Click an option below to view the curriculum & choices at each level:
Lower School (Years 7 & 8)
In Years 7 & 8 pupils follow a broad-based curriculum, studying the following subjects:
- Art
- Art & Design
- Drama
- English
- French
- Geography
- History
- ICT & Computer Science
- Welsh or Spanish
- Mathematics
- Music
- Physical Education
- PSE
- Religious Studies
- Science
In Year 9 the following subjects are studied:
- Art
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Drama
- English
- French
- Geography
- History
- Mathematics
- ICT & Computer Science
- Music
- Physical Education
- Physics
- Religious Studies
- Welsh or Spanish
Middle School (Yrs 9-11)
We try to provide a great deal of flexibility and choice at GCSE. For some, this will be a welcome opportunity to focus on those subjects they really love or where they have a natural aptitude. For others, the choice may seem rather bewildering.
The freedom to make choices is an exhilarating one; pupils are able to begin shaping their own futures and building on their strengths. The decisions made now will shape the next set of choices and GCSE results have a very well-established influence on success in university applications, so it is important to choose wisely and to maximise the chances of success.
Our GCSE Options booklet has been is designed to help you to make informed choices about your GCSE subject choices for the forthcoming academic year. To download a booklet in pdf, please click on the Useful links section opposite.
Sixth Form (A-Level & BTEC)
The Sixth Form at Christ College represents a major change from what students will have experienced previously.
Right from the start there will be an emphasis on preparation for university and life after school. This is not just academic preparation, although the Sixth Form will allow academic specialisation and the opportunity to explore areas of academic interest much more fully than before, but preparation in terms of confidence, skills, experience of the workplace and advice about the future.
In addition to preparation for the future, one of the main positives of sixth form is the relationships formed with staff. Many students will talk about real friendships with those who teach them, tutor them, and work alongside them in a range of activities, while staff also rely on Sixth Formers for leadership, for example in the boarding houses, on the games field, on tours and trips and in numerous other ways, and these leadership and social skills are vital assets in the competition for university places and for jobs.
A high-profile graduate placement specialist recently explained that qualities such as flexibility, openness to challenge, confidence and the ability both to lead and to be a member of a team were the most important qualities for future employment. Such skills are developed uniquely in the Sixth Form of a school like this, where there are numerous opportunities for teamwork, leadership and the development of communication and negotiation skills.
Our Sixth Form Options booklet (see Useful links opposite) and A Level Curriculum documents will be useful to students and their parents as you set about making crucial decisions, with the advice of the Deputy Head (Academic), Careers staff and others at school.
The Extended Project
Parents will no doubt be aware of the plethora of options now available at 16+, including the IB, Welsh Bac and Cambridge Pre-U qualifications.
We remain convinced that the best qualifications for Christ College pupils continue to be A levels, but are conscious that universities are anxious to see good independent research skills as well. To this end, we also run the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), which will run alongside A levels for more motivated pupils and will earn them UCAS points.
The Russell Group of universities has already validated this qualification as a demonstration of pupils’ suitability for more demanding university courses.
The EPQ is an initiative which completely changes the mindset of traditional post-16 studies. It frees the pupil from the classical teacher led A-level classroom studies, and instead puts the onus on the pupil to pursue an idea or interest of their own and follow it through from conception to completion. En route the pupil will need to plan and research, learn to evaluate and re-evaluate their work, develop new skills, begin analysis and critical thinking, and finally be able to stand up and give a presentation in front of their peers and be questioned upon it.
Each student will be assigned their own individual assessor to guide them on their way.
In the course of the Project the student is beginning to develop those necessary key skills required for life at university and beyond. It is no surprise therefore that the Project has already been keenly welcomed by the Russell Group of universities, and it will clearly be beneficial on both the UCAS personal statement and at university interview.
The EPQ itself can be taken from any area of study and can take the form of either:-
- Dissertation – Research question –eg Humanities subject.
- Investigation/field study – Research question/hypothesis – eg scientific laboratory work, geography field studies, mathematical theorem.
- Performance – Drama/Sport/Music.
- Design an Artefact – DT/ IT website/Photography or Art.
The EPQ is an extra stand-alone qualification graded A*-E and worth up to 70 UCAS points (akin to an AS level.) As such it requires an equivalent length and depth of study over the course of a whole year. It is envisaged that it entails 120 hrs of student time, only one third of which will be teacher contact and with the remaining 80 hours made up of independent student research/work.
Each Project will involve a very extensive piece of work. It will not be for the faint-hearted, but for those students with the drive and commitment to see it through to the end it will represent a real sense of purpose and achievement.
