Choosing your GCSE optionsDoors, then choices, then the plan for options evening
Why this matters
The biggest decision Year 9s make, taught as one unit across the half-term before options evening. Pupils try subject doors they would never normally pick and walk them forward to the jobs at the end, then choose the options they might really take without closing doors, and finish by filling in their options form - the school's own blocks where the school has confirmed them, a practice form where it has not. The form is each pupil's PLAN to take to options evening, not a submission: the school's own options process is unchanged.
Learning objectives
By the end of this lesson
I can describe how GCSE choices affect post-16 options
I can explain why few subject choices close a door completely
I can give a reason for each option I am planning to take, and name a reserve
ActivityActivity 1: Doors, not walls
Whole class15 min
Visual: 30 jobs, with the GCSE 'doors' that lead to each. Students see how few doors close completely with broad GCSE choices.
ActivityActivity 2: Career-to-GCSE mapping
On your own30 min
Each student picks top 3 careers and uses Careerpilot/UCAS to map required + recommended GCSEs. Highlights overlaps.
ActivityActivity 3: Questions for Options evening
On your own15 min
Each student writes 2 specific questions for the Options evening, based on their mapping. Stored for later.
Success criteria
How we'll know it worked
Two subject doors tried and walked forward to the jobs at the end
Options form filled in: a pick, a reserve and a reason for each block
Two questions captured for options evening
Chapter Student Game
Action
Fill in your options form with Mrs Adeyemi at the Options Builder
Skills: Planning, Problem Solving
Fill in your options form: a pick, a reserve and a reason for each block. Take it to options evening.
What's next
Teach it in the half-term before options evening (Chapter pins it there), over two lessons and the pupils' own time in the Crossroads. Be calm - many parents catastrophise this decision. The form pupils fill in is a plan to talk through at options evening, not the school's options return; the module's Pupils panel shows each pupil's picks, with a CSV for whoever runs options.