Curriculum

“We put the success and happiness of our students at the heart of everything we do.”

At NWHS, our curriculum is more than a plan—it’s a promise. A promise that every student will be known as an individual and therefore challenged, supported, and celebrated through every step of their education. This curriculum is explicitly designed through the lens of our disadvantaged students, ensuring that it disproportionately addresses the needs of these students whilst facilitating success and happiness for all.

We believe that this education is the most effective tool for empowering every student (regardless of background or starting point) to be successful and happy in their lives within and beyond school. Our knowledge-rich curriculum is deliberately designed to ensure every student develops the knowledge, skills and values towards this end. The core values of Trust, Resilience, Excellence and Kindness are golden threads which run through this curriculum. Our inclusive curriculum is also a promise that success and happiness are not just outcomes, but guiding principles in everything we do.

Our curriculum is underpinned by high expectations for all. This means we believe every student is capable of excellence, and we scaffold learning to ensure that all students can access and master challenging concepts.

Our curriculum is centralised – this means that every single student is consistently exposed to the best that has been thought, said and written. This increases the equity in provision for all students and supports progress through their 5 years at North Walsham High School and beyond.

This also supports teacher workload. We ensure teachers are given adequate time as experts, to have responsive and critical discussions which collaboratively develop the curriculum to best meet the needs of our students, to secure their success and happiness.

Literacy is central to all aspects of our curriculum. Every teacher is a teacher of Literacy and every subject is a vehicle for its explicit development. Reading is prioritised across the curriculum; unlocking subjects, stories and the world beyond the school gates. Writing and oracy give students the opportunity to develop, share and strengthen their own voices so they are empowered in all aspects of their lives.

We retain a three-year Key Stage 3 because we believe in giving students time to explore a wide breadth of subjects. Students develop as specialists exposing them to knowledge and skills that will develop them as young people, as well as building a strong foundation for subject mastery.

We sequence our curriculum carefully so that it explicitly builds on prior knowledge and supports cumulative learning over time – within and between subjects.

It develops the cultural capital that is their entitlement. This is not just about academic success, but about developing the whole student. Our curriculum is a vehicle for equity, giving every student access to powerful knowledge that opens doors, broadens horizons and helps them understand the world they live in. We aim to empower our students to be upstanding members of our local community, fostering compassion for all its members and developing the knowledge and skills to contribute positively to its ongoing growth and success.

We make every lesson count. Our teaching is informed by the best research and evidence, delivered by subject specialists. We plan for retrieval, deliberate practice, and responsive teaching, ensuring students retain and apply knowledge over time. Through proactive planning and responsive teaching, we anticipate and address common misconceptions. Curriculum resources are designed to support these aims; keeping students thinking, questioning, and making connections.