KS4 & KS5 Courses and Accreditation
The following non-accredited and accredited courses will be enhanced with additional offers, such as the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award (KS4), work experience (where appropriate) and residential experiences.
Non-Accredited Courses at Ivel Valley College
The non-accredited courses are based around Preparation for Adulthood.(add link) Subjects include:
- Functional English
- Functional Maths
- PSHE
- RSE
- Cooking
- Travel Training
- Vocational options
- Digital Skills
- First Aid
- Money Management
- Health & Self Care
- Environment & Community
- Household Tasks
- Leisure
- SMSC (Social, Moral, Spiritual, Cultural learning)
- The MOVE Programme
Accredited Courses at Ivel Valley School & College
At Ivel Valley School & College we have made the decision to invest time and resources into offering accreditations that not only support our students’ pathways into further education, employment or training, but also develop the functional skills necessary for everyday life. These are offered in addition to the above non-accredited courses.
We do not offer GCSEs, which tend to focus on the more theoretical aspects of learning, but rather functional skills in Maths, English and Digital Skills through Pearson Qualifications:
Subject | Levels offered |
Functional Skills Maths | Entry Level 1 to Level 2 |
Functional Skills English | Entry Level 1 to Level 2 |
Digital Functional Skills (2025-2026) | Entry Level 3 and Level 1 |
We have a broad and well sequenced curriculum that equips our learners such that they are typically ready to sit exams in these subjects in Key Stage 4 and continue to progress up the levels in Key Stage 5 at our college site until they leave us at the end of Year 14.
The functional aspect of learning in these subjects is practised in real life situations from day to day as our learners engage in a very active curriculum that sees them involved in the community throughout each week in activities such as travel training, shopping, eating out, supporting local groups, enterprise projects and hosting events for external businesses.
The relationship between Functional Skills and GCSEs is as follows:
Functional Skills Level | Old GCSE | New GCSE |
Level 2 | A* to C | Grade 4 to 9 |
Level 1 | D to G | Grade 1 to 3 |
Entry 3 | ||
Entry 2 | ||
Entry 1 |
Examinations take place in summer each year and we only enter students who have a good chance of passing so that we maintain learner confidence and momentum of success. Our students are assessed online using BKSB (Basic Key Skills Builder) so that we can carefully monitor progress and identify gaps in their knowledge.
Most of our students who gain these qualifications with us will move onto further education at either North Herts College or Bedford College where a range of courses are available to cater for all qualification levels, including pre-entry (in the case of NHC) where they can continue with Maths and English.
