Curriculum Overview

The Dormston Curriculum

Intent

• Dormston’s 5 Year Curriculum builds each student’s knowledge, skills and understanding progressively; revisiting prior learning in order to make links between prior, current and future learning.  We believe that knowledge is strength.
• Dormston offers a broad range of subjects in all years.  All subjects can enrich a child’s life and understanding.  We complement these with extra-curricular opportunities designed to add enjoyment and build cultural capital.  We want our students to be knowledgeable, creative, responsible and resilient citizens with a love of learning.
• Whilst maintaining a broad and balanced curriculum, Dormston also takes into account the needs of the community this is reflected in our RE and PSHE curriculum. Small numbers of our students follow a bespoke timetable designed to boost their literacy and numeracy skills and enable them to make progress.
• We promote literacy, reading and oracy widely across the school.

 

Implementation

• Learning should be sequenced to build upon prior knowledge. This is at the heart of our 5 Year Curriculum.
• We believe all students are entitled to quality first teaching. Expectations should be clear. This is evidenced through teachers implementing the ten ‘Dormston Standards’ in their lessons and through the ‘Prepared for Success’ positive behaviour programme.
• Understanding should be checked and misconceptions should be addressed, both through questioning in the classroom and through marking and feedback.
• Assessment should be rigorous and purposeful. Target grades are aspirational and assessments are modelled on GCSE examinations.
• Staff are expected to share good practice and be pro-active in their own professional development.

 

Impact

• Students know more and remember more.
• Improved attainment & progress data for all including our key groups.

• No NEET (not in education, employment or training) students as they are prepared for success and are fully equipped to contribute to society.

• Students enjoy coming to school leading to attendance on or above 97%.

 

Dormston School offers a wide range of courses under the National Curriculum leading to the General Certificate of Secondary Education.

Years 7, 8 and 9 pupils are taught the following subjects:

At the end of Year 9 pupils choose the options that they will be studying in Years 10 & 11. Information about these courses is circulated in the Spring Term with an Options Evening for Parents.

Certain subjects are compulsory during Years 10 & 11. These are:

Currently Years 10 and 11 Optional Courses include:

 

If you would like to recieve anymore information on our curriculum, please do not hesitate to contact us to find out more.