One-Year
G C S E c o u r s e
Confidence for Life. Respect for All.
Durham School
For more than 600 years, Durham School has been at the heart of education in the United Kingdom, giving its pupils the knowledge, skills and confidence to succeed in the future.
Confidence for Life. Respect for All.
Pupils demonstrate an extremely high level of achievement in their academic studies and through their co-curricular commitments. This reflects the successful realisation of the school’s ambitious aims to cultivate in pupils a desire to succeed in all that they attempt.
- ISI Inspection Report (2023)
The School provides a welcoming and inclusive environment for around 750 pupils of 28 nationalities, across all foundations The historic buildings are surrounded by beautiful green spaces, yet they are only a short stroll from the prestigious Durham University and the World Heritage Site of Durham Cathedral.
Durham City itself is an historic, vibrant university city in the culturally rich Northeast of England London, Edinburgh, York and Newcastle are easily accessible by road and rail, while Newcastle International Airport (40km) and Durham Tees Valley Airports are within easy driving distance.
Among the opportunities on offer at the School are the Duke of Edinburgh Award schemes, a wide range of sports, including rowing at the Durham School Boat Club which is the third oldest in the world, a full range of musical activities, including choirs and orchestras, and a thriving Drama programme.
Being a relatively small school, dedicated and highly-trained staff can spend time with each child, understanding their individual characters and gently encouraging them to try new activities and take part in new ventures It is this approach which helps them flourish and gain confidence for life.
The Durham School One-Year Course is primarily designed to prepare students for whom English is their second language, for the rigour and demand of A-levels in the Sixth Form.
Even though t is a stand-alone course the students are fully integrated with the rest of the School and this is encouraged through the social and co-curricular programmes
Entry to Sixth Form
Students graduating from the One-Year GCSE programme gain up to seven GCSEs, with the prospect that they may therefore achieve the entry threshold (five grade 6s and a minimum of a grade 4 in Maths and English as a Second Language) required to undertake study in Durham School’s integrated Sixth Form. Specialist IELTS (International English Language Testing System) tuition would then be provided in Year 12 & 13 in order to support access to courses at a leading British university or Higher Education institution.
Enrolled pup ls are welcomed as full members of the Durham School community, and will be expected to participate in all aspects of boarding school life, including the School s extensive sporting and co-curricular activ ties
By providing a core curriculum of GCSEs alongside intensive English Language lessons, the course places students in a strong position to gain full entry to Durham School s A-Level programme e ther at the end of one year or after two years It focuses on the subjects of Mathematics (including Further Mathematics), English as a Second Language or as an Additional Language, Chemistry and Phys cs We also offer Art as a contrasting subject to study as it offers a different and practica dimension to the academic r gours of the other subjects
Each subject will lead to an external examination and grade at the end of the academic year In Art, a portfolio of work will also count towards this grade We also expect pupi s to do some independent learning as part of each course, which is essential preparat on for any future study and part cularly for A-levels and beyond in the UK.
Those who choose to return to their home country after the course do so with much improved spoken and written Eng ish skills, as well as a minimum of five, and up to seven, nternationally respected GCSE or IGCSE qualifications.
As this s a bespoke course, the programme can be ta ored to suit the individual, whether that is putting more of a focus on English Language acqu sition (one year of English Additional Language and preparing for exams and one additional year of English as a Second Language/exams) or hav ng a m x of standard curriculum lessons with bespoke one-year GCSE lessons.
The One-Year GCSE Curriculum
Pupils will be assessed before entry onto the course and within the first week of starting the course to ensure that pupils are on the right pathway.
Pathway 1
One-Year Course
Designed for those pupils whose English is of a good standard, e.g. those who have come from an English speaking school. Pupils will study English as a Second Language along with the full set of subjects and will sit all exams at the end of the first year.
Pathway 2
Two-Year Course
designed for those pupils whose English is not as strong. Pupils will study English as an Additional Language in the first year and then move onto English as a Second Language in the second year. Pupils will also study the full set of subjects and will sit a selection of external examinations at the end of the first year and a full set of examinations at the end of the second year.
Subjects
The curriculum is tailored to allow the teaching and assessment of three elements:
Compulsory GCSE/IGCSE subjects:
Mathematics, English [as a Second Language (1 year course) or as an Additional Language (2 year course)], Chemistry, Physics, Art and a Modern Foreign Language [the student’s own Language]
Non-Compulsory GCSE subjects:
Further Mathematics
Core non-examined lessons: Games, Life and Well-being Education
Lessons
We run a two-week timetable with a total of 58 lessons available, the subject breakdown is as below
Notes
(1) English skills are embedded through all the academic lessons.
