The Beaconsfield School A specialist Arts College

The Beaconsfield School Curriculum 2024-2025

Intent

The Beaconsfield School curriculum is underpinned by our core values of hard work, respect, responsibility, empathy and community. We see the curriculum as our students’ total experience of school, which includes the taught academic curriculum, the extra-curricular and enrichment opportunities we provide and the learning students gain from the mutually respectful relationships with staff at our school.

The aims of our school curriculum are:

1. To ensure students gain the knowledge, skills and qualifications they require to progress onto further education, apprenticeships or employment
2. To develop confident, responsible and articulate young people who are well prepared for life in modern Britain

Implementation

We have a broad and balanced curriculum, structured into 5 x 1 hour lessons per day over a two-week model.

Years 7-11

In Years 7-9 students experience a range of subjects, embedding key skills and subject knowledge: English, Maths, Science, French, Spanish, Geography, History, Religious Studies, Computing, PE, Art, Drama, Music and Design Technology.  In Year 9, students have one period a week dedicated to ‘My Personalised Curriculum’ (MPC), where students can choose from a range of enrichment sessions, aimed at developing new skills and enhancing the curriculum offer.

In Years 10-11, students study the core curriculum of English, Maths and Science alongside their chosen options through to qualification at the end of Year 11.  Option choices come from a range of subjects including, but not limited to, Humanities, Languages, Business Studies, Computer Science, Technology, Art, Drama and Health and Social Care. 

Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) is taught via one lesson a week in Years 7 & & and via drop-down days in Years 9-11.

We also have a strong focus on literacy, recognising the importance of good literacy skills across all areas of life and fundamental to future success for our students.  All subjects have a ‘responsive reading’ approach embedded within their curriculum, linking reading tasks to the topics being studied in order to expose students to high quality academic literature and broaden their vocabulary. 

Please see the information under the Curriculum tab for the Year 8 and Year 9 Options process.

Years 12-13

We provide a broad and balanced curriculum to all of our students that goes beyond the academic qualifications obtained. The curriculum offer is informed by a number of aspects: the interests of TBS students, the local labour market, opportunities for student progression and staff expertise. Students are prepared for progression to the next level so that they leave school as confident young people can be successful in whatever they choose to do.

At Sixth Form students choose 3 main subjects and we offer courses in A Level, BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate and Level 3 Applied Qualifications. All qualifications are 2-year courses that complete in the summer term of the second year. This offers them a broad enough scope to meet the requirements for Higher Education and provides students with excellent depth of learning but also allows them to have capacity to engage in extra-curricular and leadership. We also allocate additional lessons for those who did not reach Grade 4 in GCSE English and/or Maths. Subjects are allocated 8 x 1-hour lessons per fortnight.

Our Sixth Form provide excellent role models for the rest of the school and play a large part in promoting our TBS Core Values of respect, empathy, hard work, community and responsibility. Our Sixth Form students are encouraged to be involved in leadership opportunities in school, such as peer and academic mentoring, Head Team and Senior Prefect.