St John Rigby College has a very wide range of courses on offer. This allows you to select courses which match your interests, abilities and future plans.

The majority of our students follow this type of programme. It provides an excellent preparation for University.  It is also extremely flexible as you can choose almost any combination of AS courses.  In Year 12, you choose 4 AS courses. You will also study Values for Living and attend tutorial sessions. In Year 13 you study the second part of your courses, called A2.

This is really down to you. The best advice is to think carefully about what your plans are after A Levels and choose the courses which will help you to achieve this goal.  For example, if you are thinking about applying for a University course in a particular subject e.g. Medicine, then this will mean that you would need to choose certain subjects - in this case Biology and Chemistry.  For many Higher Education courses and jobs, the exact choice of A Levels is not too important but it is always worth talking this through with your Careers Teacher, College staff or your Connexions adviser.  If you don’t have a specific career goal at the moment then you are best to choose subjects which both interest you and which you think you will do well in. As part of your enrolment at College we will talk through your course choices with you, so don’t worry if you are finding it hard to choose!

At St John Rigby College you can choose from a wide range of subjects at various Levels.  The first questions you should ask yourself are:  which of my current Year 11 subjects do I like best?  Which am I good at?  Do I have a career in mind which requires particular subjects?  Are there any new subjects that interest me?  Your choice of subjects is an important decision – your future career could depend upon it.  Think carefully about the advice of your own teachers and careers advisers and of the College’s Tutors, who will advise you on your choice at interview.  Before you make your decision, you should research your subjects and ensure you know everything that each subject entails.

There is a lot to consider here.  Some combinations may be desirable or even essential for a particular career and some subjects support each other well.  You should think about your combinations very carefully and consider the methods of assessment and the practical work outside lesson time that is needed.  You should also consider getting extra breadth by doing a contrasting subject, for instance a language or humanities subject with sciences.  All these issues can be discussed at interview.

Study time will vary dependent on the course and level you are studying.  For example, if you are studying an AS/A Level course you will be in class with your teacher for 4.5 hours per week.  You will be expected to spend the same amount of time outside of the classroom on independent study tasks (such as homework or revision).  One thing to remember is that the 4.5 hours independent study time is per subject, therefore if you are doing 4 AS subjects you will be taught 18 hours per week and will be expected to carry out 18 hours of private study in your own time.