SUB JE C T C H OI C E S
BOOKLET
S IX T H F O R M 2016 - 2018
1
Choosing a Curriculum
Wellington College is proud to be able to offer a twin track curriculum
in the Upper School. The IB and A Level programmes are both rigorous and well regarded by universities and either curriculum will very
suitably act as a stepping stone to the full range of future education
and employment.
However, the two curricula are different in nature and it is this difference which gives our pupils the opportunity to tailor their curriculum
to their individual needs.
By its nature, the IB supports a spectrum of subjects and enforces
a depth and breadth to a pupils curriculum. For those pupils wishing
to pursue future courses of study which require a breadth of ability,
the IB is an excellent choice. These pupils include potential medics or
those wishing to pursue the liberal arts programme at a US university
but could also include those who have a wide range of academic
talents or those who wish to maintain a broad interest.
The A Level programme on the other hand, naturally lends itself
to a selection of fewer subjects. The vast majority of A Level pupils
will leave with three or four subjects. The A Level curriculum lends
itself, therefore, to those who wish to develop a more focussed field
of study and for whom the breadth of subjects in the IB would provide
too many distractions from their genuine interests. While these pupils
may not have a completely firm idea of what they would like to go
on to do, it is likely that they will be specialising in a certain range
of subjects1 . For A Level pupils it is important that the selection of
subjects is such that each subject fits with and supports the others.
The New A Levels
Following a review of A Levels the government announced an overhaul
of the A Level system which is currently being implemented. The
most significant change is that many A Levels which are being taught
from 2015 are now linear courses. This means that the entire grade
is awarded on the basis of the exams sat in the Upper Sixth year.
AS exams continue to exist, but unlike the present system, any AS
exams sat at the end of the Lower Sixth, would not count toward a
final A Level grade. Table 1 shows when these reforms affect different
subjects.
Many schools are tackling this new system in many different ways
(and there are many who are yet to decide). Wellington College is
already running a two year linear system in the IB and so we decided
that from last year all A Level courses would be run as a linear course.
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1
e.g. Humanities or Maths
and Sciences etc...
Teaching from 2015
Art
Biology
Business Studies
Chemistry
Computer Science
Economics
English
History
Physics
Teaching from 2016
Dance
Design Technology
Drama
French
Geography
German
Greek
Latin
Music
PE
Religious Studies
Spanish
Teaching from 2017
Art History
Further Maths
Maths
Politics
Table 1: A summary of when
A Level subjects are becoming linear following the Government’s A Level reforms.
(NB only subjects offered at
Wellington are shown).
This means that no modules will be sat in the Lower Sixth, even for
those subjects that will still have them (albeit for only one more year).
Choosing A Level Subjects
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For some pupils it will be
more appropriate to start with
three subjects.
The A Level column structure is shown in table 2. It is possible to
choose one subject from each of the first four columns2 . The only
pupils who are able to choose five subjects in this scheme are those
who take Further Maths. These pupils should choose Further Maths in
both columns A and E - they do not need to choose Maths as a further
option.
Just because a selection of subjects is feasible within the column
structure does not necessarily mean that these subjects will form a
good combination. A Level students are advised to pay attention to
the section on choosing subjects and the information contained in
tables 5 and 6.
It is important to note that subjects are run according to demand.
Column A
Column B
Column C
Column D
Column E
Ancient History
Business
Drama
Economics
English
Further Maths
History
Maths
Music Technology
Photography
Art Textiles
Biology
Business
English
Geography
Latin
Mandarin
Physics
Politics
Religious Studies
Art History
Business
Chemistry
Computer Science
Economics
English
French
Geography
Greek
History
Religious Studies
Art
Biology
Chemistry
Dance
Design Technology
Economics
German
Maths
Music
PE
Politics
Religious Studies
Spanish
Further Maths
Other courses
(see 5th column)
Table 2: The A Level column structure for 2015/16. Only one subject can be chosen from each column. Pupils wishing to
study Further Maths must choose it in both columns A and E but do not need to choose Maths as an additional subject.
