All students in Yrs 7-11 have been assigned an NSB pathway for each subject that they take. The pathway number is the same as the minimum grade they should reach when they take their new format GCSEs in Yr 11. The pathway sets out the nationally determined minimum target grade (MAG) that the student should achieve by the end of each year if they are to stay on track to achieve the minimum GCSE target grade in Yr 11.

The pathway is determined by the national tests taken at the end of Primary School. The pathway for English and Maths may vary from the pathway for all other subjects to reflect varied national rates of progress in these two core subjects.

Throughout Yr 7 to Yr 9 (Key Stage 3) students will be graded from Foundation to Exceptional. In Yr 10 to 11 (Key Stage 4), students will then be graded using GCSE number grades. The Yr 7, 8 and 9 target grades feed through to the GCSE grades as set out in the Pathways outlined above. 

The word descriptors for Yr 7 to Yr 9 have built in progression within each individual subject, for example an ‘Advanced’ grade in Yr 8 requires a greater depth of knowledge and skills than ‘Advanced’ in Yr 7.

Each student will also have an aspirational target (TAG) for each of their subjects which will be initially set one grade above the minimum grade. This target will be adjusted upwards by the teacher where the student has surpassed the initial aspirational target grade. This can mean that there is a substantial difference between the minimum and aspirational grade; for example, a Yr 11 student could have had a nationally determined minimum target of a grade 5 in Maths (based on his KS2 score) and had performed so well that his aspirational target was driven up to an 8 which he could achieve in his final GCSE exam.