St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Options Booklet 2012
March 2012
Dear Parents
At this stage in the year, students in Year 9 consider which subjects they wish to follow to GCSE
level during the next two years. In some respects the curriculum is straightforward, in that several
GCSE subjects are compulsory; the list of subjects is given overleaf.
All students also take Physical Education in which they will follow a programme of activities which not
only allows them to develop their performance in activities already encountered in the Physical
Education curriculum, but also allows them to experience and develop skills in new areas.
Information Technology skills will be delivered across the curriculum to all students.
As well as the subjects which are compulsory, students choose to follow four other subjects from
the list given in the booklet, at least one of which must be a foreign language, and a brief summary is
given of what is contained in each of the subjects which will be taught to GCSE level during the next
two years.
Your son/daughter has been given guidance in his/her choices in the tutorial lessons and I do hope
you will discuss the choices fully with subject teachers and form tutors. It is important that you
consider carefully the possible choices, remembering the breadth and balance of your son/daughter’s
curriculum as well as his/her own particular strengths and talents. The core curriculum will bring six
GCSEs (Religious Studies, Mathematics, English Literature as well as English and Science: Core and
Additional) and will keep open most career paths.
Further details will be given at the Parents’ Evening on Thursday 22nd March and I look forward to
seeing you there.
Yours sincerely,
JOHN McATEER
Headteacher
YEAR 10 CURRICULUM 2012-2013
All students will take the following subjects:
Religious Studies
English
Mathematics
Science: Core and Additional
Physical Education
All students will choose FOUR of the following subjects, ONE of which
must be either French, German, Spanish or Latin:
French
German
Latin
Spanish
Art and Design
Business Studies
Computing
Drama
Design Technology:
Home Economics – Food and Nutrition
Graphics
Resistant Materials
Textiles Technology
Geography
History
Music
Physical Education
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Choices 2012
GENERAL ADVICE TO YEAR 9 STUDENTS CHOOSING
GCSE OPTIONS
Choose subjects that you enjoy and are good at.
Aim at breadth and balance to develop a wide range of skills.
Ignore what your friends are choosing; make sure that you pick
the subjects that are right for you.
Advice from our Careers Department
Two modern foreign languages are advisable if you wish to
study languages at university and essential if you are aiming at a
career as a translator or interpreter.
Art is essential is you are aiming at a career in Graphic Design,
Fashion or Textiles, and very useful for Architecture.
Music is highly recommended if you are considering a career in
Music Technology.
Students choosing to do Latin without a modern language
should be certain that they will not eventually wish to follow a
university course that requires a modern language.
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Choices 2012
RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Religious Education in a Catholic school is much wider than the demands made by
GCSE. The chaplaincy programme, the PHSE programme and the religious
education programme are all of paramount importance in helping the students in
their spiritual formation, through witness to and experience of the Catholic faith,
prayer liturgy and retreat.
Religious Studies in Yrs. 10 and 11 is a comprehensive course which is designed to
take up and develop themes established in the Lower School. Students in Years 10
and 11 are entered for the GCSE in Religious Studies offered by AQA Specification
A. Students follow two units:
(a) The Christian life and the Gospel of St. Mark
This unit provides opportunity for the study of aspects of Christian belief and
practice with specific reference to the Person and Ministry of Jesus as presented
in Mark’s Gospel. The topics covered are: Background to the Gospel, Jesus’
Ministry, Passion Death and Resurrection, The Person of Jesus, Jesus’
relationships with others and Discipleship
(b) Christianity and Ethics
This section of the syllabus enables the students to look at the ways in which
aspects of personal, social and global concerns may be related to Biblical moral
teaching and Christian Ethics. The topics covered are: The right to life, the use
of medical technology, personal and social responsibility, global concerns and
conflict.
The examination consists of two written papers which test knowledge,
understanding and evaluation.
Part A comprises of 4 compulsory short answer stimulus response questions
worth a total of 48 marks and
Part B comprises of 2 optional extended response questions from which
candidates choose and answer one question. Questions in Part B are worth 24
marks.
The total for each paper is 72 marks
While Religious Studies remains a compulsory subject, we hope that the students
will enjoy their GCSE course and find the content relevant to their own lives.
