KEY STAGE THREE/KEY STAGE FOUR

A Year 8 pupil entering Saint Catherine's College takes a total of twelve subjects, satisfying the statutory Northern Ireland curricular requirements at Key Stage 3. These subjects are carried through until Form Three (Year 10) when some pupils are offered the opportunity to take up the study of Spanish in addition to French and Irish.

At the end of Third Form (Year 10) pupils make their subject choices for Key Stage 4 and GCSE's. In keeping with the Northern Ireland curriculum requirements, all pupils in Key Stage 4 (Years 11 and 12) are required to follow a prescribed curriculum covering all areas of study delivered and examined by GCSE syllabi. As well as meeting the requirements of the statutory curriculum we have tried to keep the subject choices as broad as possible.

TRANSITION TO SIXTH FORM

Year 12 pupils are given a great deal of information regarding the programmes of study available in Sixth Form. A 'Pathways to Success' conference is held for Year 12 pupils and their parents during which addresses are given by past pupils, Head of Sixth Form and the School Principal. The pupils are also given the opportunity to discuss Sixth Form subject specifications with Heads of Department and 'A' level teachers. The Careers Department also has heavy involvement in Year 12.

VOCATIONAL COURSES

Saint Catherine's College has invested an enormous amount of curricular and staff time on the development of its vocational courses. The school is in the vanguard of Sixth Form provision in terms of offering a mix of traditional and vocational 'A' levels - an increasing number of Sixth Form students now take a mix of traditional and vocational 'A' levels and we expect to see this trend continuing.

A GNVQ Intermediate programme in Health and Social Care (equivalent to four GCSE's) is also offered at Sixth Form level. This very popular course leads to Advanced level studies or to relevant training or courses of further education. The school is presently considering courses to support and extend this area of the Sixth Form curriculum, vocational GCSE's, accredited courses in Nursery Nursing or Beauty Therapy for example are being discussed.

The Curriculum 2000 review, which saw the introduction of AS levels and vocational 'A' levels, has also seen the introduction of Key Skills to Year 13, where all students are expected to show competence in the areas of Communication, Application of Number and I.T. The Curriculum Committee acted as precursors at the planning phase while the appointment of a Key Skills Manager plus Co-ordinators for Communication, Application of Number and I.T. has greatly eased their introduction into the curriculum.

The school Curriculum Committee, chaired by the Deputy Principal, is charged with the task of the ongoing review and development of the Curriculum offered in the school. CCEA (the Government body responsible for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment) are currently consulting with schools on a thorough review and revision of the curriculum offered to 11-16 year olds. Saint Catherine's College has responded to the wide ranging and radical proposals and will look over the coming years to ensure that any curricular change is made with the pupils' best interests at heart.

The Curriculum Committee was pleased to present the second School Development plan to the Senior Management Team and whole staff in November 2001. The main work of the Curriculum Committee for 2004 - 2004 is to proceed with the implementation of Aims 1 and 4 in particular and to support the implementation, delivery and management of Aims 2, 3 and 5. The Curriculum Committee were successful in applying for funding under the E.U. Peace 2 initiative - Developing Children and Young People. The ETNA (Empowering Teens for a New Armagh) project is aimed at creating an aspirational climate amongst our hardest to motivate young people and exposing them along with our general student body to high quality careers and employability experiences. The project, will form a challenging dimension to the work of the school from 2003 onwards.

A full copy of the school's Development Plan 2001 - 2005 is available on request from the school.