Year 9 Options Evening

Thursday 9th March 2023
5.45pm – 8.00pm

Rooms for Subject Presentations

Year 9 Options Frequently Asked Questions

Can students select whatever subjects they want to?

Students select 4 subjects and one reserve choice.  We believe this enables them to access all of our broad and balanced curriculum, and will be more likely to succeed when studying subjects they are interested and engaged in.  There are some subjects which have a minimum grade requirement in GCSE Maths  (see below).  Any student not meeting this minimum requirement will not be accepted on to the course and should therefore not select it as one of their options. Certain subjects cannot be chosen together (i.e. BTEC Sport & GCSE PE), due to their similar course profile.  The full course list offered will depend on the final number of students that have chosen these   subjects.  Further information regarding subjects that will not run will be made available after the options window has closed.

Do students need to meet certain requirements to opt for some subjects?

There are no entry requirements to take any of the subjects with the exception of the following subjects:

• GCSE Statistics - students most recent current grade must be a Grade 5 or above in Maths.
• GCSE Computer Science - students most recent current grade must be a Grade 5 or above in GCSE Maths.
• GCSE Music - students must be able to play a musical instrument or sing.
• GCSE Triple Science - students most recent current grade must be a Grade 6 or above in Science.

What is the difference between GCSEs and Vocational qualifications?

The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and the Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) are both academic qualifications.  The main difference is that BTEC is awarded for vocational subjects and the GCSE is awarded for a large number of other subjects.  Most vocational subjects offer a mix of theoretical and hands-on learning, allowing you to get a good foundation of understanding in the subject while also getting plenty of actual experience.  Vocational courses do not use the same grading system of 9 - 1 like GCSEs.  Instead they use a pass, merit or distinction grading system.  (The exact number of grades differs between qualifications).  The         comparison between these and GCSEs (old and new) are shown in the table opposite.

When is the deadline for options to be selected?

Students should select their option subjects using the link sent to parents after the Options Evening, before the end of Friday 17th March 2023.

Can students change their options after the deadline?

As much as we want students to make the correct choices during the options process we accept that there will be a few who may change their mind once they start their subjects in Year 10. If a student realises soon after starting the course that the subject is not suitable for them they can request to change subject. This will be dependent on the timetable allowing it and class sizes not being at full capacity. Therefore, it is imperative that students make as informed a decision as possible when they select their option choices.

Are students guaranteed to do the subjects they choose?

We will make every effort to accommodate the first choice options of every student, however this is not         something that we can guarantee. Students are asked to select a reserve option if they are unable to do one of their first choice options.

What if my child does not get their first choice and they need a subject for a specific career path?

There will be a section when you submit your form to add any further information that relates to your child’s    career aspirations.  We will then take this into consideration but cannot guarantee all students their first choices.

‘Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the

ordinary’  J. Rhon

#literacymatters

A key priority at Cox Green is ensuring that our students leave our school having the ability to read well and having read a breadth and depth of fiction and non-fiction genres during their time with us. 

In a world where the notion of sitting down and reading a book, or reading aloud to one another is diminishing, it is our responsibility to encourage and foster a love of reading. Moreover, it is our responsibility to ensure that all our students leave school literate with excellent reading and literacy skills.

To that end, we offer a wide range of opportunities for students who require additional support with literacy skills to receive specialist tailored interventions and whole school adaptive teaching strategies embedded within our curriculum so that they build confidence and make progress.

We also promote reading for pleasure throughout the year and provide time for students to read independently and aloud in tutor time and English lessons. During our curriculum weeks, students get to encounter a range of texts linked to their subjects and topics to help them make links with the wider world around them. Our incentivised reading scheme, run by the English team, challenges students to read a wide range of genres throughout the year, gaining rewards along the way.

And of course, the time of year where the whole school comes together and celebrates reading is during the run up to World Book Day, where we have a number of competitions and incentives; all of which create an excitement around reading.  Staff and students dress up as their favourite book characters, the whole school does D.E.A.R and we have “The Masked Reader”, “Guess The Character” hunts and “Get Caught Reading” competitions, plus visits from authors and poets.

We invest heavily in resources in endeavouring to make sure that a Cox Green student is a student who reads.

Reading at Cox Green is incentivised through positive points and rewards throughout the year to encourage an enthusiasm and motivation to pick up a book and read!

The passion our school has is reflected in feedback from our students:

‘I enjoy being able to learn to love and enjoy reading. I'm glad Cox Green is encouraging reading as I never took the time to read and enjoy my books until Cox Green started encouraging it. Thank you’   Olivia K, Year 8

A very warm welcome

Welcome to the Cox Green School PTFA (Parent, Teacher and Friends Association). We hope you find all the information you are looking for and if you need to get in touch or are interested in joining our merry band, we would be delighted to hear from you so please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Who are we?

We are a newly formed dedicated team of parents and school staff who organise social and fund-raising events in person and online throughout the year, to support and enrich the school experience for our children in many different ways. We are looking for parents to join our PTFA so if you are interested please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

PTFA meetings are held regularly at the school and you are welcome to come along and join or just have a listen. Information will be sent out in the school newsletter.

Our aim is to create an uplifting community spirit in our school by playing an active role in the school community. Fundraising for our school is a big part of our focus and has been extremely successful in the past.  We hope while parents and teachers work together we will contribute to the vibrancy and success of our school, and most importantly our students.

Being an active member of the PTFA is a great way to get to know the school, how it works, the different departments and their needs and priorities.

Our committee meetings will be run in school and everyone is welcome whether they wish to take an active role in the PTFA or just listen to find out more.

Events we wish to plan in future

Quiz night

Virtual Balloon Race

Family walkathon

Next meeting: Details of meetings will be provided in the newsletter.

Please get in touch if you are interested in taking on any of the following vacant roles of Treasurer, School Liaison Officer and Event Volunteers.                    

Minutes of the meeting can be found HERE Once you click on the link, it will request access from the PTFA before you can view the link.

GCSE's explained

At Cox Green School GCSEs are taken at the end of KS4 (Year 11, when students are aged 15 or 16). Pupils choose their GCSE subjects in the spring term of Year 9, and start studying for them at the beginning of Year 10. Some schools enter pupils for some of their GCSEs a year early, at the end of Year 10.  However, at Cox Green School we do not believe that this provides pupils with the necessary time to adequately prepare for these challenging external exams. Until summer 2016, pupils were awarded a mark from A* to G; as of 2019 all GCSE subjects are graded numerically.

GCSE exams grade students from 9 to 1, with 9 roughly equivalent to A*, and 4 a low grade C. The Department for Education has produced a parents' guide to the new GCSE grading system and a helpful video. Some subjects, including English, maths and science, are assessed purely by exam. Others include an element of coursework or practical work. The specifics can be found on departmental curriculum pages. Currently, there are five different exam boards offering GCSEs. The syllabus and exam content will vary between the boards, as will the exam dates, but they all have to cover the core National Curriculum content. Students sit their GCSEs in May and June, and get their results on the last Thursday in August. 

Revision, where do I start?

 The key to successful revision is to plan. It should not be an onerous task and there are many simple strategies to make it easier. As a school we have produced the following helpful guide to start the process of preparing for exams.