Curriculum

At Headlands School, we are passionate about the importance of providing all students with a broad, balanced and challenging curriculum offer that enables them to study not only the more traditional subjects of Maths, English, Science, History and Geography, but also gives all students the option to study a modern foreign language and Computer Science, as well as the more creative subjects such as Technology, Art and Design, Music and Drama which over recent years, have found themselves squeezed out of some school curriculums. In addition, every student in KS3 and KS4 at Headlands School has core P.E., an opportunity to engage in some physical exercise which has consistently been shown to benefit both a student’s physical as well as their emotional well-being. At Headlands School, we believe passionately in a curriculum that caters for the needs, aptitudes and interests of all our students; a curriculum that is as diverse, individual and inspiring as each of them. Our fundamental aim is to provide a curriculum that will ensure that when a student leaves us at the end of KS4 or KS5, they do so in the knowledge that they have been equipped with the necessary skills to enable them to experience success, fulfil their potential and ultimately realise both their hopes and aspirations.

Every day, we have 5 periods of 60 minute lessons making 25 periods in the week. The school day is organised as follows.

Beyond the official end of the school day, we continue to run numerous clubs and activities. All students are given the opportunity to participate and they are actively encouraged to do so.

Find out more about our extra-curricular clubs and activities here.

At the beginning of each morning, there is a form period of 20 minutes where students spend time with their form tutor; we consider this to be an invaluable part of the school day as it is designed to ensure that all students are equipped, prepared and feel supported for the day ahead of them. As part of the tutor programme, students engage in a range of activities designed to not only support them pastorally but also encourage them to broaden their knowledge and understanding of current affairs, debate some of life’s big philosophical questions and compete in our inter-form tutor quiz – always a highlight of the week! For our Sixth Form students, there is a bespoke tutor programme in place which is designed to not only support them in their academic studies but also in their preparations for life beyond school.

PSHE

All students across the school have a rolling PSHE lesson that takes place during a different period every week, the content of which is bespoke to each year group.

KS3 is designed to build on the students’ experiences and successes in KS2 whilst also providing a solid foundation for KS4 where they will effectively tailor much of their own curriculum through the options they choose to study. In KS3, they are exposed to the full range of subjects offered in KS4 so they are then able to make informed choices when the time comes for them to select their option subjects. In KS3, Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9 follow broadly the same curriculum which encompasses a variety of academic subjects and practical based subjects. In addition, KS3 students have 1 hour of Forensic Reading per week, providing the opportunity to not only strengthen their literacy and oracy skills but also develop their cultural capital through bespoke anthologies containing a diverse range of high quality, challenging texts based around a theme.

Year 7 Curriculum:

Our KS4 Curriculum

In KS4, students must study GCSEs in English, Maths and Science; they then choose which three subjects they would like to study alongside the core curriculum, selecting their preferences from our carefully planned option blocks. We believe strongly in the importance of providing our students with choice whilst also ensuring that they are guided to make informed decisions that will enable them to achieve their goals and aspirations in the future. In 2010, the government introduced the EBacc, a combination of subjects that the government thinks is important for young people to study at GCSE including English Language and Literature, Maths, the Sciences, History or Geography and a Language. By 2025, the government wants to see 90% of students studying the EBaac subjects and therefore, this ambition is reflected in our KS4 curriculum offer. However, we also recognise that many of our students are passionate about studying more creative and practical based subjects and therefore, all students still have the option to select to study at least one of these subjects as part of their bespoke curriculum..

At Headlands, we are ambitious for our students and whilst we believe in the value of the EBaac pathway, we also believe in retaining breadth and balance for all students within our curriculum offer. We offer a diverse range of GCSE option subjects, as well as a number of vocational qualifications. We are proud of the fact that as well as the more traditional EBacc subjects, open to all students, we also offer our KS4 students a wide range of options such as: NCFE PE, BTEC Drama, GCSE Psychology, GCSE Music, GCSE Drama, Film Studies, Technology and Art etc.

Find out more information about the options on offer here

The current Year 10 study 5 lessons of English, 4 lessons of Maths and 5 lessons of Science; Ethics is also delivered across the year to all students.

The current Year 11 study 5 lessons of English, 5 lessons of Maths and 5 lessons of Science

To illustrate the breadth and diversity of the choices available to our students, below are some real examples of our students’ experiences:

The examples above are by no means exhaustive; however, they hopefully provide a flavour of the options that are available to our students which is something that we are extremely proud to celebrate.