Our Curriculum
Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.
Early Childhood
Our Early Childhood Section follows the UK Early Years Foundation Stage.
The early years foundation stage (EYFS) sets standards for the learning, development and care of your child from birth to 5 years old.
Your child will mostly be taught through games and play.
The areas of learning are:
- communication and language
- personal, social and emotional development
- physical development
- literacy
- mathematics
- understanding the world
- expressive arts and design
Teaching and learning in Early Childhood adheres to this statutory framework and is underpinned by the core values outlined on the Early Childhood page of this website.
Primary
In our Primary section, we follow the English National Curriculum.
The national curriculum is a set of subjects and standards used by schools, so children learn the same things.
It is divided into key stages and maps out what schools should be teaching. This includes what subjects are taught and what standards children should be aiming for.
We always stay in touch with updates as they take place with this curriculum and will be following the current curriculum review information closely to ensure that we are up-to-date with our teaching methods and practices.
Review purpose:
The main purpose of the review is to ensure that the curriculum balances ambition, relevance, flexibility and inclusivity for all children and young people.
The review will span from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 5 (we follow this curriculum up to KS2).
The review will look to deliver:
- An excellent foundation in the core subjects of reading, writing and maths.
- A broader curriculum, so that children and young people don’t miss out on subjects such as music, art, sport and drama, as well as vocational subjects.
- A curriculum that ensures children and young people leave compulsory education ready for life and ready for work, building the knowledge, skills and attributes young people need to thrive.
- A curriculum that reflects the issues and diversities of our society, ensuring all children and young people are represented.
- An assessment system that captures the full strengths of every child and young person and the breadth of curriculum
Lower Secondary
In our Lower Secondary (KS3) section, we follow the Cambridge International Lower Secondary curriculum.
The Cambridge Lower Secondary programme, provides a broad and balanced education for our learners, helping them to thrive throughout their schooling, work and life. It helps prepare students for the next step of their education, providing a clear path as they progress through the Cambridge Pathway in an age-appropriate way.
Upper Secondary
In our Upper Secondary section, we follow the Cambridge International IGCSE curriculum.
Cambridge IGCSE helps improve performance by developing skills in creative thinking, enquiry and problem solving. It is the perfect springboard to advanced study.
Cambridge IGCSE develops learner knowledge, understanding and skills in:
- Subject content
- Applying knowledge and understanding to new as well as familiar situations
- Intellectual enquiry
- Flexibility and responsiveness to change
- Working and communicating in English
- Influencing outcomes
- Cultural awareness.
Schools worldwide have been involved in the development of Cambridge IGCSE. The syllabuses are international in outlook, but retain a local relevance. They have been created specifically for an international student body and avoid cultural bias.
IGCSE exams:
Typically, our students sit their IGCSEs at the end of Year 11 in the May/June exam series (dates are set by Cambridge). There are some exceptions to this:
English as a Second Language is sat in the May/June exam series in Year 10.
English Literature is say in the October/November exam series in Year 11.
Some students will sit French as an Additional Language early, if they are intending to also sit French First Language. This is because both papers cannot be sat in the same exam series.
Sixth Form
Our Sixth Form follow the Advanced Studies Cambridge International Programme.
Cambridge International AS & A Level develops learners’ knowledge, understanding and skills in:
- in-depth subject content
- independent thinking
- applying knowledge and understanding to new as well as familiar situations
- handling and evaluating different types of information source
- thinking logically and presenting ordered and coherent arguments
- making judgements, recommendations and decisions
- presenting reasoned explanations, understanding implications and communicating them logically and clearly
- working and communicating in English.
As we are a small Sixth Form centre, being flexible is important to ensure we are best meeting the needs of our students.
Cambridge International A Level is typically a two-year course, and Cambridge International AS Level is typically one year. Some subjects can be started as a Cambridge International AS Level and extended to a Cambridge International A Level. The majority of our students start Year 12 with 4 subjects, knowing that they will drop one of these after AS and continue with 3 subjects onto A-Level.
AS/A-Level exams:
Our students sit their AS and A-Level exams in the May/June exam series in Year 12 adn Year 13.