Leigh Baccalaureate (LeighBacc) Information

Welcome to the 2025 LeighBacc GCSE Options information!

It is now time to decide on your path into the future and today you begin that journey with GCSE (and equivalent qualification) subject choices.

Our academy motto of ‘Opening Minds to Success’ is at the heart of this process and has the end goal of ensuring that all students are equipped with the knowledge, skills and confidence to move on to the next stage beyond GCSEs. The breadth of opportunity our GCSE pathways provide students, combined with a co-curricular programme including educational visits, clubs, external speakers and careers guidance has been carefully planned to ensure each student has the tools available to them to fulfil their potential.

At Sir Geoffrey Leigh Academy, our Key Stage 4 commences in Year 10. This allows students to complete the IB MYP curriculum in Year 9 and gives them more time to experience a broad range of subjects and learning before deciding on the subjects they would like to focus on for their GCSE and equivalent courses. It is important to note that those key attributes developed through the IB MYP curriculum are reinforced through the GCSE courses and will be an important component of student success. Teachers will refer to the IB MYP skills and learner profiles as they deliver the GCSE course content, reminding students that implementing those skills and profile characteristics effectively will deepen their knowledge and understanding of the subject content they happen to be focussing on. The IB MYP learner profiles our students focus on, lead our students to be:

You will have your own ideas, likes, and dislikes. Your personal qualities and skills will lead you to some subjects rather than others and you may find that it will not be possible to study every subject that you like.

Your parents/carers, who know you very well indeed, are in a strong position to advise you and help you to avoid mistakes.

Your teachers and tutor have followed your education for the past 3 years and know your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to your studies. They will be able to advise which subjects you could benefit from and those that you should not be following over the next 2 years.

You do not have to be alone when you make these important decisions, parents/carers, teachers and your tutor will help. There are many (including older students at Sir Geoffrey Leigh Academy), who will be only too pleased to offer you advice.

The LeighBacc Pathway

‘Leigh Bacc’ is short for Leigh Baccalaureate and enables students to study a combination of traditional GCSE subjects alongside vocational subjects. It is unique to Sir Geoffrey Leigh Academy and is tailored for those students who would enjoy some of the EBacc subjects but do not wish to study them all. A LeighBacc Pathway student must choose to study either history or geography, but does not need to study a language (but they can choose it if they wish).

Students following the LeighBacc Pathway can select any 2 subjects from Block C, alongside the 1 subject they wish to study from Block A and the 1 they wish to study from Block B.

Benefits of the LeighBacc Pathway

Students would have the opportunity to still take 9 subjects, but would take Digital Information Technology as an option, instead of a language.

The EBacc Pathway (also available to LeighBacc Students)

The English Baccalaureate groups together a range of qualifications identified by the Government as a measure of a student’s performance. In addition to the Core Curriculum of English, Mathematics and Science, a student following this pathway is required to study a Foreign Language and either Geography or History. These subjects appear in different blocks so students have to choose a language and Geography or History as two of their four subjects.

Benefits of the EBacc Pathway

While your child may not have decided on their future career path yet, following the EBacc at GCSE gives them access to a full range of employment options when they leave secondary school and the broad knowledge that employers are looking for. If they are thinking of going to university, the EBacc is also recommended by Britain’s most prestigious universities.

Languages give young people a competitive edge

Languages are an important part of EBacc. Studying a foreign language can be extremely rewarding and exciting. They provide insight into other cultures and can open the door to travel and employment opportunities. They can also broaden students’ horizons, helping them flourish in new environments. If your child finds languages difficult, don’t forget that they will have been studying them for much less time than their other subjects and, while it can be a challenge, learning a language will greatly enhance their future opportunities. What’s more, we know that employers value languages, as they are increasingly important to make sure we can compete in the global market. Because of this, languages are increasingly becoming a requirement for many graduate schemes, such as those offered by Lidl.

You will have already been given some information in lessons but the main section of this part of the website consists of a “Directory of Subjects” which will give details of the subjects available next year and is divided into the following sections:

The LeighBacc GCSE Options Programme 2025

A link for the LeighBacc GCSE option choices will be sent in an email to parents on Thursday 27th February. You will need to complete and return by the deadline, which is outlined in the timeline below. We hope you enjoy finding out about all of the exciting and successful courses on offer to you.

2025 EBacc GCSE Options Programme – Timeline

• Tuesday 25th February: Year 9 assemblies introducing the GCSE Options Programme
• Wednesday 12th February: Year 9 Parent – Teacher afternoon
• Wednesday 26th February: GCSE Options evening
• Thursday 27th February – Friday 14th March: Tutor time sessions to support GCSE subject decisions
• Saturday 15th March: Deadline for submitting the options form with GCSE subject choices

Our Key Stage 4 Curriculum

At Sir Geoffrey Leigh Academy, all students in Key Stage 4 study these core subjects:

There is also a wide range of subjects on The LeighBacc pathway from which you choose a further four, one from Block A, one from Block B and two from Block C.

Please note that the separate science is Higher Tier Entry only and students will need to be achieving an IB MYP grade of 5 or higher in Year 9 to show they have the necessary commitment for the course. You must also achieve MYP grade of 5 or higher in Year 9 in Computer Science to show they have the necessary commitment for the course.

In Block B, Digital Information Technology (DIT) will also be compulsory for students on the LeighBacc pathway (unless they choose French or Spanish). These lessons will take place when the EBacc students are in their language GCSE lessons. Details of DIT are in this section of the website, and completion of this course will help develop students’ computing and digital skills, enabling them to be ready for the next stage of their education beyond GCSEs. You can’t choose DIT as an option in Block C, if you have selected it in Block B.

Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship

Topics are integrated, and delivered, across the curriculum, and on discrete focus days, although not formally assessed. We plan this programme to give students a balanced view of society and the self-confidence and self-esteem to operate within society, in a mature and sensible way.

Healthy Minds

Sir Geoffrey Leigh Academy continues to be at the national forefront in the delivery of the Healthy Minds programme. Mental health and resilience among our young people is vitally important, and the Healthy Minds programme can play a significant role in helping students cope with these difficult times. In Year 10, our students also build on their prior learning and apply their new skills to developing positive relationships and develop a deeper understanding of the risks associated with unhealthy relationships.

Careers support and guidance

A programme of careers support and guidance is in place across all year groups and is delivered primarily through the tutor time programme. As per the GCSE options schedule, Year 9 have a week dedicated to careers and how they link to GCSE option choices. You can also see how careers are linked to each subject in a dedicated section on each subject information page in this section of the website.

Year 10 and 11 will continue to build on this and is a key area of the Year 10 and 11 curriculum in which we provide high-quality, unbiased careers guidance. Work experience takes place in Module 6 of Year 10 with the onus on students to find these placements – something to start thinking about now even if it is over a year away! Year 11 is more focussed on ‘next steps’ after GCSEs such as Post-16 opportunities at Sir Geoffrey Leigh Academy, apprenticeships and college courses. Again, a wide range of internal and external support is available to support students and parents through this process to help you make the right decisions, tailored to your educational and career aspirations.

Religious Education

A core, non-examined Religious Education curriculum in Key Stage 4 is delivered to all students and provides them with the opportunity to apply their knowledge of a range of religions and worldviews acquired during Key Stage 3 to a variety of contemporary religious, moral and social issues. Topics such as mindfulness and meditation; poverty and inequality; gender and sexuality; and extremism and radicalisation are explored, as well as a spectrum of religious responses to such issues. Lessons are delivered alongside Healthy Minds in Year 10.