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Choices 2012
ENGLISH
All students will follow a fully integrated course which will lead to two GCSE
subjects, English Language and English Literature. In both subjects, our intention is to
enter all students for the Higher Tier, enabling them to access grades D-A*. The
examination board we are following is OCR. In following these two courses, the
students will study a range of Literary texts: plays, novels and poetry, as well as
Media and Non-Fiction texts. They should become able and proficient writers and
confident and articulate speakers.
English Language consists of one written examination which represents 40% of the
marks. The examination asks the students to respond to Media and Non-Fiction
texts and to write one piece of continuous prose, testing their ability to write to
inform. They will sit this examination at the end of Year 11.
There is also Written Controlled Assessment consisting of two tasks: one is
Imaginative Writing, which they will do during the summer term in Year 10 and the
other is a response to a Literary Text, which they will do in the autumn term of
Year 11. These two tasks represent 30% of the total marks. In addition, there is
Speaking and Listening Controlled Assessment, representing another 30% of the
marks. This will consist of three speaking tasks, set over the two years, and one
written task, analysing Spoken Language, which will be done in the spring term of
Year 10. All these tasks will be done in school.
English Literature consists of three written examinations all taken at the end of Year
11. Two of these will be only 45 minutes and will each be on one text only. The
longer examination will be 1 hour 30 minutes and will refer to two texts. The three
examinations represent 75% of the total marks for English Literature.
There will also be one controlled assessment unit, consisting of two tasks. One of
these tasks, comparing two poems, will be done at the end of Year 10, the other,
comparing a Shakespeare play with a film version, will be done in the first term of
Year 11. The two tasks represent 25% of the total marks and they will be done
entirely in school.
OCR English Language
Examination : 40% (one paper)
Controlled Assessment: 60% (30% Writing; 30% Speaking)
OCR English Literature
Examination: 75% (three papers)
Controlled Assessment : 25%
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Choices 2012
MATHEMATICS
We offer the Edexcel GCSE Mathematics Linear course, which build on the National
Curriculum programmes of study.
It is envisaged that all candidates will follow the Higher Tier (Grades A* to D) in the
linear course as appropriate. Assessment is by examination only, as there is no
coursework component.
The Linear course will be assessed by the following written examination papers:
Terminal paper 1 (non-calculator) (1hr 45min)
(50%)
Terminal paper 2 (calculator) (1hr 45min)
(50%)
June 2014
June 2014
During the course students will undertake a variety of activities including
investigations, problem solving tasks and ICT related work.
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Choices 2012
CORE / ADDITIONAL SCIENCE
Students will study GCSE Core Science in Year 10 and GCSE Additional Science in
Year 11.
The Year 10 course is a complete GCSE and will be examined during the year.
The emphasis is on ‘How Science Works’ and its relation to the world in which we
live – not just learning theory, but understanding the practical side of science. Each
year there are two written exams and a controlled assessment. The controlled
assessment consists of planning, carrying out and evaluating practical work.
Year 10 Science GCSE: Papers 1 and 2
Module B1: Understanding
Ourselves
a. Fitness and health
b. Human health and diet
c. Staying healthy
d. The nervous system
e. Drugs and you
f. Staying in balance
g. Controlling plant growth
h. Variation and
Module C1: Carbon
Chemistry
a. Making crude oil useful
b. Using carbon fuels
c. Clean air
d. Making polymers
e. Designer polymers
f. Cooking and food
additives
g. Smells
h. Paints and pigments
Module P1: Energy for the
Home
a. Heating houses
b. Keeping homes warm
c. A spectrum of waves
d. Light and lasers
e. Cooking and
communicating using
waves
f. Data transmission
g. Wireless signals
h. Stable Earth
inheritance
Module B2: Understanding
our Environment
a. Classification
Module C2: Chemical
Resources
a. The structure of the
Module P2: Living for the
Future
a. Collecting energy from
the Sun
b. Generating electricity
c. Global warming
d. Fuels for power
e. Nuclear radiations
f. Natural selection
Earth
b. Construction materials
c. Metals and alloys
d. Making cars
e. Chemicals from the air
–making ammonia
f. Acids and bases
g. Population and pollution
g. Fertilisers and crop
b.
c.
d.
e.
