.
Additional Information
To be successful in French/Spanish GCSE you need to revise vocabulary little and often, have awareness on how to improve your spoken and written language and be willing to make mistakes in order to progress further.
History
Students only need to select one of the compulsory humanities subjects (history or geography)
Exam Board: Edexcel
Specification Code: 1HI0
Course Content
Knowledge
- Knowledge of Medicine in medieval England including the Black Death
- Knowledge of the Medical Renaissance in England including the Great Plague
- Knowledge of Medicine in eighteenth- and nineteenth century Britain including Cholera in London
- Knowledge of Medicine in modern Britain including Penicillin and Lung Cancer
- Knowledge of the British sector of the Western Front, 1914–18: injuries, treatment and the trenches
- Knowledge, selection and use of sources for historical enquiries
Skills
- How to demonstrate knowledge and understanding, with questions focusing on similarity and difference, and change and continuity. This may include turning points (significance), extent of, and causes or consequences of change
- How to analyse, evaluate and use contemporary sources to make substantiated judgements
- How to identify and use sources relevant to this historic environment for enquiries
- How to construct logical chains of reasoning and make connections between the elements in extended writing questions
- How to justify your arguments by examining evidence and creating a supported judgement
Knowledge
- Knowledge of Elizabeth’s early reign: Queen, government and religion, 1558–69
- Knowledge of challenges to Elizabeth at home and abroad, 1569–88
- Knowledge of Elizabethan society in the Age of Exploration, 1558–88
- Knowledge of the increasing East-West tension and the origins of the Cold War, 1941–58
- Knowledge of Cold War crises, 1958–70 including the Berlin Crisis
- Knowledge of the end of the Cold War, 1970-91 including Détente and the collapse of the USSR
Skills
- How to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of early Elizabethan England. Questions will target key features and causation, and may also target other second order concepts (change, continuity, consequence, similarity, difference, significance)
- How to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the Cold War. Questions will target: consequence, significance and analytical narrative
- How to construct logical chains of reasoning and make connections between the elements in extended writing questions
- How to justify your arguments by examining evidence and creating a supported judgement
Knowledge
- Knowledge of the Weimar Republic including the Impact of World War One, 1919-1929
- Knowledge of Hitler’s rise to power, 1919–33, including the Wall Street Crash
- Knowledge of Nazi control and dictatorship, 1933–39, including the role of the police state
- Knowledge of Life in Nazi Germany, 1933–39, including the persecution of minorities
Skills
- How to demonstrate knowledge that illustrates an understanding of causation
- How to analyse and evaluate contemporary sources and later interpretations based on evidence from the period of Weimar and Nazi Germany
- How to decide which evidence to use to reach judgements. How to support answers with precise evidence and consider ways in which evidence could give rise to and support different interpretations
- How to evaluate given interpretations using their own knowledge of the period
- How to construct logical chains of reasoning and make connections between the elements in extended writing questions
- How to justify your arguments by examining evidence and creating a supported judgement.
Assessment
You will be assessed on the basis of three exams, taken at the end of Year 11.
The first exam (worth 30% of the GCSE) lasts 1 hour and 15 minutes, and requires that you answer a series of questions on a thematic study; you will also be asked to answer source questions on a related historic environment.
The second exam (worth 40% of the GCSE) lasts 1 hour and 45 minutes, and requires that you answer a series of questions on a British Depth Study; you will then be asked to answer a series of questions on a modern Period Study.
The third exam (worth 30% of the GCSE) lasts 1 hour and 20 minutes, and requires that you answer a series of questions on a non-British modern depth study.
Future Options
GCSE History can be useful in many job families including those linked with law, journalism and publishing, marketing, sales and advertising, arts, crafts and design, broadcast media and performing arts, leisure, sport and tourism, as well as education and training.
Related subjects include geography, archaeology, history of art, law, sociology, philosophy, psychology, government and politics, global studies, social biology, economics and religious studies.
Additional Information
GCSE History requires considerable reading and extended writing, especially in exams.
Geography
Students only need to select one of the compulsory humanities subjects (history or geography)
Exam Board: Edexcel
Specification Code: 1GB0
Course Content
Knowledge
- Hazardous Earth: How does the world’s climate system function, why does it change and how can this be hazardous for people?
