stephenson studio school - key stage 4 options booklet
DESCRIPTION
Every student is treated as an individual with a personal coach to support them throughout their ‘GCSE’ studies. Students will meet with him or her at least once per fortnight to review their progress and plan work that supports their learning sessions.TRANSCRIPT
Key Stage 4 Option Booklet
The Stephenson Studio School
Introduction…
The Stephenson Studio School is a small school. Our whole
approach is in supporting learners to be successful at work, in
further education or training, or in university.
Seven essential elements lie at heart of the Stephenson Studio
School model, elements that have been developed through
extensive research and consultation with employers, education
experts and young people.
The essential elements of the Studio School are:
Employability and enterprise skills
Real work
Key qualifications
Small Schools
Personalised curriculum
Students of all abilities
Practical learning
Every student is treated as an individual with a personal coach to
support them throughout their ‘GCSE’ studies. Students will
meet with him or her at least once per fortnight to review their
progress and plan work that supports their learning sessions.
Every key stage 4 student will also undertake 4 hours of
employment each week. This will be carefully planned and
facilitated through their personal coach. During their time with
each employer, which will usually be for a minimum of six
months per internship, students will make a measurable
contributions to their employers business and will acquire the
CREATE skills which are so highly valued by employers.
Key stage four option booklet
Contents
Subject Page
Introduction to the key stage 4 curriculum 2
Core Projects 3
CREATE framework 4
English Baccalaureate: 6
GCSE English 6
GCSE Mathematics 6
GCSE Double Science 8
GCSE French 8
GCSE Humanities (Geography or History) 9
Other Examined Subjects: 10
GCSE English Literature 10
Separate Sciences 10
GCSE ICT 10
Non-examined subjects: 11
Sport and Fitness 11
Careers information and guidance 12
Personal, Social, Health and Enterprise Education 12
World Religions and Cultures 12
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The Stephenson Studio School
Our Key Stage 4 Curriculum
Studio School students follow the National Curriculum and gain
key qualifications principally through enterprise projects.
Our school subject curriculum covers 8 GCSEs: English, Maths,
Double Science, French, ICT and Geography or History.
Successfully passing these subjects will enable students to
achieve the English Baccalaureate.
The national curriculum and key qualifications will be delivered
through a thematic approach. This aims to provide a more
integrated learning experience that breaks down into strict
subject boundaries. To achieve this The Studio Schools Trust has
developed six learning areas.
These are:
1 Transforming my community
2 Leading healthy lifestyles
3 Understanding the world
4 Discovering through technology
5 Communicating with others
6 Enterprising and creative behaviour
The table below shows how these themes are mapped against
GCSE subjects.
CWO - Communicating with othersCurriculum links: English, Citizenship, Geography, French
TMC - Transforming my communityCurriculum links: Business Studies, History, English and French
DTT - Discovering through technologyCurriculum links: Maths, ICT, English and French
ECB - Enterprising and creative behaviourCurriculum links: Business Studies, English, Citizenship andFrench
UTW - Understanding the worldCurriculum links: Geography, Science, Economics and French
LHL - Leading healthy life stylesCurriculum links: English, Economics, History and Geography
Over the course of year 10 and year 11, students will work
through six ‘enterprise projects’ each lasting for 17 weeks.
Every enterprise project incorporates six learning areas which
are mapped to the national curriculum:
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Key stage four option booklet
The studio school Key Stage 4 year
The studio school year is divided into three units, each lasting
seventeen weeks. In each unit students will work on a Core
Project that focuses on a particular area of learning. Each Core
Project will address a key question and students will be
expected to originate a product.
For example the key or driving question for the year 10 Core
Project Leading Healthy Lifestyles is, ‘How can I make my
community healthier?’ The final product is a local health
campaign designed to change behaviour so that a target group
adopts a healthier lifestyle.
The relationship between students’ learning and the real world
is further reinforced through the way that this work is
commissioned. Core projects will be commissioned by local
community organisations and businesses. The leading healthy
lifestyles project will be commissioned by a local health
organisation.
Over the course of a student’s time at school, the units gradually
become more open and increasingly challenging. This allows
students to gradually adapt to project based learning, something
that is a key feature of both working and university life.
Students will also participate in a series of subject specific
learning sessions to support preparation for exam success.
Wherever possible these are linked to the context of the
enterprise projects to ensure that learning connects with the
real world. Further one-to-one and small group coaching
sessions will help students with any areas of studies they are
finding difficult.
3
The Stephenson Studio School
The Studio School CREATE skills framework
Whilst at the Stephenson Studio School students will acquire key
employability and life skills through the CREATE framework.