Energy flow
Recycling
Interdependence
Adaptations
h. Sustainability
yield
h. Chemicals from the
sea: the chemistry of
sodium chloride
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Choices 2012
f. Exploring our Solar
System
g. Threats to Earth
h. The Big Bang
Year 11 Additional Science: Papers 3 and 4
Module B3: Living and
Growing
a. Molecules of life
b. Proteins and mutations
c. Respiration
d. Cell division
e. The circulatory system
Module C3: Chemical
Economics
a. Rate of reaction (1)
b. Rate of reaction (2)
c. Rate of reaction (3)
d. Reacting masses
e. Percentage yield and
Module P3: Forces for
Transport
a. Speed
b. Changing speed
c. Forces and motion
d. Work and power
e. Energy on the move
f. Growth and
atom economy
f. Energy
f. Crumple zones
development
g. New genes for old
h. Cloning
g. Batch or continuous?
h. Allotropes of carbon
and nano-chemistry
Module B4: It’s a Green
World
a. Ecology in the local
environment
b. Photosynthesis
c. Leaves and
photosynthesis
d. Diffusion and osmosis
e. Transport in plants
f. Plants need minerals
g. Decay
h. Farming
g. Falling safely
h. The energy of games
and theme rides.
Module C4: The Periodic
Table
a. Atomic structure
Module P4: Radiation for
Life
a. Sparks
b. Ionic bonding
c. The Periodic Table and
b. Uses of electrostatics
c. Safe electricals
covalent bonding
d. The Group 1 elements
e. The Group 7 elements
f. Transition elements
g. Metal structure and
properties
h. Purifying and testing
water
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Choices 2012
d. Ultrasound
e. What is radioactivity?
f. Uses of radioisotopes
g. Treatment
h. Fission and fusion
MODERN LANGUAGES
At St. Bernard's we recognise the importance of foreign language study, both for
personal development and pleasure, and to satisfy important national, educational and
economic interests. At St Bernard’s, the study of one foreign language remains
compulsory to the age of 16. Indeed, we have always encouraged those of our
students who have the necessary ability, to study two foreign languages.
Three modern foreign languages are offered at St. Bernard's: French, German and
Spanish.
One of the main features of the GCSE examination in languages is the emphasis on
practical communication in each of the four skills. The work is topic-based and
grammar is seen as the servant of communication, not an end in itself. Topics include
home and local area, health and sport, leisure and entertainment, travel, holidays, the
environment, school life and work/careers.
The examination offers all candidates the opportunity to show what they understand,
know and can do. Many of our students reach a very high level of comprehension,
many can speak remarkably fluently and many can write with a high degree of
accuracy, and all students have their achievements recognised. Results have been
consistently excellent.
Teaching is in mixed-ability groups except when a given option group has enough
students to form two classes. In that case, a higher set and a lower set may be
created within that option and students placed in them according to ability and
achievement.
Students are strongly advised to purchase (through the school) a vocabulary guide and
a speaking test guide. They are encouraged to make use of internet sites which help
to consolidate, extend and revise work done in the classroom. The school subscribes
to internet sites which are not available free of charge. It is also possible to purchase
excellent language magazines through the school.
All languages use the OCR board. For details, including ‘Controlled Assessment’,
please look up the specifications on www.ocr.og.uk. Listening and reading will be
examined in the summer of Year 11. Speaking and writing will be examined by
controlled assessment.
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Choices 2012
ART AND DESIGN
Year 9 students are currently working within the National Curriculum framework
for Art and Design. They cover all the assessment objectives specified at GCSE level
but in slightly less detail.
The GCSE course gives a firm foundation for students wishing to further their study
in Art at AS/A2, making a whole range of career options possible.
The Edexcel exam consists of one unit of coursework and one timed test.
Full course: Edexcel 2AD0l
The coursework unit consists of a range of investigative and preparatory work and a
final piece.
Paper 1 (coursework)
Unit 1: 60%
The timed test unit consists of a range of investigative and preparatory work and a
final piece (completed in 10 hours, under exam conditions). The theme is set by the
examination board.
Paper 2 (ESA)
Unit 2: 40%
There is no written examination.
