Our Curriculum

Our values of ambition, community and kindness underpin what students learn at QE:

Ambition ~ we work hard to be the best we can be so that we flourish in life.

Community ~ we take part in opportunities to make a positive difference to ourselves, each other and our wider community. We honour being together and are proud to be part of our school.

Kindness ~ we act with kindness so that others feel respected, valued and cared for.

We have a broad curriculum enabling our students to be personally ambitious with a strong sense of purpose in a supportive community. By being kind to each other we build relationships, feel valued and learn to be respectful of others. What we teach and learn as a school community develops knowledge, character, contribution and wisdom. Our curriculum gives students opportunities to succeed academically and flourish in their lives.

Building knowledge and understanding is liberating. It gives our students the freedom to play their part in the world and enables them to be:

• curious and always wanting to know more

• critical in their thinking, so they appreciate competing ideas

• creative in their approach, so they develop confidence

How We Teach

Lessons are guided by our Principles of Teaching characterised by:

• High expectations for behaviour and routines
• High quality and expert teacher instruction
• Deliberate teaching of vocabulary, reading, oracy and writing
• Strategies to make learning stick
• Adaptive teaching which is ambitious for all students
• Feedback on progress

What We Teach

The curriculum provides the best opportunity to improve the life chances of our students. What students know, understand and can do will directly influence their future. The curriculum at Queen Elizabeth’s provides breadth and depth for all students.

Years 7-9 
Years 7-9 are the foundation for future learning, lessons are sequenced through 3 Learning Cycles. Learning is underpinned by retrieval practice with questions from recent learning interleaved with synoptic questions. Through frequent quizzing, students practice remembering important content so that they can apply their knowledge to issues, questions and problems.

All students study:

English	Mathematics	Science	History
Geography	Religious Studies	French	Technology
Art	Drama	Music	Physical Education
Personal Development including British values

Years 10 and 11

Students can choose from a wide range of academic and technical courses to study. Here students can begin to develop interests and passions both in their option choices and more extracurricular opportunities are available.  

Sixth Form 

In the Sixth Form each student follows a structured study programme from a combination of A Levels/ Level 3 BTEC, Extended Project Qualification and GCSE retakes.  In addition, they achieve the Diploma Award which is made up of a variety of enrichment activities, Careers Education and independent study. The Sixth Form curriculum is designed to equip students with the learning and skills necessary to be successful in progressing to university or employment.

Homework

Homework makes a vital difference to student success by:

• Reinforcing work completed in class, refines and sharpens skills and deepens knowledge.
• Giving teachers further opportunities to assess and provide valuable feedback.
• Allowing students to think independently and take responsibility for their learning.
• Giving Parents/Carers an opportunity to be involved in their child’s education.

Years 7-9

Each student is given a Knowledge Organiser which includes the most important knowledge of topics taught in class. Each subject gives weekly tasks for completion to support students in their learning and prepare them for lessons and assessment. Knowledge Organisers help develop vocabulary and allow students to record independent reading and physical activity. For maths homework students complete weekly sections of their personalised SPARX programme as well as completing SPARX Reader so that they become fluent and confident readers.

Years 10 and 11

Students will study for at least one hour per subject per week which includes set homework tasks and independent learning to help review what they have studied and prepare for new topics. Homework tasks will be set using ClassCharts along with SPARX Maths and Science.

In the weeks leading to assessments each student will be issued with a Countdown Booklet which contains tasks to prepare students for GCSE exams.

Sixth Form

Students are expected to do additional study for every hour of lesson they have, reviewing notes and adding detail to their understanding. Homework tasks will be set for completion weekly by teachers. Homework tasks are set using Teams.

How parents and carers can support

• Regularly talking about learning is important. We encourage conversations to talk about what has been learnt during the day which helps students to remember it in the future.
• Do they have somewhere they can sit and complete their work? This may be in their room or at the dining table where you can see how they are getting on.
• Have a look at your child’s Knowledge Organiser to see what they are studying and talk about the tasks they have been doing or completed. Help them with their spelling tests.
• Use SPARX to check if their Maths and Reading is up to date, talk to them about the book they are reading.
• Use ClassCharts to see how they are getting on in Years 10 and 11, especially when they start their Revision Countdowns for assessments. Encourage them to use lunchtime support sessions in all the departments to catch up or go through their work with their teacher.
• In the Sixth Form students need to organise their time more independently, ask them if they are managing this? How often do they get distracted now they can head off site whenever they want?

Contacts

Alexandra Blagden	Deputy Headteacher: Quality of Education	[email protected]
Kate Simons	Director of Science and Technology	[email protected]
Jo Cherrett	Director of French and EBACC
Colin Skinner	Director of Sport and Professional Learning
Victoria Hopkins-Bond	Head of English
Max Wallace	Head of Maths
Justine Morton	Visual Arts
Lucy Welsman	Music
Vicky Evans	Drama
Wilf Richer	Technology
Natalie Manwaring	Geography
Jen Kendall	History and Business
Susan Dereza	RE, Sociology and Law
Sam Whitehead	Chemistry
Julia Owen	Biology
Emma Hopkin	Physics