Curriculum
Pathways
Avanti 6 Bishop’s Stortford offers students an ambitious and rigorous academic curriculum, with high levels of challenge and high support from our expert teachers. You will select your pathway and design a personalised curriculum centred on your A-level courses, but extending far beyond that through your elective participation in our extensive curriculum enrichment offer. From our speaker programme to fieldwork and study visits to our enrichment courses and super curriculum, you are encouraged to be curious, to think deeply and critically and to broaden your horizons.
Success at A-level opens doors to the future, whether you progress to a university degree or via an apprenticeship route. The extended Avanti 6 curriculum is designed to ensure that you are exceptionally well-prepared for academic success and that you develop as a responsible, ethical young person with the courage and confidence to realise your ambitions.
Choose your pathway
Pathway 1 — 4 A-levels
All students studying Further Maths. Students who achieved 7+ in 5 or more subjects at GCSE who would like to study four subjects.
Pathway 2 — 3 A-levels and 1 Enrichment Course
Most students, including those opting for Core Maths, will study 3 A-level courses and an additional Enrichment Course. Enrichment Course options include the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), Level 3 Finance, and Core Maths.
Pathway 3 — 3 A-levels
Some students may study just 3 A-levels.
You will discuss your course choices and pathway at an Information, Advice and Guidance meeting in the Spring Term. If you are uncertain of your choices, you are encouraged to select four subjects initially, with the opportunity to review your choices in October of Year 12.
Making choices
Choosing courses for post-16 study represents an opportunity for specialisation after completing a breadth of study at GCSE. This may be a welcome opportunity to devote yourself to in-depth study of areas of personal interest, or to focus on courses which will directly prepare you for the further study and career pathway you wish to pursue. If you have a wide range of interests or wish to keep a range of future pathways open, the decision may seem a little less straightforward.
The range of subjects and pathways offered at Avanti 6 Bishop’s Stortford allows students with a clear sense of their interests and/or future career pathway to specialise, while allowing others to retain breadth in their choices. Our expert subject leads and leadership team are available to provide information, advice and guidance to ensure that you make informed choices and choose the pathway and subjects that will best serve you as an individual.
A-level courses
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Enrichment options
Key principles for choosing your courses
Personal interests and academic passions, choosing subjects you enjoy and to which you will readily give commitment and consistent effort
Success in the subject or related subjects at GCSE
Experiences and interests outside the classroom which may relate to a particular course, especially subjects you did not study at GCSE
Future aspirations and the subjects and grades required for particular courses or career pathways
Entry requirements and your predicted outcomes at GCSE
You may be inspired and encouraged by a particular teacher to opt for a particular subject. This may be a consideration as long as it is not in conflict with the key principles outlined above. All subjects offered at Avanti 6 are taught by expert and experienced subject leads and teachers, so you can be assured of expert teaching whatever course you choose.
Subject combinations
You have a free choice of A-level courses, with no core or compulsory subjects. Certain combinations of courses are popular, but you are not bound to follow these. More unusual combinations can allow you to pursue your own individual interests and to broaden your future career options.
Some university courses linked to particular career pathways require you to have A-levels in particular subjects. Some of the most popular are outlined below.
Architecture — Art and design; Mathematics and/or Physics. Product Design, History, Geography or a foreign language are also helpful.
Economics — Mathematics.
Engineering — Mathematics; Physics (or, for Chemical Engineering, Chemistry). Some universities also require Further Mathematics.
Medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine — Biology; Chemistry.
Natural Sciences — Maths and at least 2 of Biology, Chemistry and/or Physics.
The application process and guidance
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Initial application
When you make your initial application to Avanti 6 Bishop’s Stortford, you will be asked to indicate your likely choice of courses, including enrichment courses. This information will be used to design the timetable, to ensure that as many students as possible are able to study their preferred programme.
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Information, advice & guidance
Your Information, Advice and Guidance meeting in the Spring Term will offer you the opportunity to discuss any ideas you have at this stage about future career pathways or courses, and to receive advice on appropriate subject choices.
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Confirm & enrol
Following your GCSE results, you will be asked to confirm your choice of courses at enrolment. If you would like to enrol on 4 A-level courses initially, you will have the option to do this and to review your choices in October of Year 12.
