Our Catholic ethos requires and inspires us to seek to develop our young people to be of service to God, one another and wider society. To achieve this requires:
- A curriculum that stretches, challenges and inspires.
- A wider curriculum that does not simply focus on academia but stretches beyond the confines of the traditional classroom.
- Core values that seek to promote dignity and justice for each individual and inspires each student to embody the Gospel values.
We want our students to:
- Deepen their relationship with God
- Love learning
- Achieve their academic potential
- Have a wide range of experiences both in and out of the classroom
- Grow into happy, confident, resilient and articulate young people
- Leave SJB equipped to lead fulfilling lives and make a positive contribution to society
Our Curriculum:
- Is underpinned by our motto “Have Faith…Believe you can!” and supports the students in growing their faith: in God; in themselves; and in each other.
- Raises students’ aspirations, challenges and equips them with the knowledge and skills to flourish in their future careers.
- Is inclusive, well designed and coherently sequenced in order to establish a strong foundation for all students.
- Is rich, inspiring and as broad as possible.
- Provides students with opportunities to take the curriculum beyond the classroom to develop independence, creativity and a love of learning.
- Offers a wide range of opportunities for students to take ownership of and personalise their curriculum in order to develop existing talents and interests as well as discover new ones.
- Fosters the development of character, communication skills, health and wellbeing in order to thrive beyond SJB.
Delivery of our curriculum:
- Embraces the concepts of ‘teaching for mastery’ and ‘quality first teaching’.
- Focuses on building both knowledge and skills over time.
- Engenders high expectations of all students.
- Strives to build students’ resilience, confidence and self-belief.
- Is delivered by subject experts and underpinned by evidence-based practice.
- Actively encourages making mistakes as part of learning.
- Uses assessment to help students embed and use knowledge fluently, check understanding and inform teaching.
- Ensures feedback is regular and concise so that students know their strengths, next steps and are given opportunities to address them.
- Utilises the latest technology to support learning and ensure all students develop their digital literacy.
- Develops students’ literacy skills.
Please click below to see what we offer at each Key Stage.
Key Stage 3 Curriculum
Students in Years 7, 8 and 9 study the following subjects:
- English
- Mathematics
- Science
- Religious Education
- Art
- Computer Science
- Drama
- Design Technology
- Food
- Geography
- History
- Music
- Physical Education
- PSHE
- a Modern Foreign Language: French, Italian or Spanish (in Year 7 they study a carousel before choosing which one to continue into Year 8)
Key Stage 4 Curriculum
Students have to take the following subjects:
- GCSE English Language
- GCSE English Literature
- GCSE Mathematics
- GCSE Science (Combined or Triple)
- GCSE Religious Education
- A Modern Language (GCSE French, Italian or Spanish)
- A Humanity (GCSE Geography or History)
- PSHE (Personal and Social Education)
- Core PE
Students then choose two of the following options:
- GCSE Art and Design
- GCSE Business Studies
- GCSE Resistant Materials
- GCSE Graphics
- GCSE Food
- GCSE Drama
- GCSE Geography (if not chosen as humanity)
- GCSE History (if not chosen as humanity)
- GCSE Computer Science
- GCSE Music
- GCSE Physical Education
- BTEC Business Enterprise
- BTEC Creative Digital Media
In a small number of cases, where we feel a student would benefit significantly from additional English, Maths and Science support are invited to study ‘pathway 2’ which involves them being withdrawn from studying a modern foreign language and/or a humanity. The offer within pathway 2 varies depending on the needs of the cohort but it will always include additional English and Maths support delivered by subject specialists. In addition, there is a small cohort who are invited to study an NCFE qualification in travel & tourism instead of the humanity. A small number of students will be invited to undertake their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award in place of one of their GCSE/BTEC options.
Please follow this link for further details about the subjects on offer throughout Year 10 and 11
Post 16 Curriculum
All students in the Sixth Form will study a minimum of three Level 3 qualifications (there is an option for some students to study 4) alongside an enrichment programme consisting of PSHE, spiritual development and key skills. As part of the key skills programme, all students have the option of completing an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). We offer a wide variety of A Level and Level 3 BTEC courses. For details of all the qualifications that we offer in the Sixth Form please follow this link.
A Level’s on offer in our Sixth Form include:
- English Language
- English Literature
- Mathematics
- Further Mathematics
- Physics
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Geography
- History
- Politics
- Philosophy & Ethics
- Fine Art
- Photography
- Graphic Communication
- Product Design
- Music
- Theatre Studies
- Media Studies
- Film Studies
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Business Studies
- Economics
- French
- Spanish
- Italian
Level 3 BTEC’s on offer in our Sixth Form include:
- Business Studies
- Creative Digital Medias
- Sport Studies
- Applied Science
- Travel & Tourism
Please refer to the Sixth Form curriculum section for details of all the qualifications that we offer in the Sixth Form.
Making the curriculum accessible for those with SEND
For further details about the support provided for students with disabilities or special educational needs, please refer to the information pages in the Learning Support section of our website.
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You can also find more information about the structure of our curriculum in our Curriculum Policy or by contacting Anna Dwyer (Deputy Head) via email a.dwyer@sjb.surrey.sch.uk