About 14-19 | Glossary | Publications | Links | What's new? | Site map

About the case study

The school developed four pathways to meet the needs of the range of its students and is planning to modify its curriculum as it gains specialist mathematics and ICT status.

The school

Priestnall School is a mixed 11-16 comprehensive with 1,250 students on roll, serving part of the northern borough of Stockport. Around 15 per cent of its students have special educational needs without statements. It is a Beacon school offering an INSET/consultancy role for key stage 3 provision, tackling underachievement and raising attainment. In addition, it offers a mentoring partnership with a local secondary school's leadership group.

Summary

Priestnall School emphasises the value of a broad and balanced curriculum in line with statutory requirements at key stage 4. The 11 teaching groups are arranged over four bands, each offering different curriculum opportunities to students. The number of teaching groups in each band can vary according to the ability profile of the year group.

Rationale for the approach to the curriculum

The school wishes to further differentiate and enrich the curriculum by offering opportunities and challenges relevant to students' abilities and interests, and linked to specialist status. It aims to move beyond an inclusion strategy that caters for disaffected students to a broad, flexible and coherent curriculum strategy that meets all student needs. This will be achieved by school-based innovation made possible by initiatives such as Beacon and specialist status, the local Nexus initiative to provide work-based programmes, modern apprenticeships and collaboration with the local sixth-form college.

The objectives for key stage 4 are to:

• provide access to vocational learning for all students
• develop enrichment and extension opportunities for gifted and talented students
• enhance teaching and learning in mathematics and ICT.

Most students achieve certification for core subjects in mathematics, English and English literature, science (double award), RE (GCSE short course or entry level) and ICT (key skill). Life education is a non-examination course including career education and guidance, sex and relationship education, community involvement, financial management, consumer rights and study skills.

One band of able students has one lesson fewer for each of English, mathematics, science and modern foreign languages. This provides time for an additional (third) option and allows students to take:

• an extra GCSE, for example students study three sciences or two languages
• a different subject, for example photography, sociology, media studies, business and communication systems (the latter leading to GCSE and to RSA qualifications)
• GCSE ICT at the end of year 10 and AS level ICT in year 11 (over two option blocks).

Students in one band have modern foreign languages disapplied to consolidate their learning across other subjects and receive extra support with literacy, numeracy and science. In addition, some of these students spend one day per week on vocational courses through a link with North Area College, where they take a vocational course leading to an entry-level certificate in skills for working life.

This band, comprising three teaching groups, is timetabled discretely. The other eight groups can be timetabled together within option blocks. Students across all bands have access to GCSE (double award) across two option boxes.

Key stage 4 curriculum structure for 2002/4

View key stage 4 curriculum diagram

Student response

From the students' point of view:

• those taking the extra option emphasise the opportunity for personal challenge and creativity
• those taking vocational qualifications point to gains in self-confidence, enjoyment of practical work and the opportunity for independent research and learning. (they see their vocational qualifications as a progression route to continuing vocational study at college)
• those on the skills for working life course appreciate the 'hands on' aspects and working with adult clients in service industries, they benefit from improved self-esteem as a result of their experience as students at college.

Future development

Much of the future development is linked to the school's aspiration to become a specialist school for mathematics and computing:

• all students will have access to GCSE (double award) in applied ICT or engineering and to cross-curricular ICT
• all students will have to choose an ICT-based option from AS level ICT, GCSE business studies GCSE ICT, GCSE applied ICT, GCSE business and communication systems, these will appear in different parts of the key stage 4 options array, for example within the design and technology block
• gifted and talented students will be able to take AS level ICT or mathematics
• some mathematics sets will be able to take GCSE statistics and others will receive additional numeracy support, depending on need
• students on the work-related programme will have access to appropriate work-based ICT and will have an extra ICT lesson. All other students will have an additional mathematics lesson each week.

Also see

> Curriculum planning

curriculum: 11-16 schools | 6th form schools | colleges
qualifications | the exams process | developments | higher education | home
help | contact us | search

Page updated: Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Terms and conditions
AccessKey enabled