The National Curriculum

During their time at secondary school, your child will study a wide range of compulsory subjects that all pupils in state education are required to study; this is known as the National Curriculum. The National Curriculum at secondary school level is divided into blocks of years, known as key stages:

• Key Stage 3 covers children in Years 7 to 9 (age 11-14)
• Key Stage 4 covers children in Years 10 and 11 (age 14-16)

Each Key Stage has a number of targets that can be used to compare standards of pupils of the same age throughout the country. Your child's teacher will assess them regularly against these targets, and you will receive information about the level your child has reached at parent-teacher evenings and in their school reports. At the end of Key Stage 3 your child will take national tests, whilst at the end of Key Stage 4 they will normally sit national examinations, such as GCSEs.

In this section, we take a look a further look at the subjects and tests at Key Stages 3, along with the choices and qualifications offered at key Stage 4.