At Dorothy Stringer our aim is to encourage students to take a variety of subjects that both prepare them for their future studies and develop their personal interests.

In Year 8, students select the language they will take forward to GCSE (French or Spanish) and also submit preferences for the practical subjects they would like to study for Year 9. These practical subjects give students a taste of the range of choice available for GCSE.

During Year 9, students then select the GCSE options that they will study in Years 10 and 11.

All students study for GCSEs in:

• English Language and Literature
• Maths
• Triple or Combined Science
• French or Spanish (with a small number of students following our non-language pathway)
• Either History or Geography

Students then have two additional free choices. We are fortunate in being able to offer a broad range of options for GCSE or equivalent to cater for the wide-ranging and diverse interests of our cohort, as well as some non-qualification courses for students on the non-language pathway. These include:

• A wide choice of Arts and practical subjects including four different Art GCSEs, two options for Music as well as Drama, DT, and Food Preparation and Nutrition
• Four different Sports options, including Dance and a non-examined course in Sports Leadership for students on the non-language pathway
• Vocational courses in Child Development, Creative iMedia and our non-examined Princes Trust course on top of our PE and Music vocational courses
• A variety of subjects new at KS4 including Psychology, Sociology, Film Studies and Business
• Advanced Maths to stretch our most able mathematicians

Full details of the options available last year can be found in our options booklet.