Our curriculum

At Harper Green School, we work hard to continually reflect upon the quality and impact of our curriculum, striving to ensure that it is the most appropriate and impactful offer possible.

We offer a rich and robust three year Key Stage 3 because we believe that our students thrive when they have access to a broad content. At Key Stage 4, there are a number of routes available to our young people, including separate sciences and the English Baccalaureate offer.

We do not insist that any student follows a specific pathway based upon prior attainment; instead, we have a comprehensive CEIAG programme to allow young people and their parents/carers to make their own informed choices.

For more specific information about our curricular offer, please visit the individual subject pages.

The word "curriculum" is derived from the Latin "currere," which translates to "run the course," and we are determined that the course we ask our learners to embark upon prepares them to discover their dreams, achieve their ambitions, and lead the lives that they aspire to lead.

Key Stage 3

Key Stage 3 Curriculum: Years 7-9

From Years 7 to 9, we place a very high value on offering a range of creative and technical courses. We recognise the importance of these subjects in terms of their impact on young people’s lives, and we pride ourselves on maintaining a broad and balanced, three year KS3 curriculum.

Therefore, all students study English, Maths, Science, History, Geography, Religious Education, Spanish, PE and ICT/Computing. In addition, we provide a broad Performing Arts offer for all students that includes Drama, Dance and Music, as well as lessons in Art, Food and Design Technology.

These timetabled lessons are supplemented by an outstanding range of enrichment, crafted to promote social, moral, spiritual and cultural growth, including RSE, PSHE and SMSC, delivered explicitly in tutor time and interwoven throughout curriculum areas.

While you can learn more about subject content on the individual pages, please note that we deliver the National Curriculum as a minimum expectation across all subjects at Key Stage 3. More information can be found here.

In Years 7, 8 and 9, students learn the full range of Core and Foundation subjects. From October half term, we group students according to their attainment in Maths and English tests.

View the full Curriculum Model at Key Stage 3

Key Stage 4

 Key Stage 4 Curriculum: Years 10-11

Our Key Stage 4 offer comprises a broad suite of GCSEs and BTEC options and follows the National Curriculum. 

Our curriculum offer is robust and challenging, and all courses are carefully selected to ensure this remains the case for all students. Early each year, we look at the range of courses on offer to make sure that they:

• Are worthwhile courses in their own right – i.e. they are interesting and rewarding to study;
• Lead to rigorous, high value qualifications that open doors to future opportunities; 
• Meet a range of students’ needs;
• Can be delivered to a high standard by available staff (i.e. we will only offer courses if we are confident that our staff have the appropriate qualifications and experience to teach them to a very high standard). 

 Options Process

Students choose options in Year 9 to start studying in Year 10. They are guided through the choices process via informative assemblies and subject presentations and guidance interviews with staff.

All students can study any subject if they really want to and the aim is always to ensure everybody has a broad and ambitious range of subjects as possible. Students with SENDs or who speak English as an additional language may benefit from a more bespoke choices selection process and will be supported by a member of the inclusion team.

We will liaise with parents and carers throughout the options process.

Subjects Studied at Key Stage 4

 All students will study a set of core options, for which they will sit a GCSE examination at the end of Year 11. The subjects that all students study at GCSE level are:

• English Language
• English Literature
• Mathematics
• Combined Science (worth two GCSEs)
• History or Geography