Philosophy
Know more, do more, go further
At Frederick Bremer, we want our pupils to ‘be the best they can be’. This guiding principle is at the heart of our curriculum design. Our ethos is to develop the individual with the principles of social justice and to guide them with the core values of respect, responsibility and integrity so that they can be empowered to fulfil their potential.
Ours is a culturally responsive curriculum that honours a clear commitment to excellence whilst providing equal opportunities for all pupils and purposefully navigating any barriers to success. Alongside the timetabled curriculum we have a deep commitment to the education of the whole child through our drop down days that enhance and extend learning and enrichment for every child.
The curriculum is broad and balanced so that pupils are afforded the knowledge and skills to make informed choices and hold their own views beyond the safety of the school gates. The curriculum at Frederick Bremer is carefully designed and considered to ensure that all the fundamental expectations for a quality education and for personal development are delivered and woven into the fabric of the content.
We believe that our pupils need to be able to make meaningful connections across their learning whilst also understanding how their learning relates to the wider world and where this can be applied.
We develop confidence and leadership for all pupils to leave us ready for their next steps.
The intention of our curriculum
What we teach
Our curriculum is taught in key stages; key stage 3 is taught in years 7, 8 and 9 and key stage 4 in years 10 and 11.
Each subject has sequenced their curriculum carefully to build on the national curriculum that is delivered at key stage 2 and to prepare students for the next stage in their educational journey. Year 9 is a unique year where students are supported in their transition from Key Stage 3 to Key Stage 4.
Year 7 and 8 have a core curriculum of English, Maths, Science, Humanities, a Modern Foreign Language, Computing, Physical Education, Design and Technology and the creative arts disciplines of Art, Drama and Music. Our Humanities curriculum includes History, Geography, Religious Education, Citizenship and PSHE.
| English | English | English | English (Reading) | Computing |
| Maths | Maths | Maths | Maths | Design & Technology |
| Science | Science | Science | Science | Art |
| Humanities | Humanities | Humanities | Humanities | Music |
| Modern Foreign Language | Modern Foreign Language | PE | PE | Drama |
Year 9 has a core curriculum of English, Maths, Science, History, Geography, a Modern Foreign Language and Physical Education. In addition, children study Sociology, Citizenship, Religious Education and PSHE through their ‘Social Legal Studies’ curriculum. Design and Technology, Computing and Creative Arts are also delivered to all through the ‘Creative and Digital Arts and Technologies’ curriculum and enhanced in the extended curriculum.
| English | English | English | English (Reading) | Drama |
| Maths | Maths | Maths | Maths | Social Legal Studies |
| Science | Science | Science | Science | Social Legal Studies |
| History | History | Geography | Geography | Creative and Digital Arts and Technologies |
| Modern Foreign Language | Modern Foreign Language | PE | PE | Creative and Digital Arts and Technologies |
Year 10 and 11 have a core curriculum of English, Maths, Science and Core PE. This represents 5 GCSE qualifications at the end of Year 11. They choose 4 other qualifications through the preferences process in Year 9. In Year 10 and 11 some of the following options are taught (there is some variation every year to accommodate pupil subject preferences):
- History
- Geography
- Triple Science
- Religious Studies
- Art
- Music
- Music Tech
- Drama
- Computer Science
- ICT Btec
- French
- Spanish
- German
- Physical Education
- Construction
- Food Technology
- Psychology
- Btec Retail Business
- Btec Sport
- Hospitality and Catering
- Travel and Tourism
- Sociology
- Citizenship
Some pupils study for an additional community language GCSE qualification.
Access for all
At Frederick Bremer we plan purposefully to include every child in the full curriculum offer. The curriculum at Key Stage 3 and the core curriculum at Key Stage 4 is an entitlement for every child.
For every child to access the full curriculum we prioritise:
- Teaching reading to all and providing support to ensure that children can read well in order to get the most from their secondary school curriculum
- Knowledge of every child’s strengths and needs. Every professional at Frederick Bremer has a responsibility to know what support will make the biggest difference for each child and to work hard to implement this
- Challenge for all. Staff work to ensure that the core knowledge required to access the curriculum is known and prioritised in the classroom to make sure that every child can make progress. More challenging knowledge and skills are also known and understood so that teachers can craft lessons that allow stretch for every child.
- Personalised and bespoke support where it is needed. Our Additional Needs Department prioritises strong partnerships with families and professionals to tailor our approach where it is needed. This then informs high quality information shared with staff to give children the best possible chance of success in every classroom.
How do we meet the National Curriculum?
All aspects of the National Curriculum are fully covered in our taught curriculum, either through timetabled weekly subject lessons, our ‘wellbeing curriculum’, taught through our daily pastoral curriculum or through our Drop Down Days that are scheduled each half term.
Relationships, Health and Sex Education is covered in the Humanities, Science, Computing, Social Legal Studies, Wellbeing and Drop Down Day curriculums. In Years 7 & 8 students study RSHE in CPSHE in Humanities and in Wellbeing in form time. In KS4 students study RSHE in Wellbeing. A small amount of the curriculum for KS3 and KS4 for RSHE is covered in Drop Down Days.
Citizenship is covered in our CPSHE curriculum in Humanities at KS3. We offer Citizenship GCSE at KS4. The teaching of citizenship studies is also taught through the SMSC Assembly and tutor time curriculum.
Religious Education is covered in the Ethics and Social-Legal Studies curriculum in Humanities at KS3. Religious Education is also covered in Drop Down Days and the SMSC Assembly and tutor time curriculum.
If you are interested in what you can do beyond the curriculum, to support your child’s academic progress in class, click on the link.