The Fifth Column
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It may be possible for pupils
to be able to select two of
these courses.
In addition to A Level subject choices, pupils will take an additional
course3 which will be designed to add breadth to their A Level studies
(in a similar way to the extended essay and ToK in the IB diploma).
The courses offered will be clarified at the beginning of next term, but
will likely include the EPQ, AS Psychology, additional languages and
Engineering.
These courses will have two or three lessons per cycle and are not
specifically intended to lead to an extra qualification, nor will they
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Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5
Group 6
Language A
Language B
Humanities
Sciences
Mathematics
Arts
English
French
Art History (SL)
Astronomy (SL)
Maths
Visual Arts
Literature &
Performance
(SL)
German
Biology
Maths Studies (SL)
Music
Greek (HL)
Business &
Management
Chemistry
Latin
Economics
Design Technology
Mandarin (SL)
Geography
Politics
Design Textiles
Environmental
Systems & Societies
(SL)
Physics
Psychology
Sport Science
Spanish
History
Russian (ab initio only)
Philosophy
(Or another
subject from
groups 2, 3 or
4)
Table 3: Subject groups for the IB curriculum. Modern Languages in Group 2 may also
be offered at ab intio level. Group 6 may be an arts subject or it may be a
second subject from one of the other groups.
necessarily even be examined, rather they may assist with university
applications.
Those pupils who take Further Maths will still have the opportunity
to take one of these extra courses, although it may be from a more
limited selection.
The IB
The L6th in September 2015 will be Wellington’s ninth IB cohort and
so will benefit from the significant experience we will then have of
running the programme. Since the addition of the IB Diploma, this
programme of study has grown in popularity and our pupils have
had outstanding results4 and have been successful in their university
applications. The IB offers a wide range of subjects and encourages
a broad curriculum - ideal for pupils who wish to keep their options
open or who wish to continue studying a broader range of subjects.
Pupils taking the IB choose six subjects, three at higher level and
three at standard level. Higher level subjects are generally equivalent
(or greater) in complexity and depth to their A Level counterparts. The
subjects fall into six groups as shown in table 3. One subject should
be chosen from each group5 .
The available combinations are shown in table 4. One subject may
be chosen from each column. The subject combination must still be a
valid IB set of options - i.e. there must be at least one subject chosen
from each of groups 1 to 5 and there must be 3 higher level subjects.
(NB these options are subject to demand).
The IB is examined at the end of the two year course with exams
usually falling in May. Each subject is graded from 1-7 with 7 being the
5
4
The average result in summer 2015 was 39.2 points.
5
Instead of choosing an Arts
subject from group 6, pupils
may choose another subject
from another column.
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5
Group 6
English HL
Column C
Column D
Column E
English SL
Column B
English HL
English SL
Lit & Performance SL
English SL
German NH
German HL
German SL
German AI
Column A2
Russian AI
Spanish NH
Spanish HL
Spanish SL
Spanish AI
History HL
English SL
Latin HL & SL
Economics HL
Philosophy HL & SL
Chemistry HL
Biology HL
Column A1
Economics HL
Geography HL & SL
Politics HL & SL
Psychology HL & SL
Biology HL
Design Technology HL & SL
Maths HL
English HL
English SL
Business Management HL & SL
Politics HL & SL
Physics HL
Sports Science HL & SL
Maths HL
Art History SL
Economics SL
Env. Systems SL
History SL
Economics SL
Mandarin SL
Mandarin AI
Chemistry HL
Maths SL
Maths Studies SL
Spanish AI
Astronomy SL
Biology SL
Chemistry SL
Physics SL
Maths SL
Maths Studies SL
French HL
French SL
French AI
Biology SL
Env. Systems SL
Chemistry SL
Maths SL
Maths Studies SL
Art HL & SL
Maths SL
Maths Studies SL
Music HL & SL
Table 4: The column structure for IB options. Only one subject per column may be chosen, although where a column is split, a standard level subject can be taken from either
side. To form a valid set of IB subjects, there must be three higher level subjects chosen and three standard subjects. In addition, there must be one subject from
each of groups 1 to 5 (the first 5 rows of the table). The sixth subject may be taken from group 6 or can be an additionsl subject from groups 2,3 or 4.
