Year 9 into 10 Preferences 2026

Welcome to Year 9 Preferences 2026

At The Hamble School, we are determined to offer each and every student a curriculum that suits their individual needs, while complying with national recommendations and guidelines. We are proud to offer a range of courses covering many subject areas.

This academic year your child has studied English, Maths, Science, Core PE and PSHCRE as well as 6 additional subjects. Moving into Year 10, they will continue with English, Maths, Science and 4 other subjects at GCSE/vocational level. They will also study PSHCRE and Core PE as non-examined subjects.

In terms of allocation of periods, students will follow the following model:

Students must have studied the subjects in Year 9 in order to carry them through to Year 10 and 11. The only exception to this is Statistics, which all students are eligible to opt for because they have studied Maths in Key Stage 3.

For those students who studied Design Technology/Engineering in Year 9, they will be able to select to specialise in Design Technology GCSE or Engineering BTEC in Year 10 and 11. Likewise if students studied Art/Photography in Year 9 and choose to continue they will specialise in either Art or Photography. Students can opt to study both subjects if they wish. If a student studied History and Geography they can continue with both also. Students who are currently studying a Modern Foreign Language may choose to continue with this into Year 10.

For some subjects (for example PE, Computer Science, Media Studies and Music), in Year 10 and 11 the course could be either a GCSE or a vocational qualification. Heads of Department will decide on the most appropriate qualification route for the class.

Preference forms will be sent home via email on Friday 27 March.

Key Dates

Over the coming weeks your child and yourselves will have the opportunity to access the following in order to support decisions about preference choices:

It is important at this stage in their education, that students choose a broad and balanced curriculum which will keep many doors open for their future lives, careers and further education pathways.

When making their choices, we would encourage students to consider the following questions:

• What am I good at already?
• What do I want to be?
• Who do I want to be?
• What will motivate and excite me for three years?
• What will help me take the next steps in my life?

We always try our best to give students their subjects in order of preference, however, if more pupils opt for a course than there are places available, if not enough pupils opt for a course and therefore we cannot afford to run it, or if in our opinion students have made an inappropriate or unwise choice then we will be unable to give them these choices. In this case students will be spoken to on an individual basis and support to make alternative choices will be provided.

Subjects to choose from

Take a look at the following videos and watch the presentation to find out more about the subjects your child is interested in:

MATHEMATICS
(Compulsory Subject)
Subject Overview

MODERN FOREIGN
LANGUAGES (MFL)
Subject Overview

GEOGRAPHY
Subject Overview

DESIGN TECHNOLOGY
Subject Overview

PHOTOGRAPHY
Subject Overview

MEDIA STUDIES
Subject Overview

GCSE DANCE
Subject Overview

COMPUTER SCIENCE
Subject Overview

FOOD PREPARATION & NUTRITION
Subject Overview

STATISTICS
Subject Overview

How to make your choice