Our Curriculum

Curriculum Intent

Central Lancaster High School is committed to educating young people for the modern world. We provide an education which imparts knowledge, develops creativity and instils a love of learning through substance and integrity. Our curriculum is designed to develop the attributes needed to be safe, happy, and considerate of others. We raise aspirations and tackle the challenges of social mobility by providing all our pupils with the skills, knowledge and qualifications needed to be prosperous members of society who make a positive contribution to those around them.

Curriculum Implementation

Years 7, 8 and 9 are delivered through a broad and balanced curriculum, allowing pupils to develop skills and knowledge across a wide range of subjects. In years 10 and 11 pupils specialise in subjects which will provide them with a springboard to further education, employment and training.

Years 7, 8 and 9:

Pupils study the National Curriculum in English, maths, science, history, geography, French, music, art, catering, design & technology, textiles, ICT and PE. The hours per cycle given to each subject is laid out in the table above.

At the end of Year 8 pupils choose to specialise in two of the following: history, geography or French, which lays the foundation for their future study. Pupils take further option choices at the end of year 9 for study in year 10. 

In years 7 and 8 pupils are taught in mixed ability teaching groups for all subjects except maths. The teaching groups will be formed when pupils enter the school and will be based on pastoral information received from the feeder primary schools. The pupils have different groupings for core and foundation subjects which allows for pupils to mix more widely in school. In maths, year 7 pupils are initially taught in all-ability groups until after October half term and then move into ability sets based on a range of data once we know them better. Staff will differentiate appropriately for the needs of the pupils to allow stretch and challenge at all levels of ability. Pupils may move groupings if this is felt to be necessary due to pastoral issues. In years 7 and 8 there will be a group of pupils who will be taught together for lessons, and they will receive an enhanced curriculum focusing on improving literacy and learner confidence.

In year 9 pupils are placed into sets in some subjects where they begin the GCSE curriculum. These ability groups will be determined by the assessment data collected by the school over the previous two years, and the data generated by the target setting process. Other subjects will continue to be taught in all-ability groups. It is expected that at this stage the ability of the pupils will be well known to the school and subsequent need for set changes will be minimised.

The wider curriculum is met through PHSE lessons and religious education lessons following the local agreement. We also provide lessons to develop pupils using the PiXL Edge LORIC framework (Leadership, Organisation, Resilience, Initiative and Communication skills) which is delivered by Progress Tutors. Other aspects of the wider curriculum are met through drop-down days which focus on the development of cultural capital, extra-curricular clubs and links with local businesses. There is personalisation of the curriculum for pupils to also participate in the Prince’s Trust Award; gaining credits through year 7 and year 8. The Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is offered to pupils in year 9 and year 10.

Years 10 – 11

Pupils study maths, English Language, and English Literature. All pupils begin studying the triple sciences (chemistry, biology and physics) in year 9 and 10; and with some pupils sitting the combined science award in year 11. A significant majority of pupils also study history, geography or French (or a combination of all three). The school ensures that the Ebacc is available to all pupils as part of the curriculum design, although there is no compulsion for pupils to opt for the Ebacc suite of subjects. Pupils also take 3 subjects from the list of options subjects which is updated each year. Pupils are taught in setted groups in English, maths and science. They are taught in mixed attainment groups in their option subjects. The school offers a range of qualifications to pupils, including GCSEs, BTECs, OCR Nationals, City & Guilds and RSA qualifications. We pride ourselves on knowing our pupils and choose the qualifications which are best suited to meeting our curriculum aims. We provide our CEIAG through our curriculum time, drop-down days with local and national businesses, and a range of providers who visit the school throughout the year ensuring we meet the Gatsby benchmarks. PHSE and RE statutory requirements are met through our Social Development lessons.

We are strongly committed to an inclusive ethos, with mixed attainment teaching in years 7, 8 and 9 across a wide range of subjects, and the option subjects in years 10 and 11. Pupils who require a more specialised curriculum in years 10 and 11 also study functional skills English and maths alongside some options subjects, AQA Entry Level Certificates, Barclays Life Skills, Prince’s Trust Awards, and links with FE colleges and employers. This is built around a bespoke arrangement with each pupil once their interests and desires for the future has been ascertained.  Our curriculum is planned to equip pupils for the transition to the next stage of their education and careers, whilst remaining relevant and engaging.

The school operates on a two-week timetable comprising of five 1-hour lessons per day. This equates to 50 periods over the fortnightly cycle. Statutory obligations are met through PHSE, Social Development and careers lessons.

KS4 Courses