27th January 2023
HEADLINES
By James Saunders
GUIDED CHOICES We will soon be introducing our C8 learners to the guided choices process. This is where they choose the subjects they would like to take at GCSE. Below is a timeline of key dates to look out for in this process.
learners:
Guided Choices 2023 Timeline •
Tuesday 7th February - Guided Choices Assembly for C8 learners
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Friday 24th February - Guided Choices Digital Booklet shared with Families
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Week of 27th February - Subject specific VIdeos shared with learners in Learning Session 5 Wednesday 8th March - Guided Choices evening for families
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Friday 24th March 9am - Deadline for Guided Choices forms
We should never underestimate how daunting it can appear to be for our C8s and their parents. It is easy to think that, for our learners, the rest of their lives rests on the decisions they will be making over the next few weeks but in reality we all know there will be a whole host of decisions that they have yet to make that will hold more significance in their lives. I think it is important to remain grounded in this so that we do not create additional pressure or anxiety for our learners. The process is called ‘Guided’ Choices to reflect the fact that we are guiding them through it. Our curriculum is designed to be broad and balanced. The structure of the choices they can make dictates that, to some extent. Most combinations that our learners will select will meet this criteria, however, I feel it is still worth bearing in mind that we want them to make the right choices for themselves; choices that they own. I often use the following venn diagram to guide
To achieve success, learners need to think about a combination of what they aspire to do in the future as well as what might help them in the future, combined with what they are good at and what they enjoy. If too much emphasis is placed on one at the expense of another then they will not be as motivated to be successful. The classic mistake is to choose a subject based solely on the teacher. In any career there will be things you enjoy and things you must endure. Once our learners, at any level, start to understand this it is a lot easier to support them to achieve their goals. We don’t always like every aspect of our jobs (I certainly find some aspects more challenging than others) yet we understand the need for them. We don’t get to pick and choose everything we do at work. This is no different to the broad and balanced curriculum we offer our learners. Whilst we are proud to offer a curriculum that contains choice we need to recognise that there are still things we must do that may not necessarily have been chosen.