KS4 Curriculum

Key Stage 4

We help young people aged 14-16 to overcome their difficulties and achieve their potential by raising their aspirations, confidence and self-esteem. We provide an exciting and relevant individualised curriculum with a strong emphasis on important academic qualifications, functional skills, life skills, vocational skills and employability. The curriculum is designed to ensure that learners are equipped for the next stage in their lives. Staff at the Link School are highly dedicated, professional and determined to help the young people who attend the provision.

Our curriculum is divided into three distinct categories which motivates and supports young people towards their learning and employment goals. These are academic achievement; preparing for working life and becoming active and responsible citizens.

Academic achievement

GCSE	English English literature MathsStatistics Combined Science
Functional Skills (Level 1 and 2)	English, Maths and ICT
VCERT	Food and Cookery Health and Fitness
NCFE (Level 1)	Maths Working with probability Maths: Working with statistics Maths: Working with 2D shapes and spaceCreative Craft in Art and Design

Preparing for working life

NCFE (Level 1 and Level 2)	Occupational studies for the Workplace Award for CV writing Award in Employability skills
FAA (Level 2)	Emergency first aid at work
Careers	Work Discovery Week National Careers Week High quality careers education, information and guidance ESH Group – Building my skillsCollege Visits Careers guidance interviews Weekly Department for Work and Pension sessions.Attendance at school careers fairs Opportunities for work placements with a range of different providers.Promotion of STEM across the curriculum

Becoming active and responsible citizens

NCFE (Level 1)	Award in alcohol awareness Award in sexual health awareness Award in personal safety Award in substance misuse awareness.
Enrichment	Charity events Mountain biking Watersports Football Fishing Gym Swimming Dance Trampolining

Alternative Pathways to GCSE

We offer a range of pathways to GCSE to meet the specific learning needs of our students but to enable them all to be highly employable. This includes our children and young people having access to work placements, we currently work with:

North East Resources – construction, joinery, painting and decorating.
Evolve Soccer Academy – functional skills in English and maths, biology, BTEC Sports diploma.
PETAL – Fork Lift Truck courses and CSC Cards.
Bella Marie Training Academy – Hair and Beauty Qualifications, Level 1 plus.

Daily Tutorial

Students have a daily tutor time covering PSHE topics and preparation for the next stages in their learning journey.

1 to 1 Programme

For those children and young people who are significantly ‘hard to reach’ and are unable to access the curriculum offer in school, these learners are offered one to one tuition where they are offered access to English, Maths and a PSHE curriculum. The aim is to re-engage them in learning and return full time into school.

KS3/KS4 Websites

Flashcard apps and Quizlet

Save paper and the pain of trying to decipher your handwriting with a flashcard app. Look for a version like Flashcards+ (iOS), which lets you create your own cards or import existing sets through Quizlet, a brilliant community site for students to share study notes.

BBC Bitesize

This breaks down subjects into handy smaller chunks (there’s a clue in the name here..) and lets you revise topics, watch video summaries, complete activities and test yourself as you go. The site covers subjects from Key Stage One to GCSE.

Revision planning apps

A big part of revision is getting organised and keeping track of your study. The Revision Ace app lets you make a revision plan, record your time spent on each subject and track your progress as you go. Alternatively, you can create a colourful PDF timetable with the help of getrevising.co.uk, which will even suggest a schedule for you to follow.

Khan Academy

Khan Academy is a not-for-profit learning tool that aims to provide a world-class education to anyone with Internet access. The site includes video tutorials and tests in Maths, Science, Economics, Computer Programming and History. The site keeps track of your progress and gives you awards for achievement. This is a great tool for getting to grips with the basics or taking on advanced study for extra credit.

Spark Notes

Explore English Literature texts, watch video summaries and study a host of other subjects with popular study notes site Spark Notes. Try out No Fear Shakespeare, which puts the original text side by side with a modern translation to help you pick up the story and translate new words as you go.

S-Cool

Revise GCSE and A-level subjects, test yourself, make a revision timetable for free and download apps from this comprehensive revision website.

BBC Brain Smart

Need a quick study break? Why not stay productive and wake up your brain by playing a game from BBC Brain Smart. There are fun games to help you boost your memory, remember chains of numbers, get motivated and manage stress.