27th February 2026
HEADLINES
By James Saunders
GUIDED CHOICES We have hit that time of year when our C8 learners begin to work through the guided choices process. This is where they choose the subjects they would like to take at GCSE. Mr Munro kicked things off with an assembly to C8 on Monday in readiness for our C8 parent information evening on Wednesday next week. We will be providing lots of information, advice and guidance to support families and learners through this process. The current timeline is as follows: •
Monday 23rd February: C8 Guided Choices Assembly
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Wk beg Monday 2nd March: Guided Choices website link shared with families and Subject Specific Videos shared with learners in LS5
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Wednesday 4th March: Guided Choices Evening for parents / carers
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Thursday 5th March Guided Choices form shared with learners and Website available with videos and support materials
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Tuesday 17th March Year 8 Parents Evening 3.306.30pm
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Monday 23rd March Guided Choices form handin (DEADLINE 9.00am)
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 learners:
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