At Dawlish College, students follow a two-year key stage 4. The students are able to select a broad range of options and whilst we encourage our students to follow the EBACC, comprising of English, Maths, Science, a humanity, a modern foreign language, it is not compulsory. Students make four option choices and will study these alongside the other core curriculum subjects of PE, Religious Studies and Personal Development.
GCSE options are selected by students midway through Year 9. In order to meet the needs of the individual, we structure our options process differently to most schools. We do not restrict student choice by having pre-determined ‘blocks’ from which they must choose. Instead, students have free choice to tailor their subjects to create an individual learning portfolio that is specifically suited to their preferences, passions and future career interests.
Over the two-week timetable, students in KS4 have the following number of 60-minute lessons in each subject.
| Subject | Year 10 | Subject | Year 11 |
| English | 8 | English | 8 |
| Maths | 8 | Maths | 8 |
| Science | 9 | Science | 9 |
| Core PE | 4 | Core PE | 4 |
| RS | 1 | RS | 1 |
| Option A | 5 | Option A | 5 |
| Option B | 5 | Option B | 5 |
| Option C | 5 | Option C | 5 |
| Option D | 5 | Option D | 5 |
| Co-Core (50mins) | 6 | Co-Core (50mins) | 6 |
| Co-Elective (50 mins) | 4 | Co-Elective (50 mins) | 4 |
| 60 | 60 |
NB: Options include Triple Science. These students have 14 periods of science a fortnight.