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highest score. In addition to their chosen subjects, pupils must also
complete the Core which consists of the Extended Essay (4000 words on
a subject of the pupil’s choice), Theory of Knowledge (an interdisciplinary
course designed to explore the nature of knowledge) and Creativity,
Action, Service (sports, arts, leadership activities and community service
or CCF). The Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge contribute a
maximum of 3 points taking the maximum total points available to 45.
There are no points awarded for the CAS programme, but pupils can
only be awarded the Diploma if they have completed their 150 CAS
hours.
Choosing Subjects
There are many valid reasons for pupils to choose different subjects.
Pupils may choose subjects because they enjoy them or because they
excel in them, indeed these two reasons often go hand in hand. These
reasons are certainly valid - pupils are more likely to work hard in
subjects that they enjoy and are therefore more likely to enjoy success
in them. Equally, choosing subjects in which they excel may seem
obvious, however, it is worth noting that choosing an overambitious
set of subjects and ending up with lower grades could be more of a
hindrance to further study than better grades in a more sensible set
of subjects.
Some subjects naturally support each other. For pupils wishing to
choose the A Level curriculum, it is important that they pay attention
to the overall set of subjects and check that they are all mutually
supporting and form a coherent package of qualifications. Some of
the more important subjects which support each other are shown in
table 5. This is less applicable to the IB where a breadth of subjects is
enforced by the nature of the curriculum.
Some pupils will have an idea of what they may wish to go on and
study at University. Even if it is only a vague idea at this stage, this
can still be used to guide subject choices and at the very least, ensure
that these options remain open to them through their subject choices.
Table 6 contains information on some of the more popular University
courses and which subjects are required to study them.
The media has often mentioned the list of facilitating subjects that
are published by the Russell group. These include Maths, Physics,
Chemistry, Biology, English, Modern Languages, History and Geography. Whilst it is true that these subjects do help keep options open, it
should be remembered that these are not necessarily facilitators for
every course. Indeed any university course will have some subjects
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Subject
Strongly advised subject(s)
Art, Art Textiles
Preferable subjects
Another Art subject / English / History
Art History, Photography
Biology
Chemistry, Maths
Chemistry
Maths
Biology and/or Physics
Computer Science
Maths
Further Maths
Drama
English
History
English
History / Classics / RS / Art History
Music
Science (Physics / Maths) or Humanities
Physics
Maths
Religious Studies
Another Humanities subject
English, Classics, Art History
Table 5: Suggested combinations of subjects
that are necessary for a successful application and others that would
facilitate. E.g. facilitating subjects for architecture courses could include Art and DT; the necessary subject for medicine applications is
Chemistry.
Finally, subject choices might be guided by the combinations that
are possible within the column structures shown in tables 2 and 4.
The Subject Choices Process
In itself, the subject choices process is only one particular decision
point in a much larger scheme of events that will see pupils make
further decisions over higher education and careers. It is an important
decision that can be seen as the start of a process which runs from
now until the pupils leave in the summer of 2017 and is sketched out
in figures 1 and 2, but is not the only decision point that will affect
them during their time at Wellington.
The timeline for making choices
Pupils have had the opportunity to find out about the various subjects
on offer and are now equipped to start thinking about their decisions. It is important that they discuss this decision with their parents,
teachers, tutors, housemasters and housemistresses.