- Development dynamics: What is the scale of global inequality and how can it be reduced?
- Challenges of an urbanising world: What are the causes and challenges of rapid urban change?
Skills
- How to demonstrate knowledge of locations, places, processes, environments and different scales
- How to demonstrate geographical understanding of concepts, environments and processes and the interrelationships between places, environments and processes
- How to apply knowledge and understanding to interpret, analyse and evaluate geographical information and issues to make judgements
- How to select, adapt and use a variety of skills and techniques to investigate questions and issues and communicate findings
- How to construct logical chains of reasoning and make connections between the elements in extended writing questions;
- How to justify your arguments by examining evidence and creating a supported judgement
- How to use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, with accurate spelling and punctuation
Knowledge
- The UK’s evolving physical landscape – including Coastal change and conflict: Why does the physical landscape of the UK vary from place to place?
- River processes and pressures. Investigating how and why drainage basin and channel characteristics influence flood risk for people and property along a river in the UK
- The UK’s evolving human landscape Dynamic UK cities. Why are places and people changing in the UK?
- Geographical investigations – including one physical fieldwork investigation and one human fieldwork investigation
Skills
- How to demonstrate knowledge of locations, places, processes, environments and different scales
- How to demonstrate geographical understanding of concepts, environments and processes and the interrelationships between places, environments and processes
- How to apply knowledge and understanding to interpret, analyse and evaluate geographical information and issues to make judgements
- How to select, adapt and use a variety of skills and techniques to investigate questions and issues and communicate findings
- How to construct logical chains of reasoning and make connections between the elements in extended writing questions;
- How to justify your arguments by examining evidence and creating a supported judgement
- How to use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, with accurate spelling and punctuation
Knowledge
- People and the biosphere: Why is the biosphere so important to human wellbeing and how do humans use and modify it to obtain resources?
- Forests under threat: What are the threats to forest biomes and how can they be reduced?
- Consuming energy resources: How can the growing demand for energy by met without serious environmental consequences?
- Knowledge of fieldwork, geographical skills and data handling
Skills
- How to demonstrate knowledge of locations, places, processes, environments and different scales
- How to demonstrate geographical understanding of concepts, environments and processes and the interrelationships between places, environments and processes
- How to apply knowledge and understanding to interpret, analyse and evaluate geographical information and issues to make judgements
- How to select, adapt and use a variety of skills and techniques to investigate questions and issues and communicate findings
- How to construct logical chains of reasoning and make connections between the elements in extended writing questions;
- How to justify your arguments by examining evidence and creating a supported judgement
- How to use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, with accurate spelling and punctuation
Assessment
You will be assessed on the basis of three exams, taken at the end of year 11.
The first exam (worth 37.5% of the GCSE) lasts 1 hour and 30 minutes. In Paper 1 all questions are compulsory. There are three 30-mark sections. Of the 94 raw marks available, up to 4 marks are awarded for SPaG.
The second exam (worth 37.5% of the GCSE) lasts 1 hour and 30 minutes. In Paper 2, there are two compulsory sections, each worth 27 marks followed by a third section comprising two ‘mirror image’ fieldwork subsections worth 18 marks each with students selecting either coastal or river fieldwork topics in one section and either urban or rural fieldwork in the other.
The third exam (worth 25% of the GCSE) lasts 1 hour and 30 minutes. Paper 3 is a decision-making exercise; all questions are compulsory but the number of marks allocated to the first three of its four sections will vary depending on the chosen theme. Up to 4 marks are awarded for SPaG.
Future Options
GCSE Geography enables students to develop and extend their knowledge of locations, places, environments and processes, and of different scales including global; and of social, political and cultural contexts. Students will be able to apply geographical knowledge, understanding, skills and approaches appropriately and creatively to real world contexts and to contemporary situations and issues. They will also be able to develop well-evidenced arguments drawing on their geographical knowledge and understanding.
Geography can be useful in many different job families such as environmental science, engineering and manufacturing, animals, agriculture, plants and land, construction, leisure, sport and tourism, transport and logistics.