Curriculum

The pattern of the lower school curriculum is set out below.

The curriculum is subject to annual review.

Subject	Periods for each subject
	YEAR 7	YEAR 8	YEAR 9
English	4	4	4
Mathematics	5	5	5
Biology	2	2	2
Chemistry	2	2	2
Physics	2	2	2
Foreign Language 1*	4	3	3
Foreign Language 2*	1	3	3
Geography	3	2	2
History	3	2	2
Religious Studies	2	2	2
Art	2	2	2
Design Technology	2	2	2
ICT	2	2	2
Music	2	2	2
Drama	1	1	1
Physical Education**	2	3	3
PSHE	1	1	1
Total	40	40	40

* In year 7 all pupils study 4 periods of French and 1 period of Latin. For year 8 and 9 they choose to study 2 from French, German, Latin and Spanish.

** Year 7 boys start their PE afternoon towards the end of lunchtime, giving close to the equivalent of 3 periods.

GCSE curriculum (years 10-11)

GCSE prospectus 2010

GCSE options form 2010

Compulsory subjects

• All pupils take GCSEs in English, English Literature and Mathematics.
• All pupils study Biology, Chemistry and Physics: they can choose whether to take the Science/Additional Science route which results in 2 science GCSEs, or to a full GCSE in each of the 3 sciences separately.
• All pupils take a short course GCSE in ICT.
• All pupils study a foreign language to GCSE; French, German, Latin or Spanish. They may choose to study a further language as one of their optional subjects.
• Pupils also take a course in Life Skills and Physical Education, but these are not examined.

Optional subjects

In addition to the above pupils choose a further 2 or 3 subject (depending on their science option) to a total of 9.5 GCSEs. The optional subjects available are currently:

• Art
• Business Studies
• Classical Civilisation
• Design Technology
• Drama
• Geography
• History
• Music
• Religious Studies

The curriculum is subject to annual review. The school reserves the right not to run a subject if insufficient numbers opt for the subject.