Five principles underpin the CREATE framework:
1 Accessibility – a simple and easy to use structure that
is accessible to both students and staff;
2 Simplicity – CREATE uses no jargon, only clear, basic
language that anyone can understand;
3 Transparency – every skill is assessed so that the
students know exactly what is expected of them;
4 Transferability – students are expected to exhibit
their skills in a wide range of settings, not just in
school;
5 Evolutionary – CREATE will evolve every year to
reflect new research, qualifications and a changing jobs
market.
CREATE focuses on six key skills that will enable students to
thrive both at work, at university or through further training or
study.
The six key skills are:
Communication
Relating to people
Enterprise
Applying knowledge
Thinking
Emotional intelligence
The diagram opposite explains CREATE in further depth.
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Key stage four option booklet
The CREATE Framework
Communication Relating to Enterprise Applied Thinking EmotionalPeople Intelligence
Definition
Skill Area
Explain Collaborate Create School and Research InterpretingLearning myself
Express Negotiate Plan Family and Analyse ManagingRelationships myself
Present Responsibility Execute Work and Decision InterpretingEmployment others
Reflection My local Managing othersCommunity
Wider world
Learners can
communicate
effectively through a
variety of methods
Learners
understand and are
able to effectively
apply their
knowledge and
skills to a variety
of situations
Learners understand
and are able to
successfully interact
with others in a
range of
circumstances
Learners are able to
independently build
connections,
processing
information to make
reasoned
judgements and
solve problems
Learners understand
and are able to
manage theirs and
others emotions,
channelling them
effectively and
positively
Learners are
creative and have
the initiative skills
to recognise and
respond to
opoortunity
5
The Stephenson Studio School
Reinforcing CREATE skills
During year 10 and year 11 students will spend four hours per
week with a local employer. This will enable students to put
CREATE skills into practice in a variety of situations.
The English Baccalaureate
The English Baccalaureate was introduced by the Coalition
Government in 2010 as a key indicator of academic success. It
comprises of 6 GCSEs: English, Mathematics, Double Science, a
Modern Foreign Language and a Humanities subject.
There is more detail about the six GCSE’s offered by the
Stephenson Studio School that enable students to attain the
English Baccalaureate.
GCSE English Language and English Literature
All students will study both English Language and English
Literature. These are taught as an integrated course and much
of the learning will take place through the six core projects, but
will lead to two separate qualifications at GCSE. The course will
be wide ranging and stimulating, based around the three
assessment objectives of speaking and listening, reading and
writing. Lessons involve a wide variety of activities. As well as
developing skills in writing, students explore non-fiction and
media texts through their Core Project work. A broad range of
poetry, prose and drama from the twentieth century and other
historical periods, as well as from varying cultures, will be
studied for English Literature. Shakespeare is of course a
compulsory area of study. An example of how we approached
this in our core project was
‘How can I tell the story of Macbeth to French audience?’ allows
students to learn about the text and use their creativity to
develop a product that narrates its story to a target audience.
This project is commissioned by a French school with students
who learn English. Prototypes of the product will be pitched to
the school and if good enough will become a live resource for
the school to use.
GCSE Mathematics
Students will follow the AQA GCSE in Mathematics.
This specification comprises of the following topics:
Statistics and Probability
Number, Algebra and Geometry
Functional skills.
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Key stage four option booklet
This specification has been developed in consultation with
practising teachers and members of the wider mathematics
community, including subject associations. Teachers have told us
the importance of sound technique in working with numbers
and understanding fractions, decimals, percentage and basic
ratio. These feature across both examination papers and across
both tiers, giving learners opportunities to apply these
fundamental skills in a variety of ways, which may be in real
world, everyday contexts, statistical problems or more abstract,
mathematical scenarios.
The assessment is undertaken at the end of the two year period
of study and consists of two question papers, differently
weighted so that 60% of the assessment allows the use of a
calculator.
All assessment is covered in two examinations taken within the
same series. No examination paper is overly long with a
maximum of two hours at the Higher tier.
This specification offers excellent preparation for GCE
mathematics.
Much of the skills and knowledge in the three units will be
incorporated into the six core projects.
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The Stephenson Studio School
GCSE Double Science (worth two GCSE’s)
Science is made up of Biology, Chemistry and Physics and is
studied as two separate GCSE’s. There are a number of
topics where current issues in science are reviewed and
discussed e.g. the energy debate, global warming and healthy
diet.
