Curriculum

Our Curriculum and Extra Curricular Offer aims to provide our students with opportunities to enjoy school: to compete against their own targets and the abilities of other students; and to achieve their aspirations.

CURRICULUM ETHOS
Desborough College endeavours, through our broad, interesting, balanced, relevant, and differentiated curriculum, to realise every boy’s potential to enable him to take his place as a kind, positive, grateful, respectful, collaborative, proud, courageous, humble and leading citizen of the world.

Our approach is to infuse our curriculum with intentional and explicit opportunities for boys to develop their character to bring fulfilment to themselves and to others.
Our curriculum and extra curricula offer aims to provide our students with opportunities to enjoy school; to compete against their own targets and the abilities of other students; and to achieve their aspirations.
Our aim is to develop a coherent curriculum that builds on our students’ experiences in the primary phase through the new national curriculum, and enables our students to develop the knowledge and skills they will need to move successfully to the next phase of their education, training, employment and life.
Our curriculum is structured and delivered in a way that provides and promotes equality of opportunity and achievement for all students, regardless of their colour, creed, ability, or background.

CURRICULUM OVERVIEW
Our overall curriculum from from Year 7 to Year 11 is viewed as one entity and students develop the knowledge and skills throughout this period to enable them to achieve the highest standards in their GCSE’s and other accredited qualifications.

Key skills of critical and creative thought, literacy, numeracy, digital literacy, study and revision are all implicitly and explicitly taught within and across all subjects.
Learners who require catch up and accelerated progress in language acquisition, literacy and/or numeracy on entry from their primary phase are provided with additional curriculum time to develop these key skills.

In Years 7-9 the curriculum is delivered through English, Maths, Science, ICT and Computing, Technology, Humanities (History, Religious Studies and Geography), PE, Modern Foreign Languages (French and German), Creative and Expressive Arts (Art, Drama, Music), Personal Health and Social Education, and Careers Education Information Advice and Guidance.

The assembly and PSHE programme provides social, moral, spiritual and cultural enrichment and promotes key British values of democracy, tolerance, the rule of law and individual liberty. Safety, emotional and physical health, economic well-being, personal development, careers, globalization, interdependence, independence and sustainability are all part of our extended curriculum.
Our morning tutorial time is used to deliver our assembly and PSHE programme; literacy, numeracy and critical thinking skills.

GCSE OPTION CHOICES
Together with the core subjects of English, Maths and at least double award Science, students make four optional GCSE choices in Year 9 and have the additional opportunity to study Business Studies alongside the subjects already studied from Year 7.

Triple Science is available in Double Award time for the most able scientists, which enables them to retain four options, and is also available as an option for those students who love Science but require additional time to reach their potential.
All learners are also encouraged to study one or both humanities.
All decisions are taken following consultation with students, parents and relevant members of staff such as the Careers Adviser and the Special Needs Co-ordinator.
Choices are determined by ability, aptitude, enjoyment and facilitation towards the next phase in their education, training and employment.
Students are encouraged to take the discrete EBacc qualification, where these choices do not compromise their overall enjoyment and engagement, as well as their passion for other subjects and an alternative pathway.
Our curriculum is benchmarked and reviewed against the proportion of our students taking and completing the Ebacc.

SETTING, CLASS SIZES & TEACHING HOURS
Desborough College is committed to providing the best classroom experience to enable every boy to reach their potential. This varies across different year groups where different subjects are blocked together.

Each GCSE optional subject receives 5 hours per fortnight. English receives 9 hours to reflect the added demand of English Literature; Maths receives 9 hours to reflect the pursuance of Statistics as an additional qualification as appropriate; Science receives 10 hours for Double Award Science and 15 hours for Triple (separate) Science; practical PE remains part of the core offer with one lesson a week from Year 9.

POST-16 (KS5) OPTIONS
Post 16 options are predominantly A Level, with a small range of BTEC courses.
Each learner chooses three qualifications to follow throughout Year 12 and Year 13, with limited AS Levels taken at the end of Year 12.

Students receive guidance and support in their post 16 choices to reflect their abilities and aspirations.

There are a wide range of extra-curricular clubs, lectures, activities and excursions throughout all year groups to enable students to pursue their sporting, linguistic, academic, artistic, creative and musical talents.

Curriculum

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