Key stage 3 and 4 education

The majority of girls will make a move at the age of 11, either to a new school or to the senior department of their existing school. In some cases they will transfer to senior school from a preparatory school or middle school at the age of 13.

In either situation they will be studying

• a broader range of subjects, including perhaps additional modern languages or Latin,
• a broader range of technology and creative subjects
• more specialist teaching in science.

Your daughter will have more homework and she should enjoy more extra-curricular activities. She may join a variety of clubs, music ensembles or training squads for particular sports.

Years 7 to 9 (Key Stage 3)

This is a time when your daughter is likely to develop interests and enthusiasms in particular subjects and may start to think about careers. Her first big decisions will come at the age of 13/14 in year 9 when she chooses the subjects she will study for GCSE level. Some schools seem to encourage pupils to take as many GCSEs as possible, but in reality universities and employers are generally looking for quality rather than quantity. So it may well be better for your daughter to focus on getting nine excellent grades than twelve slightly lower ones.

When helping her choose her GCSE options encourage your daughter to think carefully about her ambitions, interests and ability rather than which subjects her best friend is choosing. You and she should talk to her teachers about where her talents lie and what grades she might realistically aim for. At this stage it is vital that she doesn’t close any doors and opts for a broad, balanced range of subjects. While she may take some subjects at A Level without having studied them previously others require her to have a good grade GCSE in the same subject.

She should also think about how she learns best: does she prefer essay writing to practical subjects? Would modular courses, for which there are exams after each chunk of syllabus, suit her better than exams at the end of the 2 year course?

There is advice on helping your 11-14 year old to learn on this website at
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Schoolslearninganddevelopment

Years 10 and 11 (Key stage 4)

Years 10 and 11 will be busy for your daughter as she studies her chosen General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) courses. In many independent schools, some of her examination courses will follow the International GCSE syllabus (IGCSE). The decision to opt for IGCSE has been controversial as it is not recognised by the government for league table purposes. However, it is perceived by many experienced teachers to be a more rigorous and demanding course than the GCSE and a much better preparation for A Level and Higher Education.

Some GCSE courses are now modular with examinations at regular intervals throughout the two year course. Your daughter will need to hit the ground running and work consistently to develop good study skills, rather than just having a race to revise for the final exams. Try to encourage her to plan her time and keep up-to-date with projects and assignments to avoid any last minute panics.

If your daughter’s school ends at age 16 or if she will be moving to a different sixth form, it is worth beginning to consider this process in earnest in Year 10. Year 11 will be very busy with exams and coursework so it’s worth taking the time to review the options early on. Many girls who have been in a single-sex school until GCSE think that a move to a co-educational environment for sixth form will be the best preparation for university life and beyond. This may be true for some girls but think very carefully before moving your daughter from an environment in which she is known, settled, happy and doing well. Many sixth form courses are also modular, and it can take a while to get used to a new environment, so the results of early modules may suffer if students move schools

When considering sixth form provision, in addition to A Levels there are other options to consider. A growing number of schools offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) whilst others are building extended projects into their curriculum or the new Pre-U qualification. Sixth form prospectuses from individual institutions will give you further details on each school’s approach, but in the meantime, the following websites may be helpful:

• Pre-U – www.cie.org.uk
• IB – www.ibo.org
• AQA Baccalaureate – www.aqa.org.uk