Guides
The secondary years, one page each.
What happens in each year, what to watch for, and the dates that matter. Every date carries the source we checked and when.
Key Stage 3 · Years 7 to 9
- Year 7: the first year of secondary schoolWhat changes when a child starts secondary school, what Key Stage 3 covers, and the habits worth building in the first term.
- Year 8: the quiet yearYear 8 has no exams and no decisions, which is exactly why habits made now stick. What to watch, and how to use a year with nothing at stake.
- Year 9: GCSE options and the end of Key Stage 3The first real decision of secondary school arrives in the spring term. What is compulsory, what is a choice, and how to choose without closing doors.
GCSE · Years 10 and 11
- Year 10: GCSE courses beginEverything from September now counts. What changes in Year 10, the grade gates that decide A Level subjects, and why revision habits start now.
- Year 11: mocks, GCSE exams and the next stepThe exam year. Mock timings, the JCQ exam window in 2027, results day, and the sixth form or college application that runs alongside it.
A Level and UCAS · Years 12 and 13
- Year 12: A Levels begin, and so does UCASThe jump from GCSE to A Level, why Year 12 grades become predicted grades, and the UCAS work that starts in the summer term.
- Year 13: applications, A Level exams and resultsThe UCAS deadlines for 2027 entry, offers and firm and insurance choices, the exam window, results day on 12 August 2027, and Clearing.
- UCAS timeline for 2027 entryEvery UCAS date for students applying to start university in autumn 2027, from the October deadline to Clearing, with the personal statement format and what happens on results day.
Across the years
- GCSE options: how to choose without closing doorsWhat is compulsory at GCSE, how option blocks work, the three questions to ask before looking at grades, and which choices genuinely affect A Levels and university.
- A Level choices: three subjects and the doors they openHow sixth forms set entry grades, why three subjects (sometimes four), which combinations universities want for medicine, engineering, economics and more, and the alternatives to A Levels.