(2) There are extra sessions available at lunchtimes, a schedule of these will be available in September.
Mathematics
IGCSE Mathematics (Edexcel)
This course aims to enable students to develop fluent knowledge, skills and understanding of mathematical methods and concepts, acquire, select and apply mathematical techniques to solve problems, reason mathematically, make deductions and inferences, and draw conclusions, comprehend, interpret and communicate mathematical information in a variety of forms appropriate to the information and context.
This course covers Number, Algebra, Geometry, Probability, Calculus, Trigonometry and Statistics with pupils being tested on their knowledge and understanding, as well as reasoning and applications.
Course content
Aspect Topics
Basic work, fractions, ratio, proportion, powers, standard form, estimating, surds and variation
Sequences, expanding brackets, factorising, linear and non-linear graphs, linear and quadratic equations and inequalities, linear and non-linear simultaneous equations, algebraic fractions, functions, changing the subject of a formula and proofs
Angles, construction, loci, transformations of shapes and graphs, area and volume, similar shapes, circle theorems, an introduction to calculus, the equation of a circle and vectors
Experimental and theoretical probabilities, mutually exclusive and exhaustive events, tree and Venn diagrams and conditional probabilities
An introduction to differentiation and its applications with gradients of tangents
Pythagoras’ Theorem, right angled triangle ratios, graphs, non-right-angled triangle rules, basic work on identities and equations
Diagrams, averages and sampling techniques
Examination
Pupils will be expected to sit the Higher Tier paper of which there are two papers; both allow a calculator.
Higher Paper - Grades 4 to 9
Website: https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-
GCSE Further Mathematics (AQA)
Overview and course content
This course builds on the work completed in the Mathematics course and also includes further work on; graphs, sequences, the equation of a circle, calculus; gradients, stationary points and the equation of a normal and tangent as well as introducing the factor theorem and matrices.
Examination Element
There is no tiered paper in Further Mathematics and pupils sit two papers; a noncalculator paper and a calculator paper. Examination – Grades 5 to 9
Website: https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcelinternational-gcses/international-gcse-mathematics-a-2016.html
English
Weoffertwocourses,dependentontheabilityofthepupilsForpuplswhohave studiedEnglishformally,weoffertheEnglishasaSecondLanguagecourseandforthose whohavehadlittleornoEnglishtraining,weofferEnglishasanAddtionalLanguageWe willassesspupilsatthestartoftheacademicyeartoensuretheyareontherightcourse ThiscoursecoversNumber,Algebra,Geometry,Probability,Calculus,Trigonometryand Statistcswthpupisbeingtestedontheirknowledgeandunderstanding,aswellas reasoningandapplications.
English as an Additional Language (CIE – 0772)
Overview
Course content
There are four papers that make up the assessment.
Paper 1 is a listening paper where pupils listen to a number of recordings and answer multiple choice and match ng questions
Paper 2 is a reading paper where pupils will read a number of texts and answer multiple-choice and matching questions You will also answer questions requiring short answers in English
Paper 3 is the speaking element where pupils complete one ro e play and conversations on two topics
Paper 4 is the writing paper where pup s complete one form-filling task, one directed writing task and one task in the format of an email/letter or art cle/blog
Website: https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/programmes-andqualifications/cambridge-igcse-english-as-an-additional-language9-1-0772/
English as a Second Language (CIE - 0991)
Overview
Assessment
There are three elements that make up the assessment.
Part 1 – This part will consist of a short nterview n which the candidate will answer a series of questions on a part cular topic and will last between 2-3 minutes
Part 2 – This will be a short talk in which the candidate has to talk for 2 minutes on a topic which is given to them on a card and for which they have one minute to think about
Part 3 – This will be a discussion that will last between 3-4 minutes related to the topic in Part 2
Course content
Examination summary - Grades 1 to 9
Course content
Website: https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/programmes-andqualifications/cambridge-igcse-english-second-language-9-1count-in-speaking/
Overview
(AQA - 8462)
Course content
Course content
Examination
Website: https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/programmes-andqualifications/cambridge-igcse-english-second-language-9-1-count-inspeaking/
Overview
Course content
Course content
Website: https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/programmes-andqualifications/cambridge-igcse-english-second-language-9-1-count-inspeaking/
Art (AQA - 8202)
Overview
Course content
Course content
