Dear Parents and Carers,
On the 12th March 2026 you are invited to attend Leigh Academy Strood’s Year 9 options evening, alongside our parents evening, to find out more information about the GCSE options available to students beginning their Year 10 studies in September.
Prior to the evening, it is important that you and your child consider and discuss the subject options available to ensure that they are suitable and equip them with the qualifications required for their Sixth Form or alternative post-16 pathways. Our subject teachers will be able to provide further details on the content and structure of the courses, including information on assessment formats, as well as the career opportunities each subject lends itself to. In the meantime, I invite you to explore our Key Stage 4 options pages on the Leigh Academy Strood website to answer any questions you may currently have prior to the 12th March. Our options pages can be found here:
https://leighacademystrood.org.uk/curriculum/year-9-options/
Key Stage 4 core curriculum
At Leigh Academy Strood, we place great value upon offering a broad curriculum which allows students access to a wide range of aspirational choices in life they truly deserve.
You will notice that unlike the previous options form students completed earlier this year, MFL has now been placed into our options subject choices. We strongly encourage students to choose to study languages as this has been an integral part of their IB curriculum so far and will offer students excellent opportunities in their future pathways.
We therefore require our students to pursue a combination of subjects as follows:
| English Language and Literature (2 qualifications) | Maths and Statistics
(2 qualifications) |
Combined Science (2 qualifications)
or Separate Sciences (3 qualifications) |
Geography
or History |
Key Stage 4 choices
Additionally, students are able to choose 2 further options subjects, providing them with a minimum of 10 qualifications and the best opportunity to be successful in their applications to Sixth Form, College, employment or apprenticeships. We are proud to provide our students with a broad offer of options from the following subjects:
| Dance | Drama | Music | Media | Health & Fitness (P.E.) | Enterprise |
| Art | Photography | 3D Design | Hospitality & Catering | Religious Education | Computer Science |
| Citizenship | Health & Social Care | Sociology | Digital Information Technology | MFL (French or Spanish) | Psychology |
| Separate Sciences (students choosing this option will be timetabled their usual Science lessons as well as 3 further lessons within the options block.) | |||||
| Geography/History is available as one of the 2 option choices also should students wish to study both subjects | |||||
During the course of the evening, meetings will take place with the subject teachers of English, Maths and Science. Bookings can only be made for these core subjects as other departments will be located in the restaurant area in order for you to explore the different option subjects available.
How to book your appointment
A user guide has been created here in order to successfully navigate the booking system so please refer to this when scheduling an appointment: How to book Parents Evening appointments using MCAS – Bromcom – Documentation Centre
Selecting options
The options process will commence after our options evening on the 12th March from which point a Google Form will be sent to you to complete.
Many thanks in advance for your support and we look forward to welcoming you to the academy and answering your questions on the 12th March.
Mr C. Pleasant
Deputy Principal