Although coursework is time-consuming, it can be completed comfortably within the
time scale, providing the student works at a steady pace. It also has the advantage of
being finished before the start of other examinations.
Why Should I take Art at GCSE?
1. Because learning to think creatively often requires lateral thinking and an
alternative and individual way of problem solving, which is of increasing
importance in today's rapidly changing society.
2. Because if you take pleasure in the creative process and find the work stimulating
and absorbing, this will have an effect on both your confidence and your overall
attitude to your studies in general.
3. Because Art is fully recognised by the Universities (including Oxford and
Cambridge) as a challenging subject which demonstrates a candidate's ability as
clearly as more traditional subjects and is totally acceptable as an A-level for
University Entrance.
4. You may wish to take Art if you are considering a career in any of the following
areas: Architecture, Media Studies (Theatre, Film or T.V.) Fashion Design,
Interior Design, Industrial Design, Graphic Design, Landscape Architecture,
Jewellery Design, Textiles, Art Administration, Occupational Therapy,
Photography, Exhibition Design, Illustration, Package Design, Typography, First or
Middle School Teaching, Conservation and Restoration, in addition to the Fine
and Applied Arts.
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Choices 2012
BUSINESS STUDIES
What will I learn in this subject?
You will investigate a range of business issues, such as:
1.
Marketing
How do firms know what product will sell? Should it be computer
games or card games?
How do we persuade customers to buy one product rather than
another, e.g. a Mars Bar instead of a Cadbury’s Dairy Milk?
2.
Personnel
How do firms recruit their work force?
What makes a firm choose one recruit rather than another – the
selection process?
Why is it necessary to train employees and how is this carried out?
3.
Production
What determines whether a business locates and produces in
Slough or Newcastle?
How is production carried out?
4.
Finance
Where do firms get the money from to set up, to buy machinery
etc?
Why do firms prepare financial data?
How can firms use this data to make judgements about their
success or failure?
These are just a few of the types of issues you will investigate.
What kind of student takes Business Studies?
You need to enjoy working with numbers, so if you do not like
Mathematics you will not enjoy Business Studies.
You need to be interested in the world of business and keen to
find out why firms such as Microsoft are successful and why others
fail.
You need to be interested in current affairs and be curious about
such things as why the government increases taxation, should we
have the euro or keep the pound, and what effect these decisions
will have on business.
Examination (OCR)
Three modules.
Controlled Assignment taken during the 2 year course on the topic
of Marketing.
Business and People: external examination taken in the summer
term of Year 11.
Production, Finance and Decision Making Module taken in the
summer term of Year 11.
COMPUTING
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Choices 2012
This new course focuses upon the technical structure of computers and networks. A
significant proportion of the course involves programming in a number of key
languages.
AIMS
Students will be encouraged to:• Understand the current hardware and software used in industry.
• Learn the key underlying concepts in programming in binary, logic gates and
assembler language.
• Understand a number of higher level languages such as Visual Basic 2010 and Java.
• Learn to use multi platform Software Development Kits (SDK) such as Eclipse
for Android.
• Learn how to communicate in teams to develop solutions.
• Test prototypes in controlled environments.
• Grow in awareness of related career opportunities.
COURSE CONTENT
Theory
Computer systems
Computing hardware, The Central Processing Unit (CPU), Binary
logic, memory input and output devices, Secondary storage, software
Representation of data in computer systems, units, number, character,
images, sound, instructions, databases, DBMS, relational databases.
Computer communications and networking, networks and the
internet.
Programming
Algorithms, programming languages, control flow in imperative
languages, handling data in algorithms, testing.
Practical investigation
Effectiveness and efficiency, technical understanding, testing, evaluating.
Programming project
Programming techniques, designing a coded solution to a problem, Creating a
coded solution, testing solutions.
ASSESSMENT
Written paper
40%
Candidates answer questions that includes a mixture of
short and long answer questions, some of which will require
candidates to write program code.
Practical investigation
30%
Candidates carry out a practical investigation of a topic
Programming project
Candidates create solutions to computing tasks
30%
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Choices 2012
What qualities might a Computing candidate possess?
•
•
•
Students who have already shown evidence of working hard and
who will continue to do so.
