Curriculum Overview

Our curriculum has a strong academic core alongside an emphasis on creative and technical subjects. From Year 7, students study a broad and balanced curriculum, enabling them to have extensive choices in Key Stages 4 and 5.

Our commitment to academic excellence is underpinned by established evidence to ensure our teaching and learning is impactful and efficient. Through skillful, responsive teaching, careful sequencing of knowledge, thorough assessment and genuine opportunities for personal development, students become MARK scholars: Motivated, Articulate, Resilient and Knowledgeable.

Assessment, conducted in the moment, periodically, and summarily, is relevant and rigorous, and ensures a precise understanding of the knowledge our students have acquired. We use this to adapt our teaching to meet the needs of all students. Homework is designed to reinforce the curriculum and so students become independent learners.

Literacy has a foundational role in our curriculum. Through it, our students access knowledge in every discipline and develop a rich vocabulary. Targeted expert support is provided to ensure all students are competent readers. Students also develop spoken language skills, so they articulate themselves with confidence.

Our teachers are subject experts who persistently advance their knowledge. They debate the content and pedagogy of our curriculum to ensure our students develop a deep knowledge of the most significant ideas.

Our school is a diverse and vibrant community that creates a strong sense of belonging and is fully inclusive. All our young people are well known and fully supported. Spiritual, moral, social, and cultural education is interwoven throughout our curriculum, so students have a holistic educational experience. Students grow into thoughtful, reflective young people. Values of equity, diversity and inclusion are taught across our school. We consistently reinforce our MARK values of Manners, Acceptance, Respect and Kindness through embedded routines and high expectations. Teachers model the language and interactions that embody these values through supportive, positive relationships. Social routines reiterate our values. They create environments where students thrive academically and socially, enabling them to develop into young adults who understand their rights and responsibilities both in school and beyond. Successes are celebrated.

To enrich our curriculum, we incorporate trips and welcome visitors into our schools. These enhance our students’ education and ensure they learn from a diverse range of voices and experiences. This, coupled with comprehensive careers guidance, empowers our students to make informed choices at each transitional point in their education.

At Beacon, students gain a rich, cumulative understanding of the world and the ambition and confidence to move onto aspirational destinations, have fulfilling careers and lead rewarding lives.

To view Subject Curriculum information click here.

At the end of each academic year, our students have knowledge of all the curriculum elements detailed in the overviews below.

The Six Principles

The teaching of our curriculum is firmly evidence based. This ensures teaching is impactful and learning is efficient and effective. The whole school approach is based on six principles: modelling, explanation, questioning, feedback, practice, scaffolding and challenge*.

* (Making Every Lesson Count. Six Principles to Support Great Teaching and Learning, Allison and Tharby, 2015)

Inclusive Teaching

Teaching of the curriculum is inclusive. Teachers use their subject expertise and evidence-based strategies to ensure all our students, including those with high or low prior attainment, SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) and/or disadvantage can fully access the curriculum.

Self-Regulation and Meta-Cognition

Motivated, independent, and successful learners are created through the explicit teaching of meta-cognitive and self-regulatory strategies. We now expect all our students in all years to employ these strategies and acquire scholarly attributes with increasing independence.

Expert Teacher Booklets

Expert Teacher Booklets are internal, live, working documents, which are frequently updated by our Head of Department to outline their vision for the teaching of their subject. These booklets detail the curriculum, conceptual links through the curriculum, approaches to assessment and inclusive teaching. Examples of our Expert Teacher Booklets in English, Maths and History can be found below. These booklets were correct when uploaded in September 2024.

English Expert Teacher Booklet: 2024 - 2025

Maths Expert Teacher Booklet: 2024 - 2025

Science Expert Teacher Booklet: 2024 - 2025

At Key Stage 3 we deliver a traditional three-year curriculum at Beacon because students need to develop broad, rich knowledge and be able to make links between subjects to be successful.

Students are divided into two bands and there are approximately 140 students in each.

All students study English, Maths, Science, Geography, History, Computing, Technology, Music, Art, Drama, PD (Personal Development), and Religion and World Views. Students also study either French or German.

All students have regular PE (Physical Education) lessons developing their skills in several sports, including Dance.

Across all year groups in KS3, the Academy uses sets to appropriately allocate students within groups where they learn amongst peers with similar prior attainment in English, Mathematics, Science, Modern Foreign Languages and Humanities.

We recognise that students will continue to progress throughout their time at Beacon. Consequently, we do not place students on a pathway determined by their prior attainment. All students at Beacon have the same range of KS4 choices.

In Year 9, students make their option choices. During Years 10 and 11 all students continue with a core set of subjects: English Literature and English Language, Maths, Science (most students study a combined Science course leading to two GCSEs, the highest attaining scientists will study a separate Science course leading to three GCSEs) and PE (students study either GCSE PE or Sports Studies). Students also choose History or Geography GCSE and then two GCSEs from French, German, Philosophy (Religion and Ethics), Dance, Drama, Product Design, Computer Science, Music, Art & Design, Art Photography, Engineering, Sociology, Psychology, Food Technology or Health and Social Care. Thus, we offer a breadth of option subjects. Although we encourage all students to take a language, we recognise that students need some autonomy in their choices to be successful.

At KS4 English, Mathematics and Science are taught in sets. Most option subjects are not taught in sets.

The curriculum structure shows the number of lessons per subject.

Revising resources for KS4 examinations are provided for students via their Edulink Noticeboard.

Students following a level 3 course normally select the equivalent of three subjects. This can be made up of three A Level subjects, vocational subjects or a combination of vocational awards and A Levels. In some cases, students may be advised to study four subjects.

Level 3 courses offered from September 2021 are: Applied Science, Art and Design, Art Graphics, Art Photography, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Criminology, Dance, Digital Media, Drama and Theatre Studies, English Literature, French, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Geography, Geology, German, Government and Politics, Health and Social Care, History, Music, Philosophy and Ethics, Physics, Product Design, Psychology, Sociology and Sport.

GCSE retakes in English and Maths are also available for those students who are yet to achieve a grade 4.

Every subject has 5 hours teaching each week. On rare occasions, for smaller classes, we may only allocate 4 hours.

The curriculum at Key Stage 5 is intended to give the opportunity to specialise in specific subjects, or to follow new subjects, to give students more responsibility for the direction of their own learning and to prepare students for success in Higher Education and beyond. For more information about the courses available at sixth form please click here.