Dear Parents/Carers,

I hope you are well. I am writing to update you about the Option 3 courses your children were hoping to complete this summer.

When Miss Winterburn wrote to you in April, initial guidance from Ofqual suggested Year 10 students would be excluded from the national process of awarding grades this year.

However, after a period of consultation, Ofqual has now agreed that students can be awarded final grades in the courses they had planned to complete this summer, if this is what schools and colleges think is best for them.

This means I am now able to explain how we will support your children, our Year 10 students, going forwards.

The College has decided that students in Year 10 WILL complete their Option 3 courses this summer, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF BTEC PE. This means they will be awarded a grade by the relevant exam board; they will NOT be expected to sit an actual exam or complete any further coursework for this subject.

Your children’s interests and wellbeing have been paramount in making this decision. We believe it will enable us to support them even more effectively as they move into Year 11.

It means:

· students will take less exams next summer*, and so relieve a little of the pressure they naturally experience at this time

· they will already have one nationally recognised result, ready to take forward as they apply for post-16 routes

· they will be able to concentrate on their remaining subjects, without having to worry about keeping up with a subject they should already have completed

· we will be able to timetable an additional period of English and Maths into each fortnight, so that your children have time to revisit and embed learning they have competed at home while schools have been closed

· we will also be able to timetable an additional period of Option 1 (History or Geography), Option 2 (this includes MFL) and the separate sciences, to maximise time and support for the students who study each of these subjects

· those studying the separate sciences will also have an additional period scheduled at 8.30am once a week

· we will be able to include a period of practical PE in the timetable once a fortnight for those not studying the separate sciences. *This is why those students studying Btec PE in Option 3 will not compete this course – as they will have additional time in this subject built into their timetable to secure potentially even better results next summer

Students will receive their final grade for their Option 3 subject on Thursday 20th August, at the same time as all students nationally receive their final KS4 grades.

As a result of this decision, students will no longer be set remote learning for their Option 3 subject, except for Btec PE.

If you have any questions about this information, please don’t hesitate to contact Miss Winterburn, in the first instance, by email at fwinterburn@horizoncc.co.uk.

In the meantime, thank you once again for your continued support and for working with us to ensure your children’s education continues as best it can during these difficult and unprecedented times.

Kind regards

Mrs Huddart