Students who are committed to working towards technical
solutions.
Students who consider the specific details of problems as
important.
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Choices 2012
DRAMA
Are you creative? Are you disciplined? Do you want to develop your
creativity? Do you love going to the theatre? Do you enjoy debates and
discussions? Are you interested in exploring many different ways of expressing
your ideas through live theatre? Do you have a keen critical eye? Then this
course is for you!
Over the two year course you will:
work in groups to explore new techniques, ideas, issues and stories;
explore short scripts and how they might be staged;
devise or invent many pieces of drama inspired by many different stimuli
materials, including images, music and objects;
keep a record of your understanding and ideas in a written portfolio;
go to the theatre frequently and explore how specific productions
create meaning.
The examination process is as follows:
Unit 1: 30%
You will participate in a six-hour practical workshop exploring different stimuli
materials, such as images and music. You work in groups, creating short pieces
of meaningful drama.
You will write a 2,000 word portfolio that records your thoughts and ideas
about this work. This is to be written in essay format, under controlled
conditions, but might contain flow diagrams, scripts with stage directions etc.
This will be in Year 10.
Unit 2: 30%
You will participate in another six-hour practical workshop exploring ONE
short script that you have previously read as a class. You work in small groups,
exploring how to stage short moments in the script. This will be in Year 11.
You will write a 1,000 word portfolio that records your thoughts and ideas on
the play script studied. This is to be written in essay format, under controlled
conditions, but might contain flow diagrams, scripts with stage directions,
character maps etc.
In addition to this portfolio you must also write two theatre reviews, (which
consists of 2,000 words) evaluating live theatre productions you have seen
throughout the course.
Unit 3: 40%
You will work in small groups, either as an actor, costume designer,
masks/make-up designer, set designer, lighting designer or sound designer.
Together you will create a devised performance that is shown to an examiner in
Year 11.
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Choices 2012
DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY
Some of the most fulfilling careers today are available to those who possess recognised
technological qualifications. Careers in Technology require an imaginative approach,
conviction and good communication skills. Designers are able to identify design needs and
develop creative, yet realistic solutions. This course of study will develop students’
knowledge, understanding and a diverse range of skills, which will be of great benefit to
those who wish to pursue further studies or enter the world of work. Students may
choose a Design and Technology course from ONE of the four options:
Home Economics : Food and Nutrition;
Design and Technology : Graphic Products;
Design and Technology : Resistant Materials;
Design and Technology : Textile Technology.
Each course builds on the individual strengths of the students and provides a firm
grounding in the practical and academic elements of Design and Technology. Computer
Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacture are integral components. Projects
undertaken in Year 10 build on the experiences of Key Stage 3. The technological
understanding associated with each specialist area is developed through study topics and
the practical tasks.
Home Economics: Food and Nutrition.
Course components:
Year 10:
2 resource tasks focusing on practical cookery
20% of total mark
Year 11:
1 individual extended practical cookery task
30% of total mark
Theory examination
50% of total mark
Course Content:
Nutrition and health
Food preparation and processing – practical cookery
Food safety and Preservation
Consumer Education
Graphic Products, Resistant Materials and Textile Technology.
There is a common course for Graphic Products, Resistant Materials and Textile
Technology, enabling students to develop their skills through their preferred medium. In
Graphic Products they will work mostly with light modelling materials such as card and
plastic; in Resistant Materials with wood, metal and plastic; and in Textile Technology with
a range of textile materials such as fabrics, leather etc.
Course components:
Year 10 / 11 1 individual Design and Make coursework project 60% of total mark
Year 11
Theory examination
40% of total mark
Course content:
Materials and Components
Design and Market Influences
Processes and Manufacture
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Choices 2012
GEOGRAPHY
Geography is a flexible subject, teaching about the real world outside the classroom. It
combines well with many other subjects at GCSE, being a bridge between the Arts,
Sciences and Social Sciences.
Most students enjoy the wide variety of topics and issues studied, the improved
understanding they achieve of the human and physical environments, and the
contemporary nature of the subject and its direct relevance to their lives.
Geography assists in the development of many relevant skills, such as interpersonal
communication, research, data handling and analysis, problem solving and decision making.
