At the heart of our curriculum is an unwavering belief that all children, irrespective of their background or starting points, deserve a broad and ambitious range of subject experiences.  This enables students to be successful, in order that they are fully prepared for their next step; be that university, employment, or apprenticeship.

Our curriculum has been designed with our students at the front and centre of every decision. We ensure that our curriculum is engaging and rich, and that students have opportunities to learn the key knowledge, concepts and values to drive them at each stage of a progressive and aspirational learning journey. With due regard for the National Curriculum, our curriculum offers students a broad and balanced experience which empowers them for a complex and ever-changing world. Designed by our teachers, our curriculum is well-planned to meet the needs of the individual, combat social disadvantage and prepare them for the challenges of life-long learning. It has been carefully crafted to develop concepts and build on skills in a sequential manner, ultimately leading to qualifications at an appropriate but challenging level for the student.  In every subject, our curriculum draws on knowledge from the very best in each field and across different nationalities and cultures.

Through every subject we promote social responsibility, community and British Values. This work is enhanced by our PSHE drop days, supporting students in becoming responsible, thoughtful and courageous global citizens who themselves promote inclusivity, love and integrity.

Our curriculum is complemented by an enrichment experience which engages, enthuses and inspires our students. The offer of enrichment activities is also central to our commitment to support the mental health and wellbeing of all members of our community. With exciting opportunities to promote self-belief such as archery, HIIT, golf, sculpture, cake decoration,  crochet, bicycle repair and the Duke of Edinburgh award, students learn new skills, and develop interests beyond the curriculum.

Enrichment Offer

We provide curriculum breadth at Key Stage 3 with teaching of design technology, art, music and performing arts as a core offer. In years 10 and 11 our curriculum is broadened to incorporate a number of academic and vocational subjects including our ‘apprenticeship’ opportunities.

At Key Stage 4, West Grantham Academy has a core offer of English Language, English Literature, maths, trilogy science and religious studies. Alongside this we offer a broad range of options; these are Spanish, history, geography, theology, art, hospitality and catering, health and social care, creative media production, sport, enterprise, engineering, music, construction and performing arts.

Through our curriculum, we support our students to be the very best they can be through delivering an education that promotes our core values and is ambitious and aspirational for all.

Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Curriculum

In addition to an ambitious focus on academic progress, our curriculum is designed to promote every child’s non-academic development such as an understanding and appreciation of different cultures, a more empathetic and caring view of the world and a desire to reflect and develop their own beliefs and views. Given its importance, SMSC is delivered in all areas of our curriculum ensuring that students receive a varied and comprehensive view of each of the key aspects.

Concepts

In creating their curricula, curriculum team leaders have carefully selected the threshold concepts that are central to student progress. This is the key knowledge that students require in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of the subject. These concepts are woven through the curriculum, ensuring that students’ conceptual knowledge builds incrementally across the key stages. The concept matrices that follow show how these concepts build and are used to underpin the assessment criteria for each subject area. By designing the curriculum in this way, curriculum leaders ensure clarity about student learning and that assessments are in turn designed rigorously to ensure that students have made progress and to identify gaps in knowledge.

For more information on our curriculum, please contact the Vice Principal Teaching and Learning by email to office@wgacademy.org.uk.