By the time of the fifth form parents’ conference on the 29th January,
most pupils will have reached a decision and this event is a useful time
for parents to discuss, and hopefully confirm, this with teachers. There
is then a further month which includes half term for final decision
making before subject choices are due on 22nd February (the Monday
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University Subject
Essential Subject
Accountancy
Useful Subject
Maths , Business Studies / Economics
Archaeology
Architecture
Geography, History, Sciences
Art
Art, Maths, DT, Physics
Art and Design
Art / DT
Biochemistry
Chemistry, Biology
Biology
Biology, Maths
Chemistry
Biomedical Sciences
Chemistry, Biology
Maths, Further Maths, Physics
Maths, Physics, Further Maths
Business Studies
Chemical Engineering
Maths, Business Studies
Chemistry, Maths, Physics
Chemistry
Chemistry
Maths + another Science
Classics
Latin / Greek
Ancient History
Computer Science
Maths / Computer Science
Physics
Drama
English / Drama
Economics
Maths
Economics, Computer Science, History
Engineering
Maths, Physics
Further Maths, DT, Computer Science
English
English
History, RS, Languages
French
French
Another Language, English, History, Politics
Geography
Geography
Maths, Economics, Politics, Biology
Geology
Chemistry + Maths/Physics/Biology
Geography, Computer Science
German
German
Another Language, English, History, Politics
History
History
Economics, English, RS, Politics, Classics, Languages
History of Art
Art, English, History, RS, Art History, Languages
Law
Materials Science
History
2 from Chemistry/Maths/Physics/Biology, DT
Further Maths, Computer Science
Mathematics
Maths, Further Maths
Physics, Computer Science
Medicine
Chemistry, Biology, Maths
Physics, Further Maths, contrasting subject e.g. History
Music
Music
an essay based subject
Maths, Physics
Further Maths, Chemistry, Computer Science
Philosophy
Physics
RS, Maths
Politics
Psychology
Politics, History, RS, Economics, English
Biology or other Science / Maths
RS / Theology
RS, English , History
Spanish
Spanish
Another language, English, History, Politics
Sports Science
A Science / Maths
PE
Veterinary Science
Chemistry, Biology, Maths
Physics
Table 6: Essential and useful subjects for applying to some popular university courses.
Subjects in bold are those which are absolutely essential, those in italics are
required by the majority of courses, although there are some courses which
exist which do not require these.
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Sep 2015
straight after half term). Subject choices will be submitted by the
pupils and parents will be notified of what has been chosen.
Oct 2015
Nov 2015 Mich
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Dec 2015 Initial
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Jan 2016
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Feb 2016
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Mar 2016 ub je
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Apr 2016
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May 2016
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Jun 2016
Jul 2016
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Oct 2016
Nov 2016
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Aug 2016 M
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Sep 2016
Changing Subject Choices
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Dec 2016 A
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Jan 2017
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Figure 1: The timeline of the
subject choices procedure and
the Upper School key events.
s
While we hope that pupils and parents have reached a well thought
through decision that they want to stick with, changes are inevitable.
Later changes, however, will be subject to space in sets and the
timetable structure that is set out in order to accommodate those
choices made before the deadline. While it cannot be guaranteed
that all changes after the deadline can be accommodated, it should
be noted that the vast majority of changes in the last few years have
been possible.
Changes to subject choice decisions will be dealt with during term
time, however, during holiday periods changes will be delayed until
the start of the next term. This is because it can take a few weeks
to fully process and approve changes during holidays whereas the
same can usually be achieved during term time within a few days. In
addition, we would not recommend that pupils make changes during
or after the GCSE exams since they should be busy enough as it is;
there is a dedicated subject change procedure which will be in action
at the beginning of the Summer Term 2015. There are often many
changes made during the first few days of term, however, these are
usually complete by the end of the first two weeks.
Further decisions
For those pupils doing IB, there is less facility to make changes to their
subject choices since the IB requires the study of six subjects. For
those pupils studying four or five A Levels, however, there are various
points at which they may decide to drop a subject if it is appropriate.
The assessment week at the end of the Michaelmas term 2015 will be
the first of these.
In the summer of the Lower Sixth, A Level pupils who are studying
a subject which is still modular and has a significant coursework element, may sit the AS coursework exam, however, for all other pupils
(A Level and IB) there will be a full set of internal exams near the end
of the Summer Term 2016. This will provide a second dropping point
for A Level students.
