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	A brief guide to key stage 4 qualifications

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A brief guide to key stage 4 qualifications

This guide is for individuals who advise young people about the courses and qualifications available at key stage 4 and the progression routes to which they lead. It presents the statutory requirements for 14- to 16-year-olds, discusses the ways in which these can be met, outlines aspects of the curriculum beyond these requirements and gives examples of which courses and qualifications can be combined to achieve learning programmes matched to individual student needs.

Qualifications approved for use with pre-16 students are listed annually in the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) document Approved external qualifications under Section 96 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000 for pupils, students and trainees under the age of 19 (the Section 96 list), which is also available on the DfES website

The key stage 4 curriculum

The range of courses and opportunities included in the key stage 4 curriculum will be unique to each school. Within that curriculum, it is also likely that many students with have unique learning programmes. The school curriculum includes:

courses that meet the statutory requirements for 14- to 16-year-olds – each curriculum area will be compulsory but students might have choices within them; statutory requirements are detailed below
courses in areas that the school has made compulsory beyond those required nationally – students might have choices within each area
courses that students can choose.

In each of these categories, it is likely that the majority of courses will lead to qualifications.

The key stage 4 national curriculum

The national curriculum at key stage 4 includes the subjects of English, mathematics, science, information and communication technology (ICT), physical education (PE) and citizenship. Each of these subjects has a statutory programme of study that must be taught to all students during the key stage. Students also have an ehtitlement to study a subject from each of the following curriculum areas: arts, design and technology, humanities and modern foreign languages. There are no statutory programmes of study for these subjects.

Where there is a statutory programme of study, schools can build it into any teaching and learning programme, leading to any qualification. However, most schools have a core curriculum that includes courses leading to qualifications in English, mathematics and science, while many schools also require all students to follow a course leading to a qualification in ICT. Some require all students to work towards a qualification in PE. Which subjects lead to qualifications may be determined by a school's subject specialism.

The programmes of study are met completely by a course leading to the following qualifications:



	English		GCSE

	Mathematics		GCSE

	Science		Single award GCSE Double award GCSE The three separate science GCSEs together

	Information and communication technology		Short course GCSE GCSE GCSE (double award) in applied ICT Information communication technology key skill units

	Physical education		Short course GCSE GCSE

Entry level qualifications in all national curriculum subjects match the programmes of study for those working at national curriculum levels 1, 2 and 3.

If students complete a course leading to one of these qualifications during key stage 3 or at the end of year 10, they have met the key stage 4 requirement for that subject and do not have to continue its study. Schools sometimes plan a key stage 4 programme for some students to include different courses in years 10 and 11.

Some key stage 4 students will not be ready for courses leading to GCSE or GNVQ in some or all of these subjects and will work towards entry level qualifications.

Since August 2000, schools have had additional flexibility to help match students’ learning within national curriculum subjects more effectively to their needs. Students can meet the statutory requirement to study science through courses leading to the qualifications below, although they do not meet the full programmes of study. Some schools have introduced these qualifications into their key stage 4 curriculum.



	Science		Double award applied science GCSE AS science AS science for public understanding GNVQ science (foundation and intermediate)

The choices students have within national curriculum areas of study depend on the school’s curriculum. Some schools offer only one qualification in each area; others offer several. The courses will differ in terms of content, teaching and learning style, assessment requirements and volume. The other guides in this series provide further information.

Within the compulsory areas, students’ choices are made in part to respond to personal interests and strengths, prior attainment and career aspirations, and in part to accommodate other non-compulsory courses they might wish to take.

Other key stage 4 statutory requirements

Schools are also required to provide all 14- to 16-year-olds with courses that meet an agreed syllabus for religious education (RE) and the statutory requirements for careers education and sex education. Most schools include these in compulsory courses (often as part of a wider personal, social and health education programme), sometimes leading to qualifications.

The wider key stage 4 curriculum

In accordance with their aims, some schools make other areas of the curriculum compulsory, although there is no national requirement to do so. Examples are the arts, the humanities and vocational courses. Students are usually able to choose between courses in each area.

Schools also offer a range of non-compulsory courses from which students choose – often known as their ‘options’. These courses will not necessarily be taught in the school. Increasingly, key stage 4 students are following courses at FE colleges and with training providers, employers and community groups. The majority of the courses are likely to lead to qualifications. If the qualifications are of differing sizes, students can choose differing numbers of courses.

Students’ choices of these ‘options’ are based on their interests and strengths, prior attainment and career aspirations, often within a school guidance framework that ensures a broad and balanced experience. The school timetable might prevent some combinations. Within the requirements and guidelines of the school curriculum, it is unlikely that option choices would open or close specific progression opportunities.

It is more important for students to choose courses that will motivate them and enable them to succeed at an appropriately challenging level. Increasingly, schools are using a range of qualifications, for example AS pre 16, entry-level qualifications and vocational qualifications.

Disapplication

Schools can disapply specified national curriculum subjects to provide students with an individually appropriate programme.

The regulations governing this process are changing to bring them in line with planned changes to statutory requirements from August 2004.

From August 2003 schools can disapply subjects for any purpose that best meets a student’s needs and is in his or her best educational interests. The subjects that can be disapplied are modern foreign languages (MFL), design and technology (D&T) and science. Any two of these can be disapplied, science only if the student is following a programme of extended work-related learning.

The arrangements for disapplication have been simplified, as outlined on the DfES website.

From August 2004 changes to the national curriculum will mean that there is no need to disapply MFL and D&T because these subjects will cease to be compulsory. For extended work-related learning, science can still be disapplied.

From August 2005 a new science programme of study will be essential for all students and compulsory, so no further disapplication will be available.

To disapply national curriculum subjects for the purpose of work-related learning, the headteacher must ensure that the pupil has a guidance interview before the decision to disapply is taken. This is defined in regulations as an interview between the student and an impartial and informed adult, which enables the student to think about and discuss his or her career ambitions, and to consider the proposed programme and the implications of the proposed disapplication.

The interview will either be conducted by appropriately trained school staff or by other professionals working with the student, such as the Connexions Personal Adviser.

Examples of students’ qualification outcomes from key stage 4

GCSE in English, English literature, mathematics and French
Double award GCSE in science
Double award GCSE in engineering
Short course GCSE in Spanish and RE
GCSE in English, mathematics, science, design and technology, geography
IT key skill unit
GNVQ language units
NVQ in retail operations
GCSE in English, English literature, mathematics, science, design and technology, German
Short course GCSE in ICT
Double award GCSE in leisure and tourism
GCSE in English, English literature, mathematics, Spanish, design and technology, business, expressive arts
Double award GCSE in science
GCSE in mathematics, ICT and art and design
GNVQ science
Entry level qualifications in English and history
GCSE in English, English literature, mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry, biology, German, design and technology, history, music
AS level French
Units of ICT vocational A level
Short course GCSE in RE.

Thinking beyond key stage 4

Most schools base their options guidance programme for year 9 students in a wider careers programme. They introduce students to a range of progression opportunities and might involve them in careers action planning. Students’ decisions should be informed by an awareness of the different contexts for post-16 learning and the progression routes open to them.

Also see

> Flexibility in the secondary curriculum
> Disapplication of the national curriculum subjects at key stage 4
> Statutory requirements at key stage 4

Case studies

> Developing a key stage 4 curriculum