Year 9 into 10 Options

At All Saints Academy Dunstable we are committed to offering all our students a broad and balanced curriculum whilst at the same time allowing our Year 8 students an element of choice in what GCSE and BTEC subjects they might study.

We feel that a three year period to study GCSE/BTEC courses gives our students greater academic potential and prepares them for a wider range of opportunities for their future career pathways post 16.

We seek to inform Year 9 students and their parents/carers that a process of support is in place in order that these students, even at this young age, make the right and informed decisions that will be best for their future plans.

Students are required to take certain subjects which make up their Compulsory Core Curriculum at Key Stage 4, including English, Mathematics, Science, Computing, a Humanities subject (Geography or History), a Modern Foreign Language, Physical Education and Religious Studies.

The Extended Curriculum (Pathways) allows students an element of choice, depending on ability, aptitude, need and progress in Year 9. This is not necessarily a free choice; as an Academy focusing on raising standards we will want to discuss with the student and the parent/carer what the best Pathway is in each individual case.