Key Stage 4 Choices
Quite soon Year 9 will be making decisions about which subjects they want to continue studying into Years 10 and 11. Up to now all Year 9s have been following the same curriculum with a similar mix of subjects. However, in Year 10 students follow the same core curriculum for 3 out of 5 days a week but can choose very different courses for the other 2 days!
The core curriculum, which everyone follows, comprises: English, Maths, Science, Citizenship, Religious Education, ICT and PE.
Students might then be able to choose from: Art, Drama, Music, French, Spanish, History, Geography, Product Design, Sociology, Media Studies, Business Studies, Psychology, Triple Science, Sport ………. leading to a range of different qualifications. The school will also organise for some students to access courses elsewhere in Lambeth and Southwark which we cannot offer here, such as carpentry, childcare or motorcycle maintenance.
Our aim is to ensure that all students and families are fully supported in making these choices so that students select courses in which they are doing well, interest them, are relevant to ambitions, and which challenge them to achieve.
All Year 9s will be visiting a university during January and February so that they start thinking whether higher education is an ambition for them, and if so, what they have to do to get there. Year 9 will have a taster day in different subjects in February and, in Citizenship lessons, will begin some important work on the topic of careers to encourage them to think about their futures.
Students will be given a booklet containing all the options information and details about courses to take home. On Thursday 23 February all Year 9 families are invited to an Options Evening in school where you will find out more about further and higher education and option choices, before an interview with your child’s tutor. For this important decision, we hope all families will attend, so please put this date in your diary now.
HAHS Science Museum Visit
On Tuesday 17th January 18 year 7 HAHS students went on a visit to the Science Museum, where they took part in a number of interactive events, including a ‘rocket show’ and ‘science launchpad’. Here are some students’ comments about the visit:
“I really enjoyed the trip and my favourite part was the interactive bits. It was good because it was fun and we learned stuff.”
“It was really interesting. I think everybody enjoyed it.”
“We watched a show about rockets where we saw explosions and rockets.”
“The funniest bit was William’s fire hat. I liked the rocket show the most.”
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Author Visit
On Thursday we were delighted to welcome the author Phil Earle to school. Phil is the author of Being Billy, a gripping story about a fourteen year old boy who has been in care for eight years and who is desperate to keep his family together.
The event was attended by nearly fifty Year Eight students, some from our HAHS cohort. Phil kicked off the session by reading the first half of his book’s prologue and then set the students a challenge – to write their own ending. We learned how important a good prologue is. Not only does it help to set the scene, but it makes you want to read on. “It needs to be a page turner” said Phil.
At the end of the workshop, several students read their work aloud. As Phil acknowledged it takes a great deal of courage to stand up in front of an audience and share your work. So thank you to Mina, Kyra, Felan, Helena and Betty for being so brave! Phil was extremely impressed with all our students who worked really well and produced some exciting work. “It was great to see how everyone created something different” said Phil, “and it just goes to show that writing can take you anywhere”. Students can learn more about Phil by visiting his website at www.philearle.com. He also invited any budding authors who would like their work to be read by a wider audience to send their creative writing to him, so that he can post it up on his blog.
Being Billy is an excellent read. We have copies of the book available for loan in the library as well as signed copies priced at £6.99 for students to buy.
Year 9 University Visits
As part of their thinking about their KS4 pathways, all Year 9 will be visiting a university in January and February. There are visits to the University of Sussex on Thursday 19 January and Thursday 2 February and also visits to Goldsmiths, London on Tuesday 31 January and University College, London on Thursday 2 February.
In addition, we hope to provide undergraduate mentors from King’s College for some of our students.
All visits require parental permission so please ensure slips are returned next week; letters were given out to students on 6 January
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