The Welsh Baccalaureate has been taught at MACS at KS4 and KS5 for a number of years. The Welsh Baccalaureate itself has been revamped in recent years and now has become more rigorous and is based on a ‘Skills Challenge Certificate’ which is graded.
The department prides itself on a robust teaching and learning programme which both stimulates and stretches the young person’s mind regardless of ability. It will give young people an opportunity to develop skills that employers, apprenticeships, colleges and universities look for during the application process and thereafter. To date, pupils have experienced: Dragon’s Den for Enterprise & Employability; a guest speaker who survived the Holocaust as part of Global Citizenship; a pyjama day to raise awareness and money for ‘HeadSmart’, the Brain Tumour Charity; and lastly, the opportunity to coach younger pupils of the school about deliberate fires in RCT in conjunction with the South Wales Fire Service.
OUR DEPARTMENT AIMS
- The central focus of the Welsh Baccalaureate at Key Stage 4 is to provide a vehicle for 14-16 year olds to consolidate and develop essential and employability skills. The qualification will help learners to prepare for their future by developing skills, attributes and behaviours valued by post-16 educators and potential employers.
- The central focus of the Foundation (post-16) Welsh Baccalaureate is to provide a vehicle for level 1 post-16 learners to consolidate and develop essential and employability skills within the context of their chosen Learning Programme. The Foundation (post-16) Welsh Baccalaureate qualification will therefore provide a learning experience rooted in and building on that of the chosen Learning Programme. The qualification will help learners to prepare for their future by developing skills, attributes and behaviours valued by potential employers.
- The central focus of the National (post 16) Welsh Baccalaureate is to provide a vehicle for level 2 post 16 learners to consolidate and develop essential and employability skills within the context of their chosen Learning Programme. The Welsh Baccalaureate National (post-16) qualification will therefore provide a learning experience rooted in and building on that of the chosen Learning Programme. The qualification will help learners to prepare for their future by developing skills, attributes and behaviours valued by potential employers.
- The central focus of the Welsh Baccalaureate at Advanced level is to provide a vehicle for level 3 learners to consolidate and progress the development of essential and employability skills. Building on their achievements at level 2, the qualification will help learners develop more complex skills, attributes and behaviours. It will provide experiences which will enable learners to be better prepared for their future destination, whether university, further training or employment.
WELSH BACCALAUREATE AT KEY STAGE 4
The aims of the Welsh Baccalaureate are to develop and assess a wide range of essential and employability skills; promote the value and development of skills for education, life and work; provide opportunities to develop and assess skills through purposeful, meaningful and engaging learning experiences; making learning relevant and set in real-life contexts for real-life purposes; build on and align with the wider curriculum. The document which can be downloaded below outlines the course content and what we cover:
WELSH BACCALAUREATE AT KEY STAGE 5
The documents which can be downloaded below outline the course content and what we cover at Key Stage 5 depending on the level: