KS5 is a Phase 2 conversation. NEO’s Year 1 offer (September 2026 launch) is built around Year 9 and Year 10 entry, with Year 11 entry available where a learner’s circumstances make it the right move. KS5 enters the offer when the first cohort moves through KS4 and reaches post-16 transition, expected from September 2028.
This page exists so commissioners, families, and curriculum leads opening the vault from a KS5-shaped question see an honest answer rather than an empty placeholder.
What’s in the offer right now (Year 1)
For learners who are 16+ at the point of referral, NEO’s offer is:
- Pearson Edexcel International GCSE catch-up or first-time entry — for learners who have not yet sat GCSE / IGCSE qualifications and need to do so before progressing
- Pearson Edexcel Functional Skills English and Maths (Levels 1 and 2) — the more accessible literacy and numeracy route, broadly equivalent to GCSE Grade 4 at Level 2; on-demand online assessment; lower-stakes than GCSE
- ASDAN Programmes and Qualifications — portfolio-based, person-centred, particularly suited to learners returning to education after a long absence
- Discovery Phase scaffolding — for learners who aren’t yet ready for a full timetable or formal qualifications, with named goals and a clear route onto a qualification pathway when the time is right
A 16- or 17-year-old in NEO’s Year 1 offer is typically working on a blended pathway — IGCSE and / or Functional Skills, alongside ASDAN portfolio work and the Cornerstones Day Friday.
What KS5 will look like (Phase 2)
When KS5 enters the offer, the architecture mirrors KS4 — canonical KS5 nodes defined by the union of overlays that test them, surfaced through the wikilink graph. The likely overlay set:
- A-Level pathways — for learners with academic ambition; specific subjects driven by cohort demand
- Pearson Edexcel International A-Level pathways — for learners benefiting from modular assessment and onscreen options where available
- Vocational and applied qualifications — BTECs, T-Levels (subject to provider partnership viability for an online provision), Cambridge Technicals
- Continuing Functional Skills, ASDAN, and portfolio routes — for learners who entered NEO at KS4 and continue into 16+ with portfolio and Functional Skills as their primary qualification route
- Supported internship preparation — for learners with EHCPs whose post-19 plan involves a supported internship; NEO co-ordinates with the receiving provider rather than running the internship itself
What KS5 will not be
NEO will not become a sixth-form provision in the conventional sense. The offer is, and will remain, an alternative provision built for learners who are not in mainstream — including post-16 learners. A young person ready for a full conventional sixth-form experience is best served by a sixth-form college, not by NEO. NEO’s KS5 offer is for learners who need:
- Continuity of relationship from a KS4 experience that worked
- An online and structured environment
- The Cornerstones framing carrying through from KS4 into post-16
- Pathways into supported internship, FE, or portfolio-evidenced employment routes that conventional sixth forms do not always serve well
The KS5 timeline
| Phase | Timing | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 (current) | Sep 2026 → | Year 9 / 10 entry; Year 11 by exception; post-16 catch-up via IGCSE / FS / ASDAN where the learner needs it |
| Phase 2 | Sep 2027 → | First-cohort progression questions begin; KS5 pathway design starts in earnest |
| KS5 launch | Sep 2028 (planned) | Full KS5 offer goes live, mirroring the canonical / overlay architecture used at KS4 |
Phase-2 dates are planned not contracted — the KS5 launch year depends on first-cohort progression patterns and on commissioner appetite.
Forward to the next architecture iteration
Schema v0.4 will introduce the canonical KS5 strand structure when the offer design firms up. Until then, the architecture is intact at KS5 — the schema accommodates it cleanly — and individual KS5-relevant overlay pages can be added under existing overlay folders as soon as a learner needs them.
For commissioner-side questions about post-16 routes for an individual learner, the operational point of contact is the named practitioner and Director of NEO. The vault is not the right surface for case-by-case planning.