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SCHOOL CURRICULUM

Whole School Curriculum

Culcheth High School’s curriculum aims to reflect, embed and develop our school’s purpose and values. Our school’s purpose, through our curriculum, is to inspire students to achieve and guide them to be confident, articulate and skilled citizens to enable them to thrive in a diverse British and global community. Throughout their time at Culcheth High School, we want everyone to work in a caring school where everyone is valued and everyone values relationships.  Our emotionally intelligent school community will celebrate individual differences and people will understand how their actions will impact upon, and be perceived by, those they affect; We expect all members of our school community to be the best they can be and help others to be the best that they can be by valuing: Respect, Honesty and Excellence.

Wholeschool Curriculum
Whole school Curriculum

 Our curriculum rationale is:

1. The Culcheth High School curriculum model provides quality, breadth, depth and reach that enables all students to achieve and progress further. The curriculum reflects the school’s integrity and is designed to meet the needs and aspirations of all students, regardless of ability and school performance measures.

2. Students enjoy a highly personalised curriculum that provides them with learning experiences, opportunities and qualifications that will serve them for the rest of their lives.

3. The curriculum allows for greater challenge in Years 7 and 8. Coupled with the Year 5 - Year 8 transition work completed with local primary schools, we have ensured that students do not waste time repeating material that had already been covered at Key Stage 2.

4. Culcheth High School has developed a Key Stage 4 curriculum that has allowed us to increase our academic offer including a wider access to triple science, another language and greater access to the arts subjects and subjects not previously studied at Key Stage 3. This includes Business Studies and Media Studies. Over 75% of our key stage 4 students study at least one of the arts subjects.

5. Departments have reviewed both their Key Stage 3 schemes of work and pedagogical approaches to further improve teaching and learning. These curriculum maps and national curriculum references can be found on the school website.

6. Our most vulnerable students are given additional English and Maths curriculum time whilst at the same time they are able to follow appropriate GCSE programmes of study. These students will still have access to all subjects (including an EBACC qualification) but will still receive the required support in English and Maths. This is through the catch-up programme at Key Stage 3 and more curriculum time at Key Stage 4 in English and Maths.

7. The curriculum model allows Culcheth High School to provide a broad and balanced curriculum for our students and it allows for further work-related learning, enrichment and field activities at Key Stage 4. Subject staff and departments can also study particular topic areas in greater depth.

8. To further enhance the broad and balanced curriculum, Culcheth High School delivers a ‘Learning Curriculum’ in Ready to Learn sessions. This programme has been relaunched and now offers a progressive curriculum on Cognitive Science across the five years. Overall, the aim of the ‘Learning Curriculum’ is to support staff to increase their understanding of Cognitive Science and the processes of learning and memory and expose students to explicit instruction about these processes.

9. Whilst we strongly recommend that our students follow an ‘EBACC’ suite of subjects, we do not insist on it for all of our students. However all students, regardless of ability, are able to opt in to an EBACC pathway.

10. As a local authority school, we ensure that we continue to implement the National Curriculum. Consequently, through timetabled Personal Development lessons and planned tutor period activities, we ensure that:
a) All students are able to study a subject in each of the four non-compulsory national curriculum areas; the arts, design technology, humanities and modern foreign languages.
b) We promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of students and society.
c) We prepare students for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.
d) We make provision for personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE)
e) CEIAG.

11. Implementation of the compulsory Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) for secondary pupils. This was introduced in September 2020 and provision is continually reviewed.

Full details of KS4 subjects can be seen at:

Subjects Followed by Students at Key Stage 3

  • English
  • Maths
  • Science
  • Art
  • Computer Science
  • Design and Technology
  • Drama
  • French
  • Geography
  • History
  • Music
  • PE
  • Personal Development
  • RE
  • Spanish
  • Students will also have access to Media Studies and Business Studies in Year 9

At Key Stage 4 the Core Curriculum Consists of (examining body in brackets):

  • English/English Literature (Eduqas)
  • Mathematics (Edexcel)
  • Science – either Separate Science (biology, Chemistry, Physics)/Core Additional Science or BTEC Applied Science (AQA)
  • Personal Development (non-examined)
  • Physical Education (OCR)

Students can also choose from the Following Option Subjects:

  • Art (AQA)
  • Art Textiles (AQA)
  • ASDAN
  • Business Studies (Edexcel)
  • Cambridge National IT (OCR)
  • Computer Science
  • Design & Technology (AQA)
  • Drama (Edexcel)
  • Engineering (OCR)
  • Food Preparation & Nutrition (Eduqas)
  • French (Edexcel)
  • Geography (AQA)
  • History (Edexcel)
  • Hospitality and Catering (Eduqas)
  • Media Studies (AQA)
  • Music (Edexcel)
  • P.E. (OCR)
  • Religious Studies (Edexcel)
  • Spanish (Edexcel)

For further information about the curriculum, please contact Mr. M Lamble, Deputy Headteacher: 01925 767587

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