GCSE

Our Senior School curriculum is broad and engaging. We aim to create confident, independent, and successful young women who are equipped with the skills necessary to meet the opportunities and challenges of life in the twenty-first century.

Students in Year 8 make their GCSE option choices in the Spring Term, they are finalised in the Summer Term. Whilst the two-year GCSE course starts in earnest in Year 10, students in Year 9 are introduced to subject-specific skills, as well as more enhanced critical-thinking techniques through a personalised programme of learning. Students are encouraged to develop their intellectual curiosity to become focused learners in a face-paced and stimulating environment.

GCSE options

All students take the core subjects of English, Mathematics and Science. They then select three optional subjects, which are chosen during the Spring Term of Year 8. Everyone receives a Pre-GCSE course guide, with further details about the specific courses, and our Year 8 tutors are always available to offer guidance during the options process.

Students are continually supported throughout the GCSE curriculum, both in and out of lessons. For those students who want to be challenged and stretched academically, super-curricular activities are encouraged. These additional activities focus on the subject in greater depth, enriching student’s knowledge and understanding beyond the assessed curriculum. Studying nine GCSEs rather than 10 affords students the time to engage in both extra-curricular and super-curricular activities which are becoming increasingly more valuable to university applications and employers, whilst also having a significant impact on your overall Well-Being and development as learners and thinkers. Similarly, students who find some subject content more challenging occasionally you need additional support and our inspiring teachers hold lunchtime surgeries and clinics for many GCSE subjects to help develop knowledge and confidence in the topic.

We offer the following optional GCSE subjects:

For more details about the two-year GCSE Course on offer, please select the following link: 

Compulsory non-examination subjects