The assessment week near the end of the Michaelmas term will
provide the third and final dropping point for A Level students. Pupils
who drop a subject at this point may wish to take the AS exam in order
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to gain a qualification in it, however, their decisions may be influenced
by what university offers they have, if any.
Apr 2017
May 2017
IB Diploma & A Levels - Frequently Asked Questions
Are A Levels or the IB better suited to a particular type of pupil? A Levels
allow genuine specialists the opportunity to focus on their areas
of strength. For example, highly capable linguists can take four
languages, or highly focused artists might take a combination
like Art, Music, Drama and Textiles. However, for a very large
number of Wellington pupils, who aren’t highly focused specialist the built-in balance and breadth of the IB would ensure that
they leave school with a strong and fully rounded education
and with a wide range of knowledge and skills required for
university and beyond.
What will the A Level reforms mean for this yeargroup? With the changes
to A Level that have taken place and reformed subjects commencing teaching in September 2015, Wellington College will
be taking a fully linear approach from this time. The L6th will
be free of public examinations with all exams (in reformed and
non-reformed subjects) taking place at the end of the Upper
6th. All students will therefore have a choice between two linear
courses, IB and A Level.
Is the IB really understood by universities? Many pupils and parents have
expressed concerns about this in the past, perhaps because
the IB is still relatively new to Wellington. However, it is not new
to universities. The IB is over 40 years old and its standards are
actually better known than those of the new A Levels that will
come into effect from September 2015. In summer 2014, 97% of
our IB students made their first choice university offer.
Universities recognise the IB’s many advantages and the welldeveloped capacities of its students. As a consequence, there
is evidence that IB students gain up to 10% more offers per
head than A Level pupils. This is very clearly reflected in the
experience of Wellington’s cohorts of IB pupils who received
some very reasonable offers - some extraordinarily so, including for highly competitive subjects like Medicine. This seems
to be the case again this year, with some generous offers from
Russell Group universities. In short, the IB is clearly not a disadvantage for university applicants. In fact, in these incredibly
tough times for university entry - when applicant numbers are
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Jun 2017
LV
I
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Jul 2017
Aug 2017
Sep 2017
Oct 2017
Nov 2017
Dec 2017 UV
Ia
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Jan 2018
we
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Feb 2018
Mar 2018
Mo
ck
E
xa
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Apr 2018
May 2018
IB
Ex
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Jun 2018 A
Jul 2018
Le
vel
s
Ex
am
s
Figure 2: The timeline of the
subject choices procedure and
the Upper School key events.
increasing and university funding is decreasing - the IB may
be giving good students an edge in the market. There can, of
course, be no guarantees that any qualification will result in
every pupil’s ideal university offers. That applies to A Level, IB
and any other qualification like the Pre-U, but it would be wrong
to have the impression that the IB is an inherently riskier route
to university than A Levels.
Important Contacts and Dates
Queries relating to the possible combinations of subjects and the
timetable should be directed to Dr Heathcote. Subject specific queries
may be better answered by the Heads of Departments, whose contacts
can be found in the calendar.
Please note that in general, queries regarding subject choices and
changes will be dealt with during term time. Queries made during
College holidays will be put on hold until the beginning of term. This
will enable discussion between subject heads where necessary and
results in answers being available within a couple of days rather than
a couple of weeks.
Useful Contacts
Asst. Deputy (Academic)
Timetabling etc.
Deputy (Academic & HE)
Head of IB DP
Dr WH Heathcote (whh@)
Mr MJ Oakman (mjo@)
Mr RH Atherton (rha@)
Table 7: Useful contacts for the subject choices process. NB all email addresses are
@wellingtoncollege.org.uk
Important Dates
Fifth Form Parents’ Conference
Subject Choice Deadline
29th January 2016
22nd February 2016
Table 8: Important dates for the subject choices process
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