Virtual Pathways Resource - Support for Parents and Students
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The Pathways Programme is an exciting milestone in our students' time at Copleston. It when they choose the optional courses which will make up part of their Key Stage Four studies in Years 9, 10 and 11. Students receive lots of support in school to help them identify their strengths, subjects of interest and possible career pathways, but the conversations they will have at home, with the people who know them best, will help to ensure that they make well-considered decisions which are right for them. The resources on this page are designed to provide additional support with this and should be used alongside our Pathways booklet which can be accessed by clicking on the image. This opens in a new window as a flipbook hosted via the Heyzine website. It is best viewed full screen.
What do Year 9 Students think of the Pathways process and the progression from KS3 to KS4?
One of the best ways to feel reassured about the supportive nature of the Pathways process is to hear from our Year 9 students who have made their choices and are now fully immersed in their GCSE course:
I never felt rushed or pressured to make my choices. Our teachers and form teachers gave us the time and resources to make our final decisions. My form tutor helped us all really well, they didn’t just tell us what to do. They went through the options and a brief overview of what we do in the subject. It helped me choose the options that felt good for me. As well, for any worries I had, any staff member from across the school was there to help. I love my GCSE and core subjects now. I can focus on the courses I enjoy and excel at. I still have friends in classes but I get to meet people who have similar interests or people I haven’t seen since primary school.
The Pathways process is an amazing opportunity to find out what subjects you enjoy, and it allows you to do subjects you enjoy instead of the ones you dislike. There are many different resources to help you through the process like assemblies, form tutors and just any teacher can tell you what jobs their subject can lead to. I thought the transition from Year 8 to Year 9 would be really difficult as we were going to start GCSE work, but it was the opposite and there is always help available if you are struggling.
I really enjoyed choosing my subjects as there were more options to choose from than the ones we did in Year 7-8. Using Unifrog helped me see what options would be best for me as well as sessions in Base with my form tutor. The courses I chose are difficult but very fun. Homework is mostly revision for Year 11 and there are many websites available to provide help. Some of these websites include MyGCSE and GCSE Pod.
What advice would the school give about how to make the most appropriate choices?
Click on each icon to read some helpful advice to support students in making the most appropriate choices for them:
Can you show me a simple visual guide to the Key Stage 4 programme at Copleston?
I'd like to watch some further videos to support me/my child in making the right choices. What would you recommend?
Here are some videos you might find helpful. Please note that Copleston High School is not responsible for the content of external videos:
Students took an online quiz during tutor time. Where can I view this?
All students have a log-in for the online platform 'Unifrog'. They should log in using their full school e-mail address (not just their username) and the password issued to them. They can click on the 'forgot password' link to receive a new password via e-mail if needed. Click on the Unifrog icon to access the platform.
Can you give me some links to further information?
Absolutely! There are lots of external websites which can support you/your child in making the right choices. Have a look at some of the following. All links open in a new window:
This link from BBC Bitesize is a very comprehensive guide to making your options choices:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zrjh92p
Another BBC Bitesize link - this one is helpful if you already have a specific career in mind and want to know if you need specific GCSEs to get there:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zmskpg8
An excellent summary from "icould" about how to make your choices:
https://icould.com/stories/choosing-your-gcse-options/
'Help You Choose' is a website for students in Norfolk, but the advice will be the same for Suffolk:
https://www.helpyouchoose.org/information/decisions-choices/choices-at-13-14
Why not take the careers quiz from UCAS (the University and College Admissions Service) to find out which GCSEs might suit you?
https://www.ucas.com/explore/career-quiz
Some more very helpful advice from 'Career Pilot':
https://www.careerpilot.org.uk/information/gcses/choosing-your-gcses
