CURRICULUM OVERVIEW

Formby High School offers a diverse and inspiring curriculum for students across all year groups. We aim to prepare our students for exciting and productive futures in an expanding global society by providing a curriculum which balances academic rigour and knowledge acquisition with creative and enterprising opportunities. Classroom learning is further enhanced by cross-curricular enrichment activities, educational visits and work with visiting practitioners. Students are encouraged to develop independent learning and thinking skills, and follow curriculum pathways that suit their ability, interests and ambition, and ensure they are ready for life beyond school.  The overall intent of the Formby High School curriculum is captured in the infographic below

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The three documents below will allow you to discover more about Formby High School’s curriculum and how it supports the needs and captures the interests of all students.

Curriculum Statement – this outlines the school’s curriculum intent, providing an overview of the purpose of our curriculum, the most important features of the curriculum and how it is delivered in practice.

Curriculum Policy – this provides more detailed information about students’ experience of the curriculum at each Key Stage, including the subjects students study, the Key Stage 3 ‘Discovery Year’, options choices and our Reaching High curriculum provision for some of our students with more complex SEND.

Curriculum Model – this provides a colourful graphic representation of the organisation of the curriculum in each year, demonstrating how the 49 periods per fortnight are allocated to each subject area.

Please click on any of the images below to access the full documents:

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The FHS Curriculum Journey

During their five or seven years at Formby High School, all students will embark on an exciting and engaging curriculum journey from Key Stage 3 to Key Stage 4 and, for those students who remain with us for their Sixth Form study, through to Key Stage 5.  At different points on this journey, students have the opportunity to make choices about some of the subjects they study, enabling them to experiment, providing depth and breadth of learning, and pursue subjects of particular interest.

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KEY STAGE 3

The Key Stage 3 curriculum is taught to students in Years 7, 8 and 9 and they cover the breadth of the National Curriculum in all subjects, following a broad curriculum that prioritises developing the necessary knowledge, skills and understanding to provide the necessary foundations for success at GCSE and life beyond school.

Key Stage 3 provides opportunities for all students to engage, learn well and progress.  Children are taught subject content that is stimulating and challenging, allowing them to accumulate a rich body of essential knowledge.  Children build on the work completed at primary school, whilst enhancing and refining essential skills and knowledge.  Teaching establishes a word-rich culture, promoting vocabulary development, high levels of literacy and an interest in reading.  Students are also encouraged to explore the big picture around the topics they study, making connections within and between subjects and to the wider world, demonstrating a real spirit for enquiry and ‘cultural capital’.

During Key Stage 3, students follow the National Curriculum.  In keeping with the school’s emphasis on creative arts, further breadth is added to the curriculum offer through the delivery of discrete Drama lessons in Years 7, 8 and 9 (with the Drama curriculum being aligned to the curriculum taught in English) and the opportunity to learn Dance through the Physical Education curriculum across Years 7, 8 and 9.  In Modern Languages lessons, students learn Spanish as their main language and are introduced to French through a taster curriculum delivered across all three years.  The full list of subjects that students study at Key Stage 3 is set out in the table below:

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In Years 7, 8 and 9 students follow a two week timetable comprising 50 lessons which is organised as per the following table:

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A small number of students with complex special educational needs follow the more accessible and nurturing Reaching High curriculum which focuses on embedding their knowledge, skills and understanding of important concepts in English and Mathematics, providing them with essential foundations to access other subjects across the curriculum. The Reaching High curriculum is delivered in a small group setting by specialist teachers and teaching assistants, and provides the opportunity to learn essential life, living and employability skills in addition to embedding literacy and numeracy.

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KEY STAGE 4

At Key Stage Four (Years 10 and 11), all students follow a core curriculum of English Language and Literature, Mathematics, Science (including the option to study Biology, Chemistry and Physics as separate GCSE subjects), Religious Studies, RESPECT and Careers. They choose to follow one of our specialist pathways, incorporating GCSEs and vocational qualifications. In addition to the core curriculum, students make GCSE options choices during Year 9 and are currently able to select from the range of courses outlined below. All GCSE examinations are taken at the end of Year 11 with the exception of Religious Studies which is completed in Year 10, providing students with a vital experience in one subject prior to taking the bulk of their GCSE examinations the following year.

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The Key Stage 4 curriculum is organised into pathways, with students being advised as to the most suitable pathway for them to follow. Again, students follow a two week timetable comprising 50 periods with time being distributed between subjects as per the second diagram below.

Click here to find out more about the Options process and to access the Year 9 Options Guide.

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KEY STAGE 5

At Key Stage Five (Years 12 and 13) students have the opportunity to follow one of four pathways. These are outlined in the first image below. Typically, students will follow a three course pathway (A Level, VTQ or a combination of both). Those who have a very high attainment at GCSE and who demonstrate the academic potential and capacity to cope with a more academically demanding curriculum will be able to select four A Level courses and will study all four subjects during Years 12 and 13.

In addition to the academic curriculum, students also follow a planned programme of personal development to support them in preparing for life beyond school and will also participate in our Enrichment Programme which offers a wide range of additional accredited qualifications and practical activities, including Extended Project Qualification, Arts Award Gold, Tomorrow’s Teachers, Level 3 Core Mathematics and more!

• Click here for more information about our Key Stage Five Curriculum

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DISCOVER MORE ABOUT OUR CURRICULUM AREAS

To find out more about individual subjects, please visit the Curriculum Areas section of the website.

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Contact Us

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t:   01704 873100 / 877383

e:   [email protected]

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FORMBY HIGH SCHOOL
Freshfield Road
Formby
Liverpool
L37 3HW

Headteacher: Mr D Mackenzie

twitter: @FormbyHigh

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Key Documents

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• Main School Prospectus
• Sixth Form Prospectus

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If you require hard copies of anything on this website, please address your request to [email protected]