Curriculum Overview

The curriculum at Gable Hall School has high expectations and aspirations for pupils, drives the relentless commitment to continually raise the quality of teaching to support the delivery of an outstanding curriculum.

At Gable Hall we have developed a broad, rich and ambitious curriculum that meets the needs of the local community. The curriculum matches, and in some cases exceeds, what is expected nationally. In Years 7 to 9, pupils study drama and dance in addition to the national curriculum subjects. In Years 10 and 11 choose from a range of academic and vocational courses, including Business and Finance, Dance, Drama, Hospitality and Catering, Health & Social Care, Music Technology and Sport. The PSHE programme, which includes SMSC, RSE, Health Education, Safety and financial wellbeing, Citizenship and Community and Careers, helps to ensure that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain and for the next stages in their education or training. 

Curriculum Intent - The intent of our curriculum is to provide choice, breadth, challenge, success and high aspiration for all students.  It is intended to enable our pupils to grow as individuals and prepare them for further and higher education as well as employment locally and further afield. Our subject leaders have thought carefully about the key knowledge students need to remember in order to be successful in their subject. The curriculum is well sequenced. Staff carefully consider prior learning and have a clear rationale for the topics covered and the order in which they are delivered. This allows students to build on knowledge and make progress year on year. We recognise the need to help students retain key knowledge and teach Work Hard strategies to ensure students can remember key content.

Our Key Stage 3 Offer aims to develop Capable Learners who are ready and able to access the Key Stage 4 curriculum. It also provides appropriate support for pupils who were not secondary ready on arrival from Key Stage 2, to progress in line with their peers. Data from reading age tests is used across the curriculum to monitor progress and intervene, encourage a love of reading.

Capable Learner - A Capable Learner is a student with a solid foundation of core skills and knowledge which will enable them to access and succeed in any subject area at KS4. Typically, students may be held back by their inability to decode, comprehend, apply mathematical reasoning, interpret or visualise. Through regular, systematic exposure to the Golden Threads in every subject area, delivered through Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction, we can embed these core skills to a level of automaticity required to overcome disadvantage and provide every student with the OPPORTUNITY to succeed at KS4 and beyond.

The ‘Golden Threads’ of our Curriculum at KS3 helps us achieve equality, equity and social justice through the explicit teaching of

• Numeracy applied in context
• Literacy, oral fluency and the promotion of reading
• Scientific Enquiry and Creativity
• The Understanding of the world around us, relationships in all contexts and citizenship.

Literacy - We recognise the importance of literacy across the curriculum. Key subject specific vocab is taught to ensure students can access the curriculum. Students are encouraged to answer questions in full sentences using key vocab where appropriate.

Raising aspirations and developing cultural capital is important given our local context. Alongside our taught KS3 curriculum, our outstanding Out of School Hours Learning programme, drop down days and extra-curricular offer help us achieve this

Curriculum Implementation - Our very broad curriculum offers over 22 subjects (KS3 to KS5) and exceeds the basic requirements of the National Curriculum. This is taught in 20 lessons a week of 75 minutes. Pupils are taught in mixed ability groups in Year 7 allowing for equality of opportunity for all pupils. The Pupils needing the most support are taught in our Steps to Success groups. These are groups in which a single highly experienced teacher teaches a small group of 15-20 KS3 students for up to 40% of their timetable in a room enhanced by a computer student ratio of 2:1, with a Learning Support Assistant.

TIMETABLE AND CURRICULUM DESIGN - KS3

At Gable Hall we have a three-year KS3. We believe this is important to ensure students gain a broad education covering a variety of subjects which promotes cultural capital and social mobility.

We have a good balance of subjects as detailed in the table below:

KS4 - At KS4 all students study English, Maths, Science, PE (non- exam) and PSHE and RE. Students must then take one option from the following subjects: French, Geography, History, Computer Science. Students then have three further guided option choices from the wide range of courses that are listed below.  The timetable and option blocks are then constructed around student choices which allows us to have a number of pathways for our students’ ensuring students are on courses that interest them and promote engagement.

OPTION SUBJECTS - GCSE: Triple Science, Art, Computer Science, French, Geography, History, Media Studies, Music Performance, Photography, Physical Education, Product Design, Psychology, Statistics, Textiles. 

Vocational Courses: Business and Finance, Dance, Drama, Hospitality and Catering, Health and Social Care, Music Technology, Sport.

For more information regarding our options click here

KS5 - Students for Key Stage 5 are selected by prior attainment, with the average prerequisite for enrolment being a Grade 5 at GCSE (including English and Maths). We offer KS5 English and Maths resits to students who did not achieve a Grade 4 at GCSE.

The broad KS5 offer (A level English Language and Literature, English Literature, Maths, Further Maths,  Biology, Chemistry, Physics, PE, Sociology, Psychology, History, Criminology, Law, Politics, Art, Textiles Media Studies, Music Technology, Photography, Economics, BTEC Health & Social Care, BTEC Applied Sciences, BTEC Sport, BTEC Business, BTEC Performing Arts- Drama, Football and Netball Academies) is complemented by a well-resourced Programme of Ethics, Transition and Citizenship (ETC), which prepares young people with the diverse experience needed for social accomplishment. Students are also able to combine both academic and vocational courses in some circumstances as this enhances inclusion. This includes a strong Post 16 Student Union.

Curriculum Impact and Outcomes - The impact of our curriculum is

• A culture in which students achieve and thrive
• Outcomes which prepare students well for their next steps
• Gaps in achievement between disadvantaged groups and their peers closing
• An experience which develops accomplished, confident, kind and well-qualified young people.
• Parent and student voices heard and acted upon

Subject Information

For additional information on our curriculum, please email curriculum@gablehall.com