GCSE French
This is a continuation of the aims and methods of students’ key
stage 3 language studies. The four GCSE skills of listening,
reading, speaking and writing are further improved through
ensuring all the core topics have some work in French. This
gives students the opportunity to apply French in real life
situations to build their confidence and vocabulary. French has
many business applications, particularly with businesses that
export and import to France and other French-speaking
countries such as Luxembourg, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Guyana,
French speaking Canada and other French colonies.
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Key stage four option booklet
GCSE Humanities (a choice of Geography or History)
Students will be able to choose from either GCSE Geography or
GCSE History:
GCSE Geography
This is for students who take an interest in what is happening in
the world and who enjoy working things out for themselves, for
instance by watching documentaries and reading newspapers.
The course will appeal to those students who are
interested in:
The issues which affect people and the places they live in;
How villages, towns and cities are changing and why;
How people are effecting the environment we live in;
What causes different landscapes;
And
Who enjoy travel and finding out about new people,
places and landscapes;
Enjoy a subject that is relevant to their lives and
experiences;
Want the opportunity to do fieldwork.
GCSE History
This will focus on analysing key historical events and
developments to better understand the modern world. History
allows us to look at a vast array of other subjects such as
Politics, Economics, Psychology, Geography, Medicine and other
sciences in order to understand why things are as they are.
The main topics covered are:
Unit 1 - Crime and Punishment
Unit 2 - Life in Nazi Germany
Unit 3 - Crime and Protest, using sources
Unit 4 - Controlled Assessment (Topic chosen from
The USA in 1920’s or USA and Vietnam War)
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The Stephenson Studio School
Other examined GCSEs
In addition to the six GCSEs and the CREATE skills students
have the opportunity to take two further GCSE subjects which
are:
Separate Sciences
Through an enrichment programme, students may opt to
extend their science studies to sit three separate science GCSE
subjects of Biology, Chemistry and Physics rather than double
award science. This will require additional time commitment
and should not be undertaken lightly.
GCSE ICT
ICT is an integral part of Studio School life and the core
projects. All students will be entered for GCSE Science and will
study two units with unit 1 being assessed through a written
exam worth 40% of the marks and unit 2 assessed as practical
project worth 60% of the marks:
Unit 1 – Living in the digital world
In this unit students explore how digital technology impacts on
the lives of individuals, organisations and society. Students learn
about current and emerging digital technologies and the issues
raised by their use in a range of contexts (learning and earning,
leisure, shopping and money management, health and wellbeing,
on the move). Students develop an awareness of the risks that
are inherent in using ICT and the features of safe, secure and
responsible practice.
Unit 2 – Using digital tools
This is a practical unit designed to broaden and enhance
students ICT skills and capability. They work with a range of
digital tools and techniques to produce effective ICT solutions in
a range of contexts. Students learn to reflect critically on their
own and other’s use of ICT and to adopt safe, secure and
responsible practice. They put into practice what they learn in
unit 1 to support the work of the core projects.
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Key stage four option booklet
Non- examined subjects:
Students will take part in activities and studies to broaden their
skills for life and ability to manage their career progression,
health and personal finances. These subjects are not examined.
Sport, fitness and recreation
All students will take part in a programme of fitness
or sport as part of a healthy lifestyle. Students who have a
passion for particular activities can arrange to pursue these
activities during the allotted school sport and fitness session.
These can be substituted for the school sport and fitness
programme. Otherwise the school will put on a range of sports
and fitness activities to promote health and wellbeing.
All students will be encouraged to take part in the recreational
activities programme. There is a choice of sporting and fitness
activities both in school and in outside facilities, which provide
the opportunity to enjoy traditional games or develop new
interests. In addition there will be the opportunity to work
towards a ‘world challenge’, ‘Duke of Edinburgh Award’ and
take part in a host of clubs.
Careers information and guidance
Personal coaches will help students to make sense of career
options. External visitors will be invited to speak to students.
Impartial advice will be offered.
Personal, Social, Health and EnterpriseEducation
This is an important area to enable students to cope with the
pressures of the ‘outside world’ and to enable them to make
sensible choices about sexual health, drugs and financial
management. These topics are dealt with sensitively and non-
judgementally. The work of the personal coach and the close
home school links should support this area of study and seek to
reduce the stresses of the teenage years. The success of this
part of the school curriculum can be measured by the student’s
ability to make sensible and healthy life choices.
World religions and cultures
All students will have a thorough understanding of world
religions and cultures to make sense of the 21st Century
environment. The students will have the opportunity to
understand the main aspects of the main world religions of
Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Judaism.
12 The Stephenson Studio School
Stephenson Studio School Thornborough Road Coalville Leicestershire LE67 3TNTel: 01530 519099 Fax: 01530 814253
www.stephensonstudioschool.co.uk