Curriculum
"Leaders have created an ambitious, first-rate curriculum that stimulates and challenges pupils and sixth formers."
Ofsted, November 2021
At Langley Grammar School our curriculum is shaped by our school ethos of supporting students in becoming confident and well-rounded, independent and creative, responsible and caring.
We have two main and overlapping aims for our curriculum:
First, as a grammar school with able students we seek to deliver an enjoyable, engaging and challenging academic curriculum, which is also broad and balanced, that develops students’ subject specific knowledge, understanding and skills, which will equip them well for further academic study and the workplace.
Second, our curriculum supports students’ wider personal development, so that they can develop the skills, attributes and cultural awareness to thrive as individuals, citizens and members of communities in their adult lives.
In relation to the first aim we seek to develop subject specific knowledge by:
1. Subject areas identifying a clear and articulated rationale for the most appropriate knowledge, skills and understanding for our students to acquire and by choosing exam specifications and designing programmes of study that challenge academically able students.
2. Ensuring a coherent approach to the delivery of subject curricula so that students build on prior knowledge and understanding, develop fluency and are challenged to apply prior knowledge to different contexts.
3. Carefully mapping cross-curricular links and aligning programmes of study to ensure a coherent scheduling of topics between subject areas.
4. Using assessment generally and specific strategies such as spaced practice, interleaving and retrieval practice to help embed knowledge in students’ long term memory.
5. Ensuring that students develop and apply a secure and sophisticated knowledge of language and tier 2 and 3 vocabulary,
6. Identifying and addressing those gaps in knowledge and experiences that are typical for our students, to deliver a curriculum that is relevant and appropriate.
And with reference to our second main aim, we seek to support students’ wider personal development by helping them increasingly become:
- Confident communicators - able to listen attentively, articulate clearly and present credibly.
- Rounded individuals - who have experienced a wide range of educational visits, extra-curricular and enrichment activities and who have developed a broad appreciation of science, literature and the arts and of other countries and cultures.
- Wise decision-makers – making informed decisions based on high quality information, advice and guidance about education, training and careers.
- Future leaders - provided with opportunities to show initiative and lead others in achieving goals and be effective team members.
- World ready - with the life skills necessary to participate and thrive in the world, including being well mannered, emotional intelligent and self-reliant.
- Financially savvy - with knowledge and experience of managing money and being enterprising.
- Digitally literate - developing and applying the cognitive and technical skills to use digital technologies and the internet effectively while staying safe online.
- Excellent learners - who have developed the most effective behaviours and attributes for learning: curious, creative, responsible, motivated, resilient, resourceful and reflective.
- Healthy people - with understanding of how to lead a healthy life, physically, mentally and emotionally, with particular regard to healthy relationships, drugs and alcohol, and managing risk, anxiety and stress.
- Socially conscious - showing care for the natural environment and well-being of other people in the school community and beyond; supporting the work of charities in the local area, UK and overseas.
- Morally responsible - morally and ethically grounded; appreciating diversity and equality; having appropriate respect for the views and beliefs of others.
- Informed citizens - having an understanding of current events, the UK political system and shared values, such as democracy, liberty and the rule of law.
Below is an overview of our curriculum in the main school and Sixth Form and how much time is allocated to each subject. Please refer to the individual subject pages for more detailed information on the subject content for each department in each year group. Students have access to further curriculum information and resources via our Office 365 SharePoint platform, Sapientia: https://login.microsoftonline.com/
Overview of Years 7 to 9
On entry to the school in Year 7 all students follow a common curriculum based largely on the National Curriculum programmes of study.
Subjects studied in Years 7-9
English Mathematics Science Music Physical Education |
Personal & Citizenship Studies (PSHE & Citizenship) ICT & Computer Science Modern Languages (French or German) Design Technology (Product Design, Textiles, Food & Nutrition) |
Geography History Art Drama Religious Education |
Students study either French or German in Year 7, and begin the other language in Year 8 before expressing a preference of which language to specialise in from the beginning of year 9.
For most lessons, students are taught in their form groups. .
In many subjects, students begin GCSE work in Year 9
Overview of Years 10 and 11
The curriculum in Years 10 and 11 comprises a range of compulsory subjects, with three further optional subjects chosen freely by students, as shown in the table below.
In addition, students study PCS (Personal and Citizenship Studies), Philosophy and Ethics and core PE in Years 10 and 11. These courses do not lead to a qualification.
Compulsory GCSE courses | Optional GCSE courses |
---|---|
Biology Chemistry English Language English Literature Further Mathematics (for some students) Mathematics Modern Language (French or German) Physics |
Art Business Studies Computer Science Drama Food and Nutrition Geography History (Second) Modern language (French or German) Music Religious Studies Physical Education Product Design Art Textiles |
Overview of Sixth Form
Students in the Sixth Form typically choose four subjects to study at AS level in Year 12; the majority will take three of these through to study at A level in Year 13.
Art Biology Business Studies Chemistry Computer Science Drama and Theatre Studies Economics English Literature |
French Further Mathematics Geography German History Mathematics
|
Music Philosophy & Ethics Physical Education Physics Psychology Textiles Technology |
Additional elements of the Sixth Form curriculum include Games/PE or community service each week, and a range of enrichment options:
Business Spanish Sports Coaching Community Sports Leader Duke of Edinbugh's Award |
Engineering Education Scheme Financial awareness Photography Public Speaking |
For further information about the subjects offered in the Sixth Form please refer to the Sixth Form Course Guide.
Curriculum time allocation
The school operates a two-week timetable, with 25 hours of lessons each week. The following table shows the number of hours of teaching per subject per fortnight.
Key Stage 3 |
Yr 7 |
Yr 8 |
Yr 9 |
Key Stage 4 |
Yr 10 |
Yr 11 |
Sixth Form |
Yr 12 |
Yr 13 |
|||
English | 7 | 6 | 7 | English | 8 | 7 | Option 1 | 9 | 9 | |||
Maths | 6 | 6 | 6 | Maths | 6 | 5 | Option 1 | 9 | 9 | |||
Science | 6 | 6 | 6 | Science | 12 | 12 | Option 2 | 9 | 9 | |||
Languages | 5 | 6 | 6 | RE | 2 | 1 | Option 4 | 9 | 9 | |||
PCS (PSE) | 0 | 1 | 1 | PCS (PSE) | 2 | 1 | Enrichment | 3 | 0 | |||
RE | 2 | 2 | 3 | Languages | 4 | 5 | Games (PE) | 2 | 2 | |||
ICT & Computing | 4 | 4 | 3 | Option 1 | 4 | 5 | ||||||
Design & Tech. | 3 | 3 | 3 | Option 2 | 4 | 5 | ||||||
History | 3 | 3 | 3 | Option 4 | 4 | 5 | ||||||
Geography | 3 | 3 | 3 | PE (Core) | 4 | 4 | ||||||
Art | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||
Music | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||
Drama | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||
PE | 4 | 4 | 4 | |||||||||
Tutor period (PSE) | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||