GCSE Courses

James

Each lesson is 1 hour and is led by a subject specialist. You may study one or more subjects which are offered as either a classroom or online option.

Throughout your time at Summit Saturday School you are taught how to maximize your learning and achieve the top A*-C grades necessary to take the A Level options you want at sixth form.

GCSE English

The English Department consists of English specialists with many years experience and an excellent record to getting students to achieve top grades.
GCSE students being examined in AQA, OCR, Edexcel syllabuses receive highly specialised teaching. Help is provided with poetry anthology, set texts and writing to inform, persuade and analyse. Small classes provide excellent working environment for both student and teacher.
GCSE English at Summit is designed to give pupils the opportunity to clarify, practise and revise all of the skills necessary to obtain A*-C passes in both Language and Literature across the full range of the present school examination boards.
Whilst each examination board will set different texts for study, the typical tasks remain consistent throughout. Therefore, we tailor lesson plans and resources to every individual student’s specifications, enabling them to practise the tasks of analysing, comparing, speaking and listening, and writing for a variety of purposes and audiences, using excerpts from the poetry, prose and drama texts that will come up for examination. Alongside this, students study media articles and passages of non-fiction to prepare them for the unseen language tasks, and practise personal writing, essay planning and written accuracy at regular intervals. Mock examinations from a range of boards take place three times a year.

GCSE Mathematics

This is a very popular course at Summit Saturday School with students achieving A*-C grades.

Examining bodies AQA, Edexcel and OCR now offer the same topics for GCSE Mathematics . We welcome pupils taking Higher Tier (H) and Foundation Tier (F) GCSE and IGCSE Mathematics.

New Mathematics essentially incorporates: Functional Maths, Problem solving and thinking skills

We seek to encourage a love of mathematics in our pupils. It is important that you understand the concepts and our teacher’s style of teaching has proved very successful. Our teachers are very conversant with the specifications as some are themselves examiners. They are fully trained in the new specifications and will work with you to develop your skills in all topics.

GCSE Mathematics examination format:

There are 2 question papers for Foundation and Higher Tier, with paper 1 being non calculator and Paper 2 calculator.

Synopsis of the Specification:
(please refer to the full specification for more detail)
Some of the areas you will cover in lessons to prepare for the GCSE Mathematics examinations in January and June are listed below:

GCSE Mathematics Linear –
Foundation Tier and Higher Tier number and algebra

  • Including fractions and percentages
  • Ratio and proportion
  • Language of Algebra
  • Expressions and Equations
  • Sequences, functions and graphs
  • geometry and measures
  • Including properties of Angles and shapes
  • Use Pythagoras’ theorem.
  • Measures and construction
  • Use and interpret maps
  • statistics and probability
  • handling data
  • vectors

These Specification allows GCSE mathematics to be studied over 1 or 2 years and examinations can now be taken at two times in the year, January or June.

GCSE Science

Science is taught by scientists who have many years teaching experience and are also examiners for GCSE and A Level examinations..

The teachers bring enthusiasm and fun to learning, and use a range of creative teaching strategies including presentations, discussions and experiments. As one of the core subjects in the National Curriculum, Science is a popular choice with pupils.

The courses available under the National Curriculum are catered for at Summit. The content of the course features elements of the separate disciplines of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. They are taught in a stimulating and motivating manner, challenging pupils to embrace the concepts and apply them to the real world.
Students benefit from a course that is designed to cover the main topics for OCR, AQA and Edexcel exam boards. At this stage whether the student is studying Biology, Physics or Chemistry, the emphasis is on examination techniques, key facts and study skills. The Science Department at Summit Saturday School works to ensure that every student is working at, or above his or her predicted grade.
During the Spring Term, past paper mock examinations are scheduled into the curriculum allowing students valuable exam practice.
Teachers are committed to improving students’ grades and also encourage them to develop a love of Science and become life long learners.

As with all other GCSE subjects, you will be required to take an assessment before joining the class in order that your teacher can assess your ability and allocate you to the appropriate class. The assessment includes questions in Biology, Physics and Chemistry.  We will also need to know whether you are taking OCR, Edexcel or AQA examinations

The English Baccalaureate

The GCSE English Baccalaureate (English Bacc) in not a qualification. It must not be confused with the GCE English Baccalaureate qualification. The English Bacc is an initiative created by the UK Government to be awarded to GCSE students who have achieved A* grades in the following subjects: English, Mathematics, Science, Humanities and Languages. It is awarded to students who have achieved good passes in a number of specific GCSE or iGCSE qualifications as mentioned above.