Options Launch 2024

Dear Parents/Carers

Year 9 Options Process

The Year 9 GCSE Options process has been launched with an assembly on Wednesday 10 January 2024. You will be able to view the assembly afterwards. This an incredibly important time for us all and it is, therefore, critical for us to ensure all students feel well supported and receive the right advice and guidance to make positive choices and ensure the process leads to great outcomes at GCSE and beyond. Getting things right now, will enable them to follow the career plans they have started to put together in their PSHCE lessons.

Some key dates for your diary are:

• Wednesday 10 January 2024 – Options assembly for all Year 9 students. This will be available for parents/carers to view on the website afterwards.
• Wednesday 10 January 2024 – Options booklet will be available to students and parents/carers after the assembly.
• Thursday 18 January 2024 – Options Evening 4:30pm–6:30pm at Beckfoot - more details to follow.
• Friday 19 January 2024 – Online options form goes live on the Beckfoot website.
• w/c 22 January 2024 - Options interviews with Leadership and Year Teams.
• Friday 2 February 2024 - Options forms to be completed and returned to school.

As part of our Year 9 Options guidance strategy, all students will have an interview with a member of the school’s Options Team (Leadership and Year Teams) to discuss their choices and support with any questions they may have. These meetings will take place the week commencing 22 January 2024.

This is an incredibly exciting time for our students, and it is the first time they have had a chance to shape their educational journey. I do need to be clear at this point that the options process will be guided. Every student will be expected to follow the EBACC pathway and will choose either History or Geography, as well as continuing to study the language they have been studying from Year 7. This is to ensure that we provide the very best educational experience possible; ensure their future educational and life choices are strong and match the best that is provided both locally and nationally but also that they and that they can access the powerful knowledge that such a breadth of provision will provide for the future they deserve.

If you have any questions at this point please do get in contact,

Yours sincerely

Kelly Tatlock (Deputy Headteacher)