It was fantastic to welcome our Year 8 and 9 students and their families to their options evenings in school. During this term, our Year 9 students make their KS4 option choices – deciding which subjects they will continue to study through to the end of their time at Cardinal Heenan. Our Year 8 students, meanwhile, have their first opportunity to make informed choices about their curriculum, selecting the subjects they wish to pursue in more depth – this may be new subjects they wish to understand a bit more about or familiar subjects where they are keen to understand the KS4 options before they commit fully in Year 10.
One of the most exciting parts of this process is the Options Fair. Here, all students are given the opportunity to hear from their older peers (who have chosen to study or continue the subject) what the course entails. The options fairs provide an interesting insight for students in a more relaxed environment – learning more about each subject from students who have made similar choices over the past few years.
This was supported by an information evening for students and their families, in which curriculum leaders shared information about the course of study and assessment pathways for their subjects. To ensure our young people are fully supported in understanding the implications of their decisions, all students in Year 9 have an individual guidance meeting with a member of the Senior Leadership Team. These meetings provided an opportunity to talk about their choices, considering both their love of each subject and the way in which options choices may inform students’ plans for future study or employment.
