Our Curriculum

Curriculum Intent

At Hawkley Hall High School our curriculum is designed to foster thought, curiosity, and a desire for learning in all pupils, regardless of their backgrounds, strengths and needs. We aim to promote diligence, resilience, energy, and creativity to create adults who have the confidence to succeed in the modern Britain and beyond. We aim to maximise the potential of all students and promote the Hawkley Way underpinned by mutual respect.

We aim to do this by:

  • Creating a broad, balanced, and ambitious curriculum that focuses on developing literacy, reading and numeracy
  • Creating a knowledge rich, coherent, and broad curriculum introducing students to concepts in line with the demands of the National Curriculum.
  • Carefully considering and sequencing all subject content to allow students to know and remember more.
  • Promoting and developing long term and transferrable memory skills through Hawkley Recall
  • Creating a curriculum that provides all students with the personal development and cultural capital to develop both as individuals and academically to thrive in school and in life and progress into the next stage of their education
  • Developing students to become confident and successful individuals who are able to live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives regardless of their background or circumstances

Key Stage 3 Criteria

Please see attached document for All KS3 Criteria

Curriculum Delivery

The curriculum is structured as a five-year journey, with students spending three years within Key Stage 3, studying a broad range of subjects that offer them a secure foundation in knowledge, concepts, and skills. Students selects subjects during Year 9 and follow a two-year programme of study towards GCSE qualifications beginning in Year 10. This allows a strong foundation in a range of subject areas and personalised GCSE choices, with guidance from senior staff, at Key Stage 4.

We operate a weekly timetable based upon 25 hours of lessons per week a breakdown of how these hours are allocated for each Year Group is provided below.

Key Stage 3

We have a very broad KS3 Curriculum covering 15 subjects.

Subject Number of Lessons:
Year 7 Year 8 Year 9
English 4 3 4
Mathematics 4 4 3
Science 3 3 3
Languages 2 2 2
History 1 2 2
Geography 1 2 2
Religious Studies 1 1 1
Computing 1 1 1
Food Studies 1 1 1
Product Design 1 1 1
PE 2 2 2
Drama 1 1 1
Music 1 1 1
Art 1 1 1
PSHE 1* 0* 0*
Total Lessons 25 25 25

* In addition to the one hour provided each week PSHE is taught through a rolling programme consisting of 5 main projects equating to 25 hours of learning per year running from October to June. This is for Year 7 to Year 10 and includes health and well-being, relationships and living in the wider world.

Assessment in Key Stage 3

In 2021 the Rowan Learning Trust, in collaboration with subject specialists from across the Trust High Schools, introduced revised assessment criteria for all Key Stage 3 subjects. These criteria are used to assess student progress throughout Key Stage 3 as working towards, working at, or working above their age-related expectation.

Attainment and progress is tracked using bespoke data analysis tools that averages out Key Stage 3 attainment based on the assessments undertaken.  Subjects enter live data as they complete assessment. Whole school termly data captures are taken to allow for analysis of student and subgroup progress at a whole school level.

Please open the document on this link to access our Key Stage 3 criteria for all subjects: All KS3 Criteria

 

Key Stage 4

Our options process begins in the spring term of Year 9 with a presentation to all parents and an assembly for students. We offer an options interview to all students and parents. These take place in late February and March and offer a chance for students and parents to discuss the various options with a member of the school Leadership Team.

The following subjects are compulsory:

Subject Qualification
English Language and Literature GCSE (2 qualifications)
Trilogy Science GCSE (2 qualifications)
Mathematics GCSE (1 qualifications)
Religious Education GCSE (1 qualifications)
Physical Education (Core) None

We also offer a wide range of both GCSE and vocational options:

GCSE Options Vocational Options
·       Art

·       Art (Textiles)

·       Computer Science

·       Dance

·       Design Technology

·       Drama

·       Engineering

·       Food Studies

·       Geography

·       History

·       Music

·       Photography

·       PE

·       Spanish

·       Separate Sciences

·       Cambridge National Certificate in Sports

·       L1/L2 Award in Vocational ICT

·       Child Care and Development

·       Construction and the Built Environment

There is one pathway through KS4 with all students being able to choose GCSE or vocational subjects and students are able to choose their options based on their preferences, skills and future ambitions. We have a robust system to help guide students in their choices using a wide range of academic and pastoral data to help guide students onto the most appropriate KS4 subjects. Our option package includes:

  • Assemblies to students;
  • An options booklet, updated annually;
  • Options evening detailing the options process and attended by subject teachers, further education providers and careers advisors;
  • Tailored options interviews;
  • A dedicated email address for parents/carers to use to raise any queries or questions;
  • Additional supporting material on the Options page of our school website. This can be accessed here: Click Here.

Full details of the options process, including information for each subject can be found in our options booklet which can be downloaded on our Year 9 Options Page. Click Here to view this.

In addition to this our Careers programme support students throughout and beyond the options process. Details of the Careers programme can be found on this link: Click Here

The English Baccalaureate

At Hawkley we offer subjects that make up the English Baccalaureate (E-Bacc). However, there is no requirement for students to choose this combination of subjects. Our options process informs parents of this and that this pathway is open to all students.

Guidance offered to students and parents is that the English Baccalaureate is a recognition of a good passes (grade 5 or higher) in a range of GCSE subjects (listed below), The E-Bacc is not an extra qualification, but a recognition of a grade 5 or higher in these subjects:

English (Compulsory)
Maths (Compulsory)
Science (Trilogy or Separate) (Compulsory)
A Language (Optional)
History or Geography (Optional)

At Key Stage 4 the curriculum is organised as follows:

 

Subject

Number of Lessons
Year 10 Year 11
English 4 5
Mathematics 4 5
Science 6 6
PE 1 1
Religious Studies 1 2
Option 1 3 2
Option 2 3 2
Option 3 3 2
Total Lessons 25 25

Inclusion

The Inclusion Faculty provides support to students with a wide range and diverse learning needs. Click here for more information.


Class Arrangements

At Hawkley Hall we use a range of class arrangement to cater for the needs of all students. Some subjects are always taught in ability sets, while others are mixed ability. A breakdown of the class arrangements for each Year Group is given below:

Year 7

Subjects taught in mixed ability forms Subjects taught in ability sets Subjects taught in mixed ability classes
·        PSHE

·        Drama

·        Music

·        English

·        Mathematics

·        Science

·        Languages

·        History

·        Geography

·        Religious Studies

·        Art

·        Food

·        Product Design

·        IT

·        PE


Years 8 and 9

Subjects taught in ability sets Subjects taught in mixed ability classes
·        English

·        Mathematics

·        Science

·        Languages

·        History

·        Geography

·        Religious Studies

·        Art

·        Food

·        Product Design

·        Computing

·        PE

·        Drama

·        Music


Year 10 and 11

Subjects taught in ability sets Subjects taught in mixed ability classes
·        English

·        Mathematics

·        Science

·        Religious Studies

·        Option Subjects

·        PE

Curriculum Enrichment

In addition to the timetabled curriculum we also offer a wide range of enrichment activities which can be viewed on this link https://hhhs.net/wider-opportunities/

Curriculum Impact

For further information regarding the curriculum please contact Mr S Holt at school.