Curriculum

An education at Norton College equips all students with the knowledge, skills, values and talents needed to be successful in later life. The content, structure and coherence of the taught and untaught curriculum play a crucial role in enabling us to realise this ambitious aim for all, regardless of background. Our extracurricular provision is central to this and we offer a range of clubs, events and societies which are very well attended by students in all year groups. Underpinning our taught curriculum offer is high quality teaching and learning, coupled with opportunity and challenge for all. Throughout, our curriculum has been designed with the Careers Education and Information Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) programme at its heart, enabling a broad range of progression routes to meet the needs of all of our students.

An assessment framework has been embedded within and through our curriculum design so that students and their parents and carers can reflect on learning and progress as well as what needs to be done to improve further. In addition, this enables teachers and the wider staff to secure the highest standards of teaching and learning as well as students’ attainment and personal development. This supports students to become global citizens with awareness and understanding of society and the knowledge, skills and values needed to engage with the world within which they live.

Approaches to Personalised Learning

Our curriculum has been designed and structured to ensure that all students are able to secure excellent progress regardless of background or ability. In doing so, the curriculum provides a range of personalised and tailored curricular pathways through which students can progress. This flexibility means that students with special educational needs and disabilities can be supported to access the curriculum as far as is practicable. This enables us to ensure that our curriculum offer meets the needs of all our students whilst maintaining an efficient and effective deployment of the resources that we have available to us.

In addition, within class strategies are closely aligned to our whole-school priorities to secure high quality provision for able and talented students. Our teachers work together closely, within and across departments, to identify and provide opportunities for:

• Promoting challenge within their subject.
• Differentiated teaching and learning and exposure to materials and artefacts relating to higher, later or advanced levels of study.
• All students to express strengths and talents within and across subject and discipline areas.

Since 2020, teaching staff have started to use Microsoft Teams to provide learning material that complements and extends within class learning. In many cases, these materials are focussed to develop students’ capacity to work independently.

Throughout the curriculum we place emphasis on developing literacy and numeracy and our core ASPIRE values of Achievement, Self-belief, Pride, Independence, Respect and Engagement.  This holistic approach to curriculum design enables us to maximise the life chances of all our students.

Curriculum Provision

Our curriculum has been designed and organised so that all students have access to an ambitious curriculum offering both breadth and balance. In doing so, we can ensure that students:

• Have access to opportunities that promote personal development and meet individual needs.
• Experience a sense of enjoyment, purpose and fulfilment within and across lessons and learning experiences and within the materials that they encounter.
• Are familiar and have an affinity with environments which nurture and embrace tolerance and respect as well as the ASPIRE values of Achievement, Self-belief, Pride, Independence, Respect and Engagement.
• Feel part of a supportive yet challenging community which offers equal opportunity whilst recognising potential and partnership.
• Have access to academic and career as well as personal, social and emotional development so that our approach to education develops the whole child.
• Become actively involved in the assessment and review of their work to provide ownership of learning, attainment and progress.
• Understand the function and role of the economy and society and their placement as a citizen in local, national and international contexts.

Curriculum Structure

In Key Stage 3 (Years 7, 8 and 9), the formal taught curriculum consists of the following subjects:
English; Maths; Science; Physical Education (PE); History; Geography; Religious Education (RE); French; Art and Design; Drama; Computing; Music; Technology (Food, Textiles & Design Technology); Personal Development. 

In Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11), the formal taught core curriculum consists of the following subjects:
English; Maths; Science; Physical Education (PE); Religious Education (RE); Personal Development. In addition, students are offered a choice of Level 1 and 2 courses covering a breadth of subject areas and a range of qualifications, including but not limited to: GCSEs; Cambridge Nationals; BTECs. For more information about these options please view the annually updated Key Stage 4 options booklet.   

In Key Stage 5 (Years 12 and 13), students can choose 3 options from a wide range of A level and Level 3 courses. For more information about these options please view the annually updated Sixth Form prospectus.

Further Information

Throughout the school we operate a robust and rigorous monitoring and evaluation system. This reaches into all subjects and departmental areas whilst covering the range of Key Stages. This enables us to monitor and evaluate the quality and effectiveness of our curriculum and review areas requiring development. For further information about our curriculum, please contact Mr S Stones, Assistant Headteacher (Curriculum and Assessment). Alternatively, you can find more information and guidance on each of our subject areas page.