Our Curriculum

Our curriculum builds cultural capital, give students access to the best that has been thought, said, written and created in every field of human endeavour, and provide a platform for progression, aspiration and social mobility.

Social, moral, spiritual and cultural development are the golden threads running through curriculum provision. The curriculum is planned and designed to foster resilience, self-worth, cultural capital, social cohesion and integration. There are no ceilings on students’ experiences or aspirations. Expectations are the same for all: all routes lead to recognised qualifications.

The breadth of curriculum provision in Years 7-9 will enable a large majority of students to take and enjoy the full EBacc at GCSE. This will be supported by an Open Pot of subjects and qualifications that enable every student to succeed and progress, with an expectation that all students will take an “Enterprise” subject option.

Wellbeing is embedded across the curriculum. This will cover:

Respectful relationships;
Looking after students’ mental health;
British Values and Prevent;
Being safe, including online;
Anti-bullying;
Forming and sustaining relationships;
Respecting others and valuing diversity within a clear, ethical framework.

Curriculum Characteristics

The development of reading and literacy are at the heart of the curriculum.

Additionally, as 21^st century learners our students will have access to huge amounts of information. Our curriculum teaches, to a high level, the skills of reasoning, deduction, inference, evaluation and critical thinking about received wisdom or content on websites and social media which are essential for learning and for life.

It ensures that all students are able to achieve EBacc; that all students study the arts, music, technology throughout the Years 7-9 and most into Key Stage 4.

All students learn, through Religious Studies across all five years, how humanity has tried to understand and respond to the big philosophical and spiritual questions of existence, behaviour and responsibility for others and our world. They explore what people of different faiths believe about those existential and ethical questions and also how other world views such as humanism and agnosticism think about them.

Physical health is key to learning and to mental health. The PE and Sport curriculum ensures that all our young people have regular exercise throughout the year, indoors and outside, wherever possible, which includes both individual fitness and team sports. This is supplemented by options from the co-curricular offer.

There will be strong emphasis on Enterprise at Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11) with a suite of more business-orientated courses (all studied at GCSE or equivalent level) which could enable students to progress to Level 3 academic courses which lead to A-Level and degree. This includes computing, media, creative media, business, engineering, construction, food studies and nutrition, constructional textiles, photography and child development. All students will be strongly encouraged to take at least one “Enterprise” option.

Our curriculum extends the school day to create time for enrichment and enhancement to further build social and cultural capital. Students will access programmes such as the CREST Awards, Duke of Edinburgh Award, and through the opportunity to work as a team to create something and/or compete at a high level.

Through the taught curriculum and the co-curricular provision of the extended day, students develop key skills of research, experimentation, innovation, entrepreneurship, and develop personal confidence and resilience..

Our curriculum emphasises the importance of sequenced learning, modelling of thinking and analysis, and knowledge management and retention. There will be bi-annual exams from Year 9, structured assessments throughout Key Stage 3 and regular assessment in all groups to inform responsive teaching.

The golden thread of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is embedded across the full curriculum and throughout the ethos, policies, systems and organisation of the school. This includes a daily act of Christian worship or reflection, through assemblies and form time. This enables all students, whatever their background, to feel included, respected and be able to contribute.

Personal, Social, Health, Relationships and Sex Education is separately timetabled and when the school is at full strength, will be taught by specialists. The content and delivery of Relationships and Sex Education will be regularly consulted on with parents.