St Leonard's

The curriculum at St Leonard’s Catholic School is ambitious for all pupils and our pupils have access to the same academic route, with pupils fully accessing a broad and balanced curriculum, that covers all the subjects within the national curriculum.

We firmly believe that all pupils are entitled to the same broad and balanced curriculum, that prepares children for the next stage in their education and employment. We are proud that pupils, including those who may suffer some disadvantage, or those who have a special educational needs, have the same access to our curriculum, and achieve progress scores at GCSE that are above the national average. The same excellence is also seen in wider curriculum, from personal development, careers guidance and advice and preparation for life.

Our curriculum extends beyond academic success. The school is committed to a ‘Holistic Curriculum’ that broadens the outlook and perspective of all pupils as the journey through the school. This holistic approach to the curriculum places just as much emphasis on the wider or ‘personal development’ of all pupils as it does on academic success. The PSHE / RSE / Tutor Programme of the school plays a central role of this holistic approach. At the same time many elements of this are also delivered within lessons, for example Careers Information Advice and Guidance is built into all subjects schemes of work so pupils can make connections between the classroom and their future choices and careers.

All of the curriculum is underpinned by the school’s Catholic Ethos and pupils are recognised and rewarded when they show these virtues in any aspect of school life. The school’s Virtue curriculum underpins the entire school life, the academic curriculum, standards of conduct and our Personal Development curriculum.

You can read more about Personal Development and our holistic approach here.

The aims of the school curriculum are:  

• To develop in students a knowledge of the Catholic faith and a respect for the spiritual and moral values intrinsic to it. 
• To enable all students to develop as fully as possible in all aspects of their school life. 
• To help students develop lively, inquiring minds and the ability to question and argue rationally and the flexibility to cope with the demands of a complex fast changing modern society. 
• To prepare students for adult life and fit them for productive roles at work, in the community, at home and at leisure by providing them with the necessary knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes. 
• To help students communicate by using language and number effectively. 
• To help students understand the physical world in which they live. 
• To help students appreciate the interdependence of individuals, groups and nations and provide them with basic social, economic and political awareness. 
• To help students develop their aesthetic appreciation by introducing them to a wide variety of experiences. 
• To provide society with young adults with the knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes it needs. 
• To provide students with the knowledge to keep themselves fit and healthy. 
• To develop high standards of behaviour, good manners, and to show the students the need for these. 
• To help students gain external qualifications commensurate with their ability. 
• To provide students with the knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes necessary for further learning. 
• To develop and sustain high academic standards. 

Individual Curriculum Overview

Our more specific curriculum intent within individual subject areas is underpinned in the identification of learning that is required by set end points. Learning is planned and sequenced in response to the identification of this, allowing students to continuously build on their learning and apply it to new areas of study.  You can see further detail on the intent of each department on their own pages.

Academic Curriculum Overview

The technical structure of the academic curriculum is shown below. Mr D. Simmons, Senior Deputy Headteacher, is in charge of the curriculum, for further information please get in touch using our contact form selecting ‘Department’. Alternatively you can find out more about each subject using the links on the website.

Key Stage 3
Our teaching class arrangements are a balance between classes which are set based on academic achievement, and mixed ability classes. In Year 7 pupils are set in maths, but in other subjects they are taught in their tutor classes. More setting is introduced in Year 8 & Year 9 in English, science and RE. Pupils can move between sets based on their hard work and progress. All pupils engage in and complete the full KS3 curriculum by the end of Year 9.

The subjects studied in all three years of Key Stage 3 are: RE, English, Maths, Science, French, Geography, History, Computer Science, PE, DT (includes Food Technology, Product Design and Systems), Music, Art and Personal Development.

Key Stage 4
In Year 10 and Year 11 pupils begin to study a more refined curriculum, tailored to meet their needs. All pupils study for a GCSE in English Language, English Literature, Mathematics and Religious Education. Pupil’s study one of the following Science courses: Triple Science (3 separate GCSEs in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics) or combined Science (pupils still study Biology, Chemistry and Physics and are awarded 2 GCSEs). Pupils then select 3 options, their first currently being a guided EBacc option: a choice of either Geography, History, French, German or Computer Science and their second and third being from a selection of high quality GCSE courses including: Music, PE, Art & Design, Technology, and Food Nutrition. We also offer BTEC & Tech awards in Sport, Health & Social Care, Engineering and Creative Media.

 

Information on the Sixth Form Curriculum can be found under the Sixth Form pages.

Mr D. Simmons, Senior Deputy Headteacher, leads the curriculum and can be contacted using the ‘Department’ option on the contact form.