We are looking to introduce some changes to the school day and Year 11 curriculum that will further maximise your child’s opportunity for success.

From September 2023 we will:

• extend the school day on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for Year 11; and
• increase the number of taught GCSE lessons for Year 11.

How will these changes benefit my child?

The impact of the pandemic has meant that students have potentially lost a significant amount of learning. The Department for Education and JCQ intend to continue to return examination results to pre-pandemic levels, which will bring a significant level of challenge to students across the country. Ultimately, we want to ensure our students are even more successful against this backdrop of higher demand.

The changes we are making are also very much in line with some local schools. We do not want our students to be disadvantaged in relation to their peers.

What are the changes?

In addition to the current allocation of 5 lessons each day, Year 11 will have an additional timetabled Period 6 lesson on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday only. Year 11 will therefore have an additional 6 taught lessons over the two-week timetable; increasing their current allocation of 50 lessons to 56 lessons. These additional 6 lessons will take place between 3.05pm and 4pm.

It is intended that students will be timetabled English, Maths and Science lessons during their Period 6 timetables, but this will be finalised nearer the time. We will also be adding an additional lesson to each of the option subjects. Please see the table below for the full allocations across the curriculum:

Are these changes on every day of the week?

No, Year 11 will finish at 4pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday only. They will finish at 3pm on Thursdays and 2.35pm on Fridays.

Are these additional lessons optional?

No. All students in Year 11 will be expected to attend these P6 lessons. Over the past 10 years, the vast majority of our students in Year 11 are usually involved in some type of after-school intervention anyway. This timetable change will bring parity amongst departments and ensure all students have equity in the curriculum.

What will these additional lessons be for?

These lessons will be used to teach the GCSE specification and help with the completion of coursework (in subjects that require it). They will allow teachers to explore in greater breadth and depth the content of the specification, ensuring students complete the GCSE course of study in a timely manner.

This in turn will allow for a far more comprehensive and effective revision programme to take place, far in advance of the examinations.

There will no longer be any ‘intervention’ lessons in Year 11. This extension of the taught curriculum will replace the need for any further after-school intervention sessions.

Why are the teaching hours in GCSE Science not increasing?

Over the past 3 years we have focused on increasing the number of hours from 7 per fortnight in GCSE Science to 10 per fortnight. Therefore, it is not necessary at this stage to increase it any further.

What will happen to detentions?

It goes without saying that students in Year 11 should not be getting any detentions during the most important year of their school career! However, for those that do manage to end up in detention these will run from 4 – 4.30pm.

Ultimately, these changes are being made to benefit the students here at Carshalton High School for Girls and give them a greater chance of success than in any other school. My staff are willing and eager to give more time to the students, and that can only be a positive thing for them. We appreciate this may cause some logistical challenges for families, but we believe that the benefit for each individual student will far outweigh any of these challenges, in the end.

If you have any comments or questions, please email the School Office office@carshaltongirls.org.uk or contact your daughter’s Head of Year, Mrs Devaney on ndevanney@carshaltongirls.org.uk.

A letter containing these details was emailed directly to all Year 10 parents.