What are GCSE's in the UK? Key Stage 4 Explained

KEY STAGE 4 & GCSE's Explained

The secondary education system in England, Wales, the British Territory of Gibraltar and Northern Ireland was split between Key stage 3 and Key stage 4 (KS4) to set the educational knowledge of students of various ages, mainly to align with the two-year examination courses at the GCSE level.

General Certificate of Secondary Education

GCSE stands for General Certificate of Secondary Education. GCSEs are exams which the pupils attend at the end of compulsory school education. However, appearing for GCSEs are not compulsory and the decision is up to schools whether to make pupils attend GCSE examinations.

GCSE represents KS4 of the national curriculum and represents two levels of the National Qualifications Framework that are been addressed as level 1 and level 2. Level 2 comprises of grades A to C while level 2 comprises of grades D to G.

New GCSE’s in England starting from 2017 with English and maths are being graded fro 1 to 9, with 9 being the highest grade. Gradually all subjects will be graded using this system.

Key Stage 4 (KS4)

Key Stage 4, also called as KS4, is the legal term for two years of schooling for maintained schools in England and Wales for pupils aged between 14 and 16, i.e. school years 10 and 11. All students in this key stage must follow a planned series of performances of education. The compulsory national curriculum subjects include English, Mathematics, Science, Citizenship, Computing and Physical Education. KS4 have less number of subjects for the pupils to study as compared to KS3.

Religious education and sex education are also included at KS4 just like the way these are included in Key Stage 3. Subjects like Arts, Design and Technology, Modern Foreign Languages are not compulsory after getting into Key Stage 4, after the age of 14.

  

During this stage, teachers set high expectations for pupils and take account of their duties for the students to get equal opportunities against any discrimination on the basis of sex, race, disability, religion or belief etc. Potential areas of difficulty are identified and addressed for the best performances of the pupils.

Role of English Language in KS4

The national curriculum for English demonstrates the importance of spoken language for the development of pupils in the whole curriculum. It continues to help their development in reading and writing during KS3 and KS4 and ensures to build their confidence and develop the competence to better themselves. Reading at KS4 is wide, varied and challenging. They are expected to read in depth the whole book and to read for pleasure.

To read and appreciate the depth and power of English Literary Heritage, pupils are expected to read a wide range of high-quality, challenging, classic literature, fiction and non-fiction (essays, reviews and journalism). This can include one play by Shakespeare, works from the 18th, 20th and 21st centuries, poetry including representative Romantic poetry. Re-reading literature and other writings are helpful for comparisons with their future reads while choosing books by their own challenge themselves and builds up their confidence too.

Writing is given as much importance as reading during KS4. Pupils are taught to write accurately, fluently and effectively and to adapt their own writing for a wide range of purposes to describe and narrate information. They are also taught to organise their ideas, facts they've read effectively for support and emphasis. Making notes and drafts are given more value along with considering revision, editing and proofreading.

Role of Science in KS4

A high-quality education on Science provides pupils with the understanding of the world through the disciplines of biology, physics and chemistry. The fundamental concepts of force, field, radiation and particle structures are taught to them at this stage with the use of models. The concepts of composition, structure, properties and reactions of matter in terms of atoms are made understandable through chemical studies. The science of living organisms and their interactions with each other and the environment, the life processes depending on molecules etc. are made clear to the pupils.

Science has changed and challenged our lives and is vital to the future prosperity. The essential aspects of science and the use of science are taught to the pupils. They are encouraged to understand the change in things, predicting how things will behave and to analyse their causes. The conceptual understanding of science is encouraged by the teachers to develop an understanding of the nature, processes and the methods of science through enquiries.

                              

                                   

The national curriculum for science shows the importance of the spoken language of pupils for their development in the whole curriculum. Equal proportions of biology, physics and chemistry are made part of the curriculum. The quality of the language they hear and speak are deciding factors that develop the scientific vocabulary. They are assisted in making their thinking clear and precise.

Role of Confidence in Numeracy in KS4

The interconnected subject, Mathematics, should be developed and consolidated at KS4. They should further develop the fluency they attained during the key stage 3 to excel in mathematical reasoning and to solve increasingly sophisticated problems. The pupils who are weak with this should take up the additional practice of problem-solving. A private tutor who can give more attention to the pupils can also help the pupils with their difficulty. The relevant mathematical skills required for the pupils by this age should be attained by the end of KS4.

Expected Outcomes of KS4

By the end of KS4, pupils are expected to understand and apply their skills specified in than planned series of study set by the curriculum structure. They must also tackle complex and challenge physical activities; they are taught to take part in outdoor activities as well as competitive sports outside the schools through community links or sports clubs; their performances are compared to the previous ones and the developments are demonstrated.

Pupils are enlightened with primary knowledge about all the subjects that are included in Key Stage 4 as they are about to seek greater opportunities in the coming future. KS4 is the most influential and determining stage of the curriculum for the same reason.