Key Stage 4 Options

The options process is an important period for our Year 9 students as they start to think about the courses they will study in Year 10 and 11, and their future education and career paths after they leave Hope Valley College. We offer a range of GCSE and vocational courses (e.g. Technical Awards) at key stage 4.

Most of the qualifications that we offer are GCSEs, which count as Level 2 qualifications. The assessment is through formal examinations, although some also have an element of 'non-examination assessment' within them (tasks taken in school under controlled conditions). The GCSE grades are 1-9, with 9 being the highest grade. Technical Awards, which are also level 2 qualifications, include a strong applied focus, linking learning to particular career paths. They have a greater emphasis on internal assessment, mainly via the completion of portfolios.

We expect our students to study a suite of qualifications called the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) – namely GCSEs in maths, English, science, a language and a humanity (either history or geography).

Information on the Year 9 options process will be available shortly.