Page 4 - Key Stage 4 Information Booklet 2022 - 2023 (1)

Target Grades

Students receive their target grades each course during the autumn term of year 10. These are generated by
using information from Fischer Family Trust (FFT). The targets set by FFT are based on achievement of a
student at key stage 2 in English and Maths, which is what the Department of Education and a number of
schools nationally use. FFT look at what students with similar scores last year achieved nationally in each
subject taken and then that is used to form the target. If these grades are achieved, then it would place the
students within the top 5% of all learners nationally. The grades however are only a guide and should never
act as a ceiling for what students should aim to achieve. As class teachers start to gather grade information
from marking assessments then they are encouraged to establish aspirational targets for students which may
be above those provided by FFT.

GCSEPod

We are delighted to announce that Hagley Catholic High School has invested in GCSEPod, the award-winning
digital content and revision provider used by over 1,250 schools worldwide.

As a subscriber, your child now has access to GCSEPod’s library of over 6,000 ‘Pods,’ 3-5-minute videos
designed to deliver knowledge in short bursts. GCSEPod makes learning and revision much more manageable:
every Pod is mapped to an exam board, and contains all the right facts, quotes, keywords, dates and annotated
diagrams that your child needs for GCSE success – all neatly organised into topics and exam playlists. One of
the best features about GCSEPod is that you can download any Pod to your child’s mobile device, and then
they can watch them at any time, in any place, with or without internet. GCSEPod apps are available on
Android or Apple devices.

GCSEPod also has the ability to identify knowledge gaps and automatically send playlists to help fill them. After
completing any homework set on GCSEPod, your child will get a personalised “Boost Playlist” of Pods relevant
to their identified areas of weakness. We strongly suggest you encourage your child to review these playlists
regularly as this will speed up their progress.

We recommend that you talk about GCSEPod with your son or daughter – check that they have successfully
activated their account and encourage them to make use of this amazing resource throughout their GCSE’s.
Once they have activated their account, they can browse the GCSEPod library and create their own playlists –
just as they would when they are listening to music. For more ways to support your child using GCSEPod,
please visit www.gcsepod.com/parents where you’ll find lots more information and resources.

Your child has had a Microsoft Office 365 log in created. Details of this has been sent out by our IT support
team in a previous email. Once this log in has been created it can also be used to access GCSEPod. On the
website (www.gcsepod.com), click ‘login’, then ‘sign in with Office 365’ and this will enable the student to
access the resources and any work that has been set. Homework tasks will continue to be set by staff on
ClassCharts but GCSEPod can link directly to this platform. If you have any issues logging into GCSEPod then
please contact IT support (support@emmausmac.com).

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