There have been a number of changes to Sixth Form qualifications for teaching from 2008. Most A level courses have been substantially revised and a new qualification and set of courses, the Cambridge Pre-U, have been introduced. Charterhouse and a number of other leading schools have been involved in the development of these Pre-U courses. Further details of the Pre-U may be found at the following address but note that we will be offering the subject courses rather than the full diploma:
www.cie.org.uk/qualifications/academic/uppersec/preu/index_html.
The new Charterhouse curriculum has been designed to take advantage of the best Sixth Form courses available. Our academic departments have selected the best courses for their subjects, whether these are the new Cambridge Pre-U courses or the new A level courses, and this has resulted in a mixture of courses being offered. All courses will be examined at the end of the two-year course. This will create significantly more teaching time and enable us to prepare our pupils to sit public examinations when they are mature and best able to excel.
At Charterhouse all pupils are required to take four timetabled subjects. These may be four principal subjects or three principal and one minor subject. Minor subjects are taught in less time than that given to principal subjects and lead to a qualification regarded as the equivalent of half a principal subject.
The Cambridge Pre-U courses are administered by Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) and the three Awarding Bodies (Examination Boards) in England for A level are AQA, Edexcel and OCR.
Charterhouse offers twenty-three principal subjects for study over two years. These are Art, Biology, Business and Management, Chemistry, Classical Civilisation, Design and Technology, Economics, Literature in English, French, Further Mathematics (which can only be taken with Mathematics), Geography, German, Government and Politics, Greek, History, Latin, Mathematics, Music, Physics, Religious Studies, Russian, Spanish and Theatre Studies.
The minor subjects offered are Art, Critical Thinking, French, German, Mathematics and Spanish. With the exception of Critical Thinking (which is a one-year course) these subjects are also studied over two years.
This booklet contains summary information about the principal and minor subject courses that are offered. It is strongly advised that pupils seek the guidance of their current teachers as to their suitability to these courses.
The Research Essay is an important part of Charterhouse’s academic curriculum beyond the confines of subject syllabuses. Towards the end of their first year as Specialists pupils are required to research and write an extended essay on a topic of their own choosing.
University courses are increasingly flexible and relatively few have specific demands about what subjects are studied in the Sixth Form. Nevertheless, certain courses, particularly at Oxford and Cambridge, do have complex requirements and these should be checked by reference to prospectuses (available in the HE & Careers Library) and university and college web sites. These will give you full details of requirements for any course you are considering.
UCAS and all universities regard the Cambridge Pre-U as a suitable qualification in preparation for their courses. There is a UCAS tariff that enables universities to equate grades from A levels, IB, the Pre-U and other courses of study. Although three A level grades (or their equivalent) will continue to be the norm in terms of university offers, some universities require four subjects at AS level. This is one of the reasons why minor subject options are being made available to those pupils who do not want to study four principal subjects.
The following guidelines on course requirements will also be helpful. The requirements relate equally to A level or Pre-U subjects.
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Architecture |
Mathematics or Physics preferred. Portfolio needed (Art or DT) |
Oxford and Cambridge Engineering/Science/Mathematics courses will also require Further Mathematics.
If you have any concerns at all about subject choices with regard to particular university courses please contact Mrs Angela Bailey in the Higher Education and Careers Department by mail, email (careers@charterhouse.org.uk) or telephone 01483 291 606.
A. J. Turner
Assistant Headmaster (Academic)