Dear Parent/Carer
Your son/ daughter is about to enter an important stage in their school life. Over the next two years they will be following a range of examination courses that will provide them with their first school certificates and, hopefully, lead to further success in the Sixth Form, college or in apprenticeships and beyond.
At Leigh Academy Mascalls we want to provide your son/ daughter with the best possible education. To do this, we set high standards and help them do the very best they can. Our students have enjoyed considerable success in their examinations in the past and we are confident your son/ daughter will maintain this tradition in the future.
During Key Stage 3, students have been studying a wide range of subjects as part of a broad and balanced curriculum under the framework of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme that has provided them with a firm foundation for their GCSEs. In September your son/ daughter will progress to Key Stage 4, where each of the subjects taught have a specification which takes a certain amount of lesson time to get through. This makes it impossible to study an unlimited number of subjects in Years 10 and 11; they need to select the subjects best suited to their skills and interests. To ensure they fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum we offer a choice of a broad range of subjects, some of their subjects will be compulsory (we call them the core subjects), and some are optional.
The compulsory core subjects are English Language, English Literature, mathematics, combined science, RE and core PE (RE and PE are non-examined unless chosen as an optional subject also). Students have a further three subjects to choose from, one of these optional subjects must be either geography or history and then a further two optional subjects to choose from in the blocks.
The options process will begin in March with an assembly for students and a parents information evening on Thursday 5th March, 2026 at 5pm. During this evening a talk will be delivered explaining the options process in detail with staff available for any questions.
You will have the opportunity to discuss with your son/ daughter’s subject teachers the details of the courses offered and their suitability during parents evening on Thursday 5th February, 2026. Information about the options process, the options grid and the subject information will all be available on our website. Students will choose ONE subject from each column. Students will also choose three reserve choices in case we cannot accommodate the initial choices.
In a change to our method of booking appointments we are asking you to login via your MCAS (MyChildAtSchool) app, the booking portal will open on Monday 2nd February and close on Wednesday 4th February at 6pm.
Please note that only one parent/carer will need to book the appointments and only one appointment per student made with the lead teacher for each subject. However, the appointments can be attended by more than one parent/carer. We also advise that your son/daughter attends the appointments with you.
Please follow these instructions to book your appointments: https://docs.bromcom.com/knowledge-base/how-to-book-parents-evening-appointments-using-mcas/
Should you have any issues with your login details for MCAS, please contact your college.
Kind regards
Sharon Mahon
Vice Principal
