School admissions

Applying for a place in a Hampshire school

What will my child study?

Secondary education

Compulsory secondary education covers Key Stages 3 and 4 of the National Curriculum. One of the biggest differences from primary school that your child will notice is that he/she will normally be taught by subject teachers, often in specialist rooms such as science laboratories or technology workshops. A member of staff, often a form tutor, will see your child regularly and try to ensure that all goes well right from the start.

A typical curriculum at Key Stage 3 is likely to include:

  • English, mathematics and science
  • information and communication technology (ICT)
  • a modern foreign language
  • design and technology
  • history
  • geography
  • art and design
  • drama
  • music
  • physical education (PE)
  • religious education (RE)
  • personal, social and health education (sometimes called personal development learning (PDL))
  • citizenship.

Increasingly at Key Stage 3 pupils will experience a more personalised education, which offers them space to catch up if they have fallen behind or to be stretched if they have particular gifts and talents.

At Key Stage 4, pupils will continue to study many of the above subjects. Many schools group pupils within ability groups (sets) for some subjects. Your child will be given a greater range of study and home-based activities to complete out of normal school hours. Some pupils will receive extra support in lessons. Pupils are likely to have opportunities for educational visits in this country and abroad, which will include developing foreign-language skills.

14–19 education

Within Key Stage 4, preparation for adult life becomes increasingly important. The curriculum offers more practical learning opportunities, including apprenticeships, in partnership with colleges, employers and training providers, so that students can gain experience of applied (vocational) pathways. This can inform their choices for post-16 education or training.

Information on the range of A-level subjects and ‘applied’ courses offered by school sixth forms and colleges can be found in individual institutions’ brochures or through the Hampshire website: www.hants.gov.uk/education/goingtocollege.

An area-wide prospectus is available to all young people, parents and carers giving details of all the education and training opportunities and progression pathways available. For further information see www.myfutureinhampshire.co.uk.

From September 2008, four 14-19 consortium partnership areas in Hampshire will be offering some of the new diplomas at Key Stage 4 in Construction & the Built Environment, IT, and Engineering. For further information the DCSF website is helpful: www.dcsf.gov.uk/14-19.

Assessment

Your child’s work will be assessed continuously and you will be kept informed of their progress through regular reports and parents’ meetings. The school will also involve your child in discussing and recording his/her progress and targets.

At the end of Year 11, pupils sit GCSE exams or are assessed for other nationally recognised qualifications. For many pupils, these will include vocational qualifications, achieved through work-related assessment. Final grades are usually based on a combination of examination results and coursework marks. Tables are published in the local press each autumn showing the GCSE results of all schools in the area. Each school’s prospectus also includes its examination results.

Able and talented children

Schools encourage all children to achieve their full potential. Those who are very able or have special talents are supported through an enriched curriculum offering extra opportunities in a range of subjects. Your child’s school will be happy to discuss this with you.

Sex education

Secondary schools must provide sex education. It is usually included in the school’s provision for personal, social and health education (PSHE).

If you do not wish your child to receive sex education (apart from that required by the National Curriculum for science, which is compulsory), you will need to discuss this with the school. You have the right to be consulted on the materials and approach to be used and to withdraw your child from any sex education not included in the National Curriculum.

Religious education (RE) and collective worship

In community schools: children follow the agreed syllabus for RE. This reflects the fact that the religious traditions in the UK are in the main Christian, while taking account of the other main religions in the country. There is daily collective worship, most of which is of a broadly Christian character.

In voluntary controlled schools: children follow the agreed syllabus, but you can ask for your child to receive religious education according to the founding principles of the school.

In church voluntary aided schools: RE is in keeping with the religious tradition of the school in accordance with the school’s Trust Deed. You can, however, ask for your child to receive religious education according to the locally agreed syllabus.

In church voluntary aided and church controlled schools: daily collective worship is provided in accordance with the founding principles of the school.

All schools should be able to give you a copy of their policies for RE and collective worship.

If you do not wish your child to receive RE or to take part in collective worship in part or entirely, you will need to discuss this with the school.

Rights Respect and Responsibilities

Many schools in Hampshire follow a unique Hampshire initiative called Rights Respect and Responsibilities. This is a well-researched programme that takes a whole-school approach to developing responsible, participatory, democratic children and young people. It is based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The UN Convention is introduced to children as a set of fundamental principles agreed by countries across the whole world. It sets out the rights they have (rights they have now, not rights they have to wait for until they are adults) whoever they are and wherever they've come from. Children are taught to distinguish between rights and wants, and progress to understand that, as they have rights, so does everyone else, especially other children and adults in the class and school. They learn they have a responsibility to respect their own rights, and those of others. Schools reinforce these principles in assemblies, in wall displays, in the way in lessons are conducted and in the language they use to describe relationships between people and to resolve conflicts.

Recent inspection reports on schools where this approach is taught have praised the work very highly. Their view is that it makes a significant impact on children's personal development.