Curriculum 

Curriculum
Whole School Intent, Implementation & Impact

Mission Statement 

The staff, governors and students at Alcester Academy have worked hard to create a curriculum within school that is modelled on the fundamentals of the National Curriculum and the preparation needed for life in Modern Britain. This curriculum:

• offers breadth and depth across all subject areas
• ignites opportunities for all groups of learners to succeed in and outside of the classroom environment
• supports the development of students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness with a view to creating well educated citizens for their future personal development
• understands the individual needs of all students and supports their educational journey in a safe and secure environment
• drives development within literacy, numeracy and oracy
• equips our young people with the knowledge, advice and support to become resilient, confident and independent learners
• supports the context of the local community that we belong to, whilst opening doors to explore the values and beliefs of others in our world
• prepares the young people in our care for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century world in which we live. 

We offer a two year Key Stage 3 where all students are able to access a broad and balanced curriculum designed to foster their curiosity and wider understanding and knowledge in a variety of subjects.

In Year 7 all students study a broad curriculum of: English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, French or German, ICT. Art, Performing Arts (Music and Drama), Design & Technology, PE and one dedicated lesson for our personal development curriculum each week. The Personal Development curriculum will evolve each year.

Students select their GCSE option subjects in the summer term of Year 8. They are supported by a series of information evenings alongside their parents/carers, and activities within school in order to support factually based decisions that will help to provide the knowledge and skills to take advantage of opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.  

We strongly believe in our decision to maintain a two year key stage three curriculum for the following reasons:

• No ‘dip’ after KS2 as every second counts to cover the expected curriculum content over two years
• A two year KS3 maintains positive attitudes to learning
• Students are able to ‘personalise’ their curriculum sooner
• Work should be more challenging as the content is covered at a quicker pace
• The shorter time period has helped us to revise schemes and improve the quality of education at KS3
• The school has a wealth of additional opportunities that keep learning alive outside of the timetabled KS3 curriculum.

Year 9

Students begin KS4 courses in Year 9 at Alcester Academy. Learning is enhanced through a wealth of additional opportunities to include trips, clubs and Super Learning Days.

KS4

• Students have greater years studying KS4 content and therefore become more inquisitive about their learning; more motivated too
• Greater depth is developed as a result
• Students enjoy having access to specialist teachers and this enhances outcomes
• Time is spent over a longer period to embed content and subject knowledge

All students follow a three year key stage four curriculum. The majority of students currently study for level two qualifications in English Language and Literature, a qualification in maths, science and Religious Studies. This provides between 6-7 qualifications as a school core. The majority of students then follow level two courses in four other subjects over this key stage.

This curriculum model provides the time required for students to develop key knowledge and understanding within their chosen subject areas. We ensure that the English Baccalaureate is available to students and they are positively guided to consider this route during the options process.

Students are often excited to take new courses, and the school is careful to offer some taster sessions in the run up to their choices in order to help them make informed decisions. Additional subjects available to students in Year 9 include Food and Nutrition, Media, Sport, IMedia, Further Maths and Statistics and Photography. Existing subjects offer qualifications in French, German, History, Geography, Music, Performing Arts, Design Technology, Textiles and Fine Art. The school offers GCSE and vocational courses. GCSEs are examined at the end of Year 11, and vocational courses offer different assessment routes. Students like having both style of courses available to them and this meets the needs of our learners well.

In Year 11, the academy offers students a range of revision opportunities from after school sessions to Saturday morning workshops. An alternative timetable is then designed in order to support students in the final steps of their journey to their GCSE exams.

Throughout key stage 3 and 4, the school designs ‘Super Learning Days’ (SLDs) in order to cover aspects of the curriculum that require more time or attention. These are related to developing knowledge and understanding around personal development and well-being, safeguarding and emotional development including issues related to bullying, online safety, alcohol and drugs education, mental health, child sexual exploitation, relationship education and preparation for exams. In Year 9, students have curriculum days in order to be certain that broad and balanced learning opportunities exist. 

The impact of the curriculum is measured in a number of ways over time to include:

• Student attendance to school. We consider attendance to be excellent and this acts as an indicator to the success of the curriculum and the support offered to students at school.
• Assessment and progress data. All subject areas are lined managed by members of the senior team and the assessment and progress data for each area is scrutinised at each of the three points during the academic year. Governors are also aware of this data. Students’ attitude to learning scores are monitored closely and any significant changes in patterns with these are investigated.
• Positive behaviour in lessons. Incidents of low level in class disruption have fallen significantly in recent years indicating that students want to learn and are engaged in this process.
• KS4 outcomes. In 2024, Progress 8 was measured as +0.66 and significantly above the national average.  The school was ranked in 76^th place in the Fairer Schools Index nationally and within the top ten schools in the Midlands.
• Student voice. Students tell us that they like their learning and enjoy the opportunities made available to them.
• Additional learning opportunity uptake/trip uptake. There is a vast offer of additional learning opportunities and trips for students. These are monitored very closely.