It combines literacy with numerical and graphical skills and provides a wide range of ICT
opportunities. Fieldwork is also an integral part of the course; it is used to support work
in class and to collect data for the controlled assessment.
A wide range of teaching methods and resources are used during the course, including
discussion, debate, group work and presentations, hypothesis testing and the analysis of
video material, internet data, maps, photographs and satellite images.
The Course
The Department follows Edexcel GCSE Geography B: Evolving Planet. The world is
always changing and this specification gives students the chance to learn about those
changes, from those on their own doorstep to those of global proportions. The course
covers four units: Dynamic Planet, People and the Planet, Making Geographical Decisions
and Researching Geography (controlled assessment).
Geography and Employment
The wide range of skills acquired by GCSE and A level Geographers makes them very
employable in a wide range of careers. These include local and regional planning and
government, business management and administration, financial services, transport
industries, retailing and marketing, travel and tourism, social services, education,
meteorological services and water management.
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Choices 2012
HISTORY
OCR HISTORY B: THE MODERN WORLD
The GCSE History syllabus we have chosen is one with which we have
enormous experience and one which has proved both very successful and
popular with our students. We have incorporated the changes that the OCR
course introduced from September 2009 which we feel will have given the
course additional relevance and interest.
The course can be summarised as follows:
Paper 1:
International Relations and a Depth Study (45% of the total
marks awarded)
For us, this will cover the search for international peace and order after World
War 1 (1914 – 1918) and the collapse of peace in the 1930’s, leading to the
outbreak of World War II.
The Depth Study covers the period in Germany 1918 – 1945 and neatly
overlaps with the work on International Relations. It examines key problems in
Germany after World War I, the creation of peace and prosperity, the impact
of the Wall Street Crash on Germany, the rise to power of Hitler and life in
Nazi Germany.
Source Investigation: British Depth Study (30% of total mark)
Paper 2:
We have chosen a new British Depth Study which will enable our students to
gain an understanding of many political, social and economic issues in Britain
today: how far did British Society change between 1939 and the 1970’s?
There are three strands:
1.
The changing lives of young people after WW2 and the
emergence of the teenager.
2.
Post-war immigration to Britain and the experience of these
immigrants.
3.
The changing role of women after WW2.
Controlled Assessment: Historical Enquiry (25%)
The tasks will be set by OCR and will change each year. These tasks will be
made available to centres at the beginning of the two year course of study and
can be completed at any time during the course. The task is 2000 words and
has a total of 50 marks.
All candidates take the same exam papers.
The History Department is very well resourced, both with textbooks, videos,
DVDs interactive resources and numerous history websites specifically geared
to GCSE.
We also continue our varied enrichment programme through revision courses
offered by the exam boards and a visit to the Imperial War Museum.
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Choices 2012
What qualities should a History candidate possess?
Students should have an interest in the subject and enjoy it.
They should also be prepared to study hard, through reading,
questioning, thinking independently and through debate.
Of what value is History for a future career?
History GCSE should help to develop the students' powers of
expression, their ability to think clearly and to organise material in
structured writing. It is a very good preparation for A-level study.
An A-level in History combines well with A-levels in other Arts subjects
and some History students have combined it very successfully with
Mathematics, Business Studies and the Sciences. For those who choose
to take a degree in History, there are many career opportunities in law,
business, journalism, and the media.
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Choices 2012
LATIN
This lively and stimulating course is a development of the Cambridge Latin
Course units followed in Year 9. Books 3 and 4 are designed to increase the
student's understanding and appreciation of the Latin language while extending
his/her acquaintance with Roman civilisation and history. In Year 11 students
are introduced to Latin literature so that they are able to appreciate in the
original some of the exciting myths, legends, stories and personalities of the
ancient world.
Following the government’s recent changes to Level 2 (Key Stage 4) studies, the
University of Cambridge School Classics Project has developed, along with the
WJEC, Level 2 certificates: one in Latin language and one in Latin literature.
These offer the candidates a chance to acquire two GCSE equivalent awards, A*
- C, recognizing the difficulty and wide-ranging nature of the subject at this level.
