Curriculum

The Purpose Of The Curriculum

The purpose of the curriculum is to enrich the lives of our boys, to prepare them for the world of work and enable them to take their places as members of society. Our view is that each Pensby Boy has a right to a good education and this is underpinned by our constant promotion of fundamental skills in literacy and numeracy. The ability to communicate verbally and in writing is key to successful learning.

A Wide Range Of Subjects

In years 7, 8 and 9 students are engaged in Key Stage 3 of their school life and study a wide range of subjects. In the later stages of year 9, students will make choices to reduce the number of subjects they will take in Years 10 and 11 (Key Stage 4). These choices are made in consultation with parents and staff and may take account of developing career interests, for example. Students and parents receive both written information about options as well as presentations from the departments. The appropriate choice of subjects to study in Key Stage 4 is a further example of how our partnership approach helps students make the best decisions.

Key Stage 4 Gives Students Access To GCSE Qualifications

It is a demanding two years which lays the foundation for much of the future. It can lead to apprenticeship, employment or further study. Once completed, this key stage ends the statutory requirement to attend school.

In Key Stage 5 students are engaged in comparatively narrow programmes of study and have begun to specialise into areas which will quite likely be related to their future careers. Some students will use Key Stage 5 to gain a place at university while others will find employment or further study of a vocational nature (such as engineering or nursing, for example).

National Levels Changing

At a national level, the content and manner of delivery of the curriculum is changing. There are new vocational courses and renewed emphasis on work-related relevance. Parents will find comprehensive information about our current curriculum in the Prospectus Insert Sheets.

Content for individual curriculum areas

This section will be developed to inform parents about the work being done by pupils.