Whole School Curriculum Implementation
Students make progress by learning and remembering in a more complex way as they journey through the curriculum. At St Mark’s we have ensured that each key stage not only builds on the former but also allows our students to build knowledge needed for their future learning, too.
Our teachers have thought carefully about the order that learning should follow by looking at the national curriculum and Ofsted’s subject research and review series, as well as consulting with their professional organisations. Our subject leaders regularly meet in teams across the Trust to work together to plan sensible sequencing of learning so that students can fully grasp subject concepts by placing components of topics in a logical order.
We ensure that we teach our students how to recall information through a range of reinforcement techniques that help pupils retain knowledge they are taught and unpackage learning so that all pupils can achieve the learning goal set.
Teachers are encouraged to use a wide variety of formative assessment methods, including peer and self assessment. Assessment and feedback is meant to identify what students have learnt and retained whilst also testing their overall competency in the more complex subject based architecture and then provide an opportunity for students to further develop.
Our formal assessments are used to gauge progress and identify areas of concern where additional support may be required.
At GCSE we do not teach students to test. We help them to prepare for the demands of examinations by ensuring they know, and can remember, more and that they can apply this knowledge to the rubric of the assessment. We ensure that all subjects have appropriate guided learning hours to meet the recommended total qualification time.
The curriculum is delivered through a two week 50 period timetable, comprising five lessons per day, each of 1 hour. There is a 30 minute registration period at the start of the day, where students access tutor time, reading activities, collective worship and assembly, along with tutor check in activities and equipment checks.
The Curriculum
It is divided into two broad key stages:
- Key Stage 3 : Years 7- 9
Year 9 students finalise their options by March.
- Key Stage 4: Years 10- 11
Key Stage 3 Curriculum Implementation
The breadth and depth of our curriculum at KS3 exceeds the requirements of the KS3 National Curriculum. Lessons in Drama, Music, Art, PE, Design and Technology complement classroom-based subjects and provide KS3 students with a varied learning experience.
We encourage students to follow an English Baccalaureate suite of subjects at St Mark’s. To provide our students with the firm base of the knowledge that is required to be successful in these academic subjects at Key Stage 4, we have increased the time allocation of languages and humanities subjects at Key Stage 3.
Key Stage 4 Curriculum
Implementation
At Key Stage 4, we actively encourage our students to pursue the English Baccalaureate set of qualifications so that they can choose from a wide range of academic courses in one of the local Sixth Form centres.
The core subjects at Key stage 4 comprise:
- English Language and English Literature
- Mathematics
- Combined Science Trilogy
- RE
- PSHE
- PE
The Options Process in Year 9 provides students with an informative and engaging process, beginning with a straw poll to gauge student preference for the cohort. This then leads into the Parents information evening in January of Year 9, students will be asked to select their Top and Second priority option subjects. All students have the opportunity to a private 1-1 meeting with a staff member who will support them to make choices which are suitable for their next steps in education.
In total students will study 3 option subjects from:
- French or Spanish
- Design and Technology and/or Hospitality and Catering
- Humanities: Geography or History
- Business Studies
- Art and Music and Sport
Building upon the foundation of our school values; Aspiration, Resilience and Community, we aim to provide the students of St Mark’s with the knowledge and skills they will need to be future employees and potential employers in the context of business and enterprise.
In partnership with the Careers and Enterprise Company and via our PSHE programme we aim to manage and coordinate arrangements for effective careers education, information and guidance for all students. As part of our careers offer, students at St. Mark’s will access:
- Careers lessons at age appropriate times within the PSHE curriculum
- KS4 careers programme within the tutor programme
- Independent Advice and Guidance
- Careers interviews from local businesses
- Careers Fairs
- Support with accessing appropriate Post 16 destinations
Further details on our Curriculum Implementation can be found here.