Students will be prepared for two units on language and/or two units on
literature and civilisation, as appropriate for the candidate’s interests and
abilities. It is expected that most candidates would achieve A* - C in both
papers, thus gaining two GCSE equivalent awards.
The Latin language and Roman civilisation lie at the roots of our language and
culture, so, as well as being intrinsically interesting, Latin is a valuable subject for
those who wish to continue studying languages and is highly desirable for those
wanting to study History and English. It also combines well with Sciences and
Mathematics at Advanced Level for those intending to follow scientific or
medical careers.
Employers regard a qualification in Latin very favourably and Classical scholars
are found in a wide range of careers from entertainment to administration and
finance.
Any student who would like more information about the course is welcome to
speak to Mr. Braakenburg.
WJEC
Examination: 100% (four papers)
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Choices 2012
MUSIC
Music GCSE offers students from a wide variety of musical backgrounds the
opportunity to explore a range of styles and traditions. It is a “hands on”
subject and you will need good vocal or instrumental skills if you choose this
course, since you will be expected to perform regularly and also to take part in
bands, choirs or other groups. You do not need to have reached any particular
grade, but simply be a fairly confident performer. Alternatively, you may offer
rehearsing and directing an ensemble as part of your coursework.
Composing, performing and knowledge of music ranging from the baroque era
via jazz to world music and pop all go towards the final assessment.
There are three parts to the Edexcel GCSE music syllabus:
Unit One (30% coursework)
Solo performing and performing during the course
Candidates perform or direct two pieces. One piece will be a solo and
one will be an ensemble.
Performances may be on any instrument, or voice.
Unit Two (30% coursework)
Composition 1 and Composition 2
Two contrasting compositions are submitted.
Unit Three
Listening and Appraising
Through the study of many different styles of music, students learn
about musical elements, characteristics, devices and conventions used
through the ages. Students learn to use appropriate musical vocabulary,
and to express and justify opinions and preferences.
Questions asked might be along the lines of:
- name the instrument playing the solo
- give two musical reasons why you like or dislike this piece of
music.
- comment on the rhythms heard.
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Choices 2012
GCSE PHYSICAL EDUCATION (AQA FULL COURSE: 4892 – Units 3 and 4)
This challenging course will integrate the practical elements of the study of physical
education with greater development of the theory components which complement it.
AIMS
Students will be encouraged to:• develop and apply their knowledge, skills and understanding of Physical Education
through a selection of practical activities.
• develop their knowledge and understanding of the major factors which affect both
participation and performance and demonstrate the relationship between them.
• understand and implement rules and conventions in a selection of activities.
• develop their understanding of both the potential health benefits and risks associated
with participation in physical activity.
• develop the skills necessary to analyse and improve performance.
• further their personal and social development through adopting the different roles of
learner, observer, coach and referee for example, when working with others in a
selection of activities.
• grow in awareness of related career opportunities.
COURSE CONTENT
Physiology:Health; fitness and healthy active lifestyle; individual differences;
training; fatigue and stress; injury; differences between aerobic and
anaerobic exercise; diet; health and safety in sport.
Psychology:Attitudes; emotional health and well-being; social groupings.
Social/Cultural:Sponsorship; media; sports provision; leisure time; fairness and
personal social responsibility; opportunities and pathways available
for becoming or remaining involved in physical activity;
competitions; role models; rules; science and ICT.
Practical:Four activities from at least two of the following activity areas:Games Activities, Gymnastics Activities, Dance Activities, Athletics
Activities, Life Saving, Personal Survival and Outdoor and
Adventurous Activities; Fitness and Health Activities. Students who
gain qualifications as coaches/officials may also be assessed in these
roles, rather than as performers.
ASSESSMENT
Unit 3
(40%)
Unit 4
(60%)
Knowledge and Understanding of the Active Performer
11/2 hour written exam in the Summer of Year 11
Controlled assessment throughout the course
(In 4 activities + 1 evaluation and
improvement of performance)
80 marks
90 marks
What qualities might a Physical Education candidate possess?
• Students who have already shown evidence of working hard and who
will continue to do so.
• Students who are committed to a regular sporting involvement over
and above that of their P.E. lessons, and who will look to maintain and
develop this.
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Choices 2012
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
GCSE Choices 2012