This area of our website is to help Students and Parents over the highly stressful examination years. We have tried to find information from different areas to help you with your understanding towards the examination procedure and provide you with a variety of documents and links.
Implementation
In order to fulfil these ideals, our five-year "through-curriculum" model requires pupils to engage with a wide range of subjects in Year 7 and 8 and then provides a more bespoke approach through our "Elective routes" in Years 9 to 11.
Years 7 and 8
The Year 7 and 8 curriculum serves a clear purpose in every subject at Broughton Hall Catholic High School. Curriculum teams plan their schemes of work to ensure they deliver the content of the national Programme of Study, and that high challenge, enjoyment and enquiry are at the heart of learning. It is important to us that the Year 7 and 8 curriculum is much more than a means of preparing pupils for Years 9 to 11. The curriculum is designed to ensure that skills are developed from the start of a pupil's journey in Year 7 and that learning from primary school is built upon and not repeated.
Alongside Religious Studies, Mathematics, English, Science and Physical Education, Year 7 students study a broad range of non-core subjects from day one. Art, Music, Drama, Computing and Technology ensure their curricula give pupils an experience of both the academic and vocational aspects of their subjects. We have increased curriculum time in Humanities and Modern Foreign Languages is a significant and important part of our curriculum. We wish to encourage a high proportion of pupils to pursue the English Baccalaureate pathway beyond Year 8. All pupils study Spanish in Year 7 with some pupils studying French as an additional Language in Year 8.
Class groups are organised into two 'bands' of 4 or 5 sets, promoting high expectations for all groups. Pupils access the full spectrum of subjects in Year 7 with mixed-ability groupings in many subjects and sets in Maths, Science and MFL. English is in sets in Year 8.
Beyond the classroom, we aim to open the door to a wide range of experiences. Subjects provide additional learning contexts including annual school productions, sports teams, choir, school band and the opportunity to engage in an outdoor adventure experience. In Year 9 we are establishing a 50% uptake for Duke of Edinburgh, Bronze Award.
Years 9 to 11
The electives process currently takes place in Year 8 at Broughton Hall Catholic High School, allowing pupils nearly three years of study on their chosen examined courses. We believe the three-year examination course gives our teachers scope to embed depth and love of learning whilst covering the content required for terminal assessment. The opportunity to embed depth has increased the wider extra-curricular opportunities for our pupils.
Year 9 is underpinned by wider learning days including health days and extracurricular days that support the humanities. These are for all pupils.
Through the options process, we meet the statutory national requirements and aim to provide a bespoke curriculum. For us, this means giving our pupils as much choice and flexibility as possible, whilst ensuring they follow examination courses that lead to positive outcomes and give them access to Post-16 opportunities at the correct level. Pupils are allocated an options 'route' according to their ability and aspirations, and are asked to choose up to four Options subjects available on that route.
The Gatsby report Principles are used to underpin, support and lead our approach to pupils making appropriate and correct choices. A range of Vocational Qualifications are available on every Options route. Vocational Qualifications and GCSE courses allow pupils the experience of exciting learning through a variety of methods including relevant projects alongside the assessed content.
16-19 Study Programmes
We endeavour to offer a pathway through Level 3 courses for our pupils. In the sixth form they can study a mixture of traditional A-Levels including Mathematics, the science, Psychology, English Language and/or Literature. Applied A-Levels and Vocational courses are also on offer as discrete pathways or more commonly as a compliment to the A-Levels offered. The subjects are taught with the aim of providing pupils with the opportunity to succeed onto the next step. The aim of the sixth form is for pupils to enter HE, begin an Apprenticeship or enter the world of work. Careers, advice and guidance is a key part of the work that is completed by the 6th form team. In house enrichment includes work-experience, placements, youth social action and in house enrichment, Gatsby benchmarks are addressed.
Impact
We are proud of how our pupils achieve as the result of our innovative curriculum and particularly of how few pupils go on to be Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET).
In August 2018, 60% of pupils left with GCSEs in French or Spanish. As of September 2018, through our new options routes, 100% of pupils are following one or more vocational courses, to give them the experience of a practical approach to learning whilst supporting their mental health amidst the courses that are assessed through terminal examination. We have an increased uptake in EBACC as well as an increasing number of pupils taking a Humanity subject. Dance, Drama, Art, Design Textiles and PE go from strength to strength.
This widening of the curriculum to ensure the development of creative and practical subjects support the development of creativity, practical skills, interests and hobbies that can be for life. This in turn can help to support the well-being of our pupils in particular their mental
health.
In 6th form a significant proportion of pupils entered into HE and some began an apprenticeship. Pupils go onto a variety of destinations which have included Oxbridge as well as other Russell Group universities.
