Curriculum

Our philosophy is that each pupil is entitled to a curriculum that prepares them for life’s opportunities, responsibilities and experiences.

We teach a knowledge and skills focused curriculum, which ensures that pupils of all backgrounds gain the cultural capital that is their entitlement. In doing so, we develop the whole child, spiritually, morally, socially and culturally.

We believe that knowledge and skills are paramount to our pupils’ success. This is why we retain a three year Key Stage 3, giving years 7-9 the time to enjoy a wide breadth of subjects. They develop as artists, designers and performers, as linguists, geographers and historians, as scientists and as sportsmen and women. Our Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 curriculum offer is broad and balanced between academic rigour and creativity. The emphasis we place on English and Maths supports this goal; we value literacy and numeracy as vital skills that underpin all learning.

We believe that every pupil is capable of excellence and encourage each pupil to push themselves to achieve their potential. Our view is that a challenging and aspirational Key Stage 3 curriculum is the best preparation for Key Stage 4, when pupils begin their two-year GCSE courses and begin to specialise in their own areas of strength and interest.

We make every lesson count, so that each child may fulfil our vision of excellence, personal growth and achievement for all.

Curriculum Principles

1. Our curriculum is knowledge-rich with core knowledge that is chosen precisely and selectively, to support student understanding.

2. Our curriculum is ambitious, challenging for all and scaffolded accordingly.

3. Our curriculum is sequenced effectively allowing students to retrieve and retain knowledge and revisit learning over time in order to progress.

4. The enactment of our curriculum keep students cognitively active. Our planning prioritises learning over performance and content over activities.

5. Our curriculum is designed to ensure we pre-teach common misconceptions. We plan time to constantly review, reteach and update our curriculum to address any misconceptions that arise in future.

6. Our curriculum is planned to ensure there is a variety of feedback and dedicated opportunities for student practice in every lesson.

7. Our curriculum reflects the powerful knowledge of each individual subject, giving students a new way of experiencing the world.

8. Our curriculum is broad and balanced, providing students with a range of subjects and content incorporating our vision for cultural capital throughout their time at NWHS to prepare them for the modern World.

9. Our curriculum reflects our values: Trust, Resilience, Excellence and Kindness to enable students to be well-rounded, successful and happy individuals in their lives.

10. Our curriculum uses centralised planning of core knowledge to reduce teacher workload.