These are the compulsory subjects:

English Literature and English Language

Maths

Science - either separate sciences (often referred to as triple science as there are three of them and they count as 3 GCSEs) or Combined Science (which counts as 2 GCSEs)

Geography or History

Humanities subjects – Geography, History, Philosophy & Ethics

Modern Foreign Languages – French, German, Spanish

Arts Subjects – Art Craft & Design, Design & Technology, Food Preparation & Nutrition, Music, Drama.

Social Sciences – Business Studies

Other – Sports studies (Physical Education), Computer Science

The deadline to submit your options form is Tuesday 19^th March 2024

All students take 9 GCSEs.  If you are in the top sets for maths you will also be offered the opportunity to take ‘Further Maths’ as a course.  This is particularly useful if you are considering an A-level in maths.

No you don’t have to.  However, language subjects are considered ‘facilitating’ subjects.  This means they will help you get into university courses.  Taking a language will ensure you have a broad range of subjects and increases your understanding of another culture.

Taking a language for GCSE will enable you to become a more confident, resourceful and a resilient learner who is comfortable at improvisation and thinking on your feet. It will also hone your ability to quickly process large amounts of complex information and enhance your literacy and problem solving abilities – soft skills which are in huge demand from employers and higher education establishments. This is one of the reasons why MFL forms part of the rigorous Ebacc group of subjects.

Learning a language for GCSE will provide you with a great asset for life, whether used for recreational and practical purposes or within a future career. In fact many Crypt students often take a language at GCSE and A Level to complement other career-specific subjects. That’s because learning a language will also boost your future earning power and put you in a select group of people in a competitive higher education and employment market – in fact only 30% of the UK population can read and write in a language other than their own!

Take a look at our Year 12 Information Booklet www.cryptschool.org/admissions/prospectus-.  This will tell you what the entry requirements are for each A-level Subject.

Unifrog is also a great website that the students all have been given a login for during Citizenship lessons. Use Unifrog to search to look at potential University courses, Apprenticeship and careers linked to each subject.  www.unifrog.org

If a student does not have a log in for Unifrog please email Mr Germaine- [email protected]

This is the 3 separate sciences – biology, chemistry and physics. Each is worth 1 GCSE.

The alternative to taking separate science, is taking the Combined Science course.  This covers all three science subjects (biology, chemistry and physics) in slightly less depth; it is worth 2 GCSEs.

Yes you can.  We often take students from The Crypt or from other schools into A-level with Combined Science.  That said, if you do want to take an A-level in a science, we strongly recommend you take the separate sciences.  Most of the more challenging content is covered in the additional material in the separate sciences – this will place you in a better position to face the challenges of an A-level in science.

Relatively high.  We have managed to fulfil virtually all options for the last 3+ years.  However, we can’t (and don’t) guarantee we can do this.  If you choose more common combinations (where there is more than 1 class) it increases the chances of us fulfilling your options.  If you choose unusual combinations, then this becomes more challenging.  Certain subjects only sit in one option block – if you chose several subjects that only sit in one option block (e.g. Art, Drama and Religious Studies) then we are less likely to be able to fulfil your choices.

Yes.  If we can’t meet your first choices of your options, then we will do our best to offer you your 1^st reserve subject.  We will be in touch with you if we can not meet your options so you will be aware of this.

We will communicate with you as soon as we have determined whether we can fulfil all the options or not.  This is usually sometime in April.

If we can not offer you your options, Ms Glock will be in contact with you and your parents to discuss your options further.

Potentially.  It’s important to us that you take a subject you will enjoy and want to study.  If a subject class is full then we will not be able to accommodate the change, however if there is space then we will allow you to change the subject.  Certain combinations of subjects may not be possible – so it’s always best to put the options you really want to take.

Please speak to us as soon as you have decided that you want to change a subject.  Changes will only be accepted with your parents’ permission.

You can’t.  You need to make decisions about your future based on what’s most important for you.  Your friends also need to make decisions that are best for them.  You and your friends’ decisions may or may not align. 

Changes after the term has started are not ideal – so wherever possible, please contact us before the start of term.  If you change your mind over the holidays then get in touch with Ms Glock ([email protected]).  You may not get a response until we’re all in for exam results days – however we will be in touch before the start of the academic year and we can usually make changes before the first day of term.

If you have started a subject, and you then decide you want to move, you will need to discuss this with your Head of Year, and the teachers (both of the subject you are leaving, and the subject you want to join) before we will agree to move your subject.  You will also need your parent/carer to email either your Head of Year or Ms Glock (Deputy Head Academic) to confirm that they are also happy for you to change your subjects.

You will only be allowed to change subjects in the first 4 weeks of term.  After this date you will no longer be allowed to change subjects as too much content would have been covered.

Yes.  We offer three humanities subjects – history, geography and Religious Studies.  If you wanted to, you could take all of three of these, although we would not recommend this.  You should aim to have a broad range of options – this will allow you to keep your options open as you approach A-levels.

There are no specific combinations that are not permitted, however we strongly recommend that you take a maximum of two subjects with coursework, due to the time consuming nature of the coursework.

Yes…in order to study Computer Science you will need to achieve a gold (or grade 3) in Entry Level Computer Science that you take in Year 9.

It is not uncommon for parents/carers and their children to disagree over options.  The key to resolving disagreements is to listen to each other.  You both need to think carefully about why you feel one subject is more important than another – and then you need to listen to why your child/parent disagrees with you.  You both probably have very good reasons for your views. Don’t rush the decisions – you have plenty of time to make them. 

You will need to come to a decision in the end.  Remember to refer to unifrog (www.unifrog.org)  – this will give you career options and this might help direct some of your discussions.

The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) is an accountability measure in England. It measures the proportion of children who secure a grade 5 or above in English, Maths, Science, a humanity and language GCSE. Arts subjects are not included.

The EBacc is made up of the subjects which are considered essential to many degrees and open up lots of doors.  Research shows that a pupil’s socio-economic background impacts the subjects they choose at GCSE, and that this determines their opportunities beyond school.

A study by the UCL Institute of Education shows that studying subjects included in the EBacc provides students with greater opportunities in further education and increases the likelihood that a pupil will stay on in full-time education. Sutton Trust research reveals that studying the EBacc can help improve a young person’s performance in English and maths.

The government’s ambition was to see 75% of pupils studying the EBacc subject combination at GCSE by 2022, and 90% by 2025.

We have a careers officer – ask your form tutor to arrange for you to have a careers appointment.  They will talk to you about what you are interested in and try to suggest certain career options.

Use Unifrog (www.unifrog.org) – you can access this from the school intranet.  There is a huge amount of information on here about various career pathways, including universities and apprenticeships.  There are various questionnaires you can do that will help you identify various careers options.

Speak to your subject teachers – they will know a huge amount about careers in their own subject areas.  Talk to them about what interests you.

Visit UCAS website (www.ucas.com)

Speak to your parents, their friends and other family members – they will all have ideas and experience to help you.  Listen.  Think.  Don’t rush.