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Our Curriculum Approach
Our curriculum, like everything at Great Yarmouth Charter, is guided by the virtues of prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude. We believe that every young person is capable of achieving something great.
Our curriculum and the way that we deliver it, is designed to support the motto at Charter - 'Sapientia Potentia Est' - wisdom is power.
By providing a rigorous, academic curriculum that is rich in carefully sequenced knowledge, our goal is to enable pupils to take their place in the community of educated citizens. Respect is embodied in our curriculum through the high value we place on subjects and our teachers as experts in their subject areas.
We want our pupils to have access to the best that has been thought and said, and with this in mind our teachers think carefully about what to teach and how best to teach it. We want pupils’ future options to be wide, so we do not narrow the curriculum. Instead, we ensure pupils are exposed to a wide body of knowledge through our Key Stage 3 curriculum over years 7, 8 and 9.
We think carefully about those pupils whose formal study of a subject will come to an end in Year 9, and prioritise the knowledge that creates well-rounded, well-educated individuals.
Our teachers use their expertise and that of their teams and support of the education team at Inspiration Trust to deliver an evidence informed approach to planning and teaching. We carefully sequence and plan our lessons and work hard to ensure our curriculum is coherent.
Our teachers use formative assessment as a means to improve pupils' understanding, not just to measure it.
High expectations are evident through the rigorous academic focus of our curriculum. We offer a broad coverage of academic subjects, which ensures all pupils are prepared for GCSE and life afterwards, including sixth form study and a great university for those who wish to pursue such a goal.
We believe that learning built over time enables pupils to learn new knowledge that is efficient and sustainable.
We deliver a broad and balanced curriculum. Our extended school day allows us to ensure that all pupils have access to a curriculum that equips them to keep safe,and to know about the options options available to them to enjoy healthy lifestyles, relationships, experience of the world of work and play a full part in society by learning what it means to be a British citizen. In key stage 4, additional time is given to master the basics and progress well in a range of EBacc subjects.
Curriculum plans
Our curriculum plans establish a model of progression in each subject, and teachers think about how to test and for understanding through incisive questioning, retrieval practice and live marking, either within the classroom or online through virtual learning platforms. This means our pupils make good progress through our curriculum and are well prepared for their next level of study.
Great Yarmouth Charter Academy has a one-week timetable which runs for 28 hours. This is made up of two days of five one-hour lessons and three days of six one-hour lessons. Pupils are taught mirror banded sets throughout Key Stage 3, before starting Key Stage 4 in Year 10. They choose four level 2 qualifications, which they study for 2 years. English, maths and science are set by ability at Key Stage 4, while most options are mixed ability groups.
To find out more about our curriculum, please contact us.
Read our curriculum policy for more information
We're part of the Inspiration Trust and share their knowledge rich curriculum. We make sure our curriculum is inclusive and accessible for all of our students. Read our principles to find out more about how we achieve this.
View our curriculum plans:
Key Stage 3 Curriculum Plan
At Key Stage 3 all pupils study the following lessons in years 7 - 9:
- Maths
- English
- Science
- French
- Physical education
- Religious education
- History
- Geography
- Art
- Music
- Technology
Our curriculum offers a broad and balanced education.
Key Stage 3 Curriculum Plan
(Years 7, 8 and 9)
CORE SUBJECTS |
Technology |
RE & RSE |
French |
History |
Geography |
Art |
Music |
PE |
|||
English |
Maths |
Science |
|||||||||
Year 7 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
Year 8 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
Year 9 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
Key Stage 4 Curriculum Plan
In Key Stage 4, all pupils continue to study a broad and balanced academic curriculum through to GCSE, and are able to opt in to additional subjects.
All pupils study the subjects below, plus an additional three subjects:
- Maths
- English literature
- English language
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Physical education
- History, Geography or French
Key Stage 4 Curriculum Plan
(Years 10 and 11)
English |
Maths |
Science |
Option W |
Option X |
Option Y |
Option Z |
|
GCSE |
5 |
5 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
Key Stage 4 Options
Key Stage 4 (Year 10 and Year 11) option subjects
Option |
Subjects – YEAR 10 |
W |
French, History, Geography, |
X |
History, Art, RE, Photography, Child Development, Sport BTEC |
Y |
Geography, Art, RE, Child Development, Sport BTEC, Drama |
Z |
Geography, Photography, BTEC Sport, Child Development, Drama, RE, Music |
Key Stage 4 (Year 11) option subjects
Option |
Subjects – YEAR 11 |
W |
French, History, Geography, |
X |
French, Art, BTEC Sport, Child Development, Drama, RE, BTEC Music |
Y |
History, Art, BTEC Sport, Child Development, Drama, RE, |
Z |
Geography, Art, Photography, BTEC Sport, Child Development, Drama, RE, |
Curriculum and Qualifications List 2020/2021
Board |
Name of qualification |
QRN code |
English |
||
AQA |
ENGLISH LANGUAGE GCSE (9-1) |
601/4292/3 |
AQA |
ENGLISH LITERATURE GCSE (9-1) |
601/4447/6 |
Maths |
||
AQA |
MATHS GCSE (9-1) |
601/4608/4 |
AQA | FUNCTIONAL SKILLS - MATHS |
Level 1 603/4257/2 Level 2 603/4258/4 |
Science |
||
AQA |
COMBINED SCIENCE: TRILOGY GCSE (9-1) |
601/8758/X |
AQA |
BIOLOGY GCSE (9-1) |
601/8752/9 |
AQA |
CHEMISTRY GCSE (9-1) |
601/8757/8 |
AQA |
PHYSICS GCSE GCSE (9-1) |
601/8751/7 |
Languages |
||
AQA |
FRENCH GCSE (9-1) |
601/8157/6 |
EDEXCEL | PORTUGUESE GCSE (9-1) | 603/2482/X |
Geography |
||
EDEXCEL |
GEOGRAPHY A GCSE (9-1) |
601/8134/5 |
History |
||
EDEXCEL |
HISTORY GCSE (9-1) |
601/8092/4 |
RE |
||
AQA |
RELIGIOUS STUDIES A GCSE (9-1) |
601/8400/0 |
Art |
||
EDEXCEL |
ART & DESIGN -FINE ART GCSE (9-1) |
601/8069/9 |
EDEXCEL |
PHOTOGRAPHY (9-1) |
601/8069/9 |
Performing Arts |
||
EDEXCEL |
BTEC L1/L2 FIRST AWARD IN MUSIC (Yr 11 Only) |
600/6818/8 |
EDEXCEL |
BTEC L1/L2 TECH AWARD IN PERFORMING ARTS |
603/0406/6 |
PE |
||
EDEXCEL |
BTEC L1/L2 FIRST AWARD IN SPORT |
600/4779/3 |
Vocational |
||
OCR |
CAMBRIDGE NATIONAL L1/L2 IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT |
601/7537/0 |
Being delivered to Year 10, but not being assessed until Year 11 (as above plus the following) |
||
Technology |
||
EDUQAS | FOOD PREP AND NUTRITION | 601/8093/6 |
EDUQAS | PRODUCT DESIGN | 603/1121/6 |
EDUQAS | MEDIA STUDIES | 603/1115/0 |
Maths |
||
EDEXCEL | MATHS STATISTICS GCSE (9-1) | 603/1084/4 |
AQA | L2 CERTIFICATE IN MATHEMATICS | 603/3104/5 |