Year 11 Curriculum 2018/19

The table and diagram above explains what proportion of the curriculum time in Year 11 is allocated to each of the curriculum areas and the teaching hours for a 50-period fortnight (the school operates a 2-week 50 hour timetable).

Year 11 is organised into two equal, parallel halves, y band and z band. This means that the year is split by ability and gender into two equal groups. These two halves are then treated as equal groups. The year half is then the same for all classes in every subject.

The ability of the cohort determines the ability of the groups, so it is not the case that a comparison can be made between groups in different years.

We regularly assess students and will only move student’s groups if it is appropriate to do so. It is however, not appropriate to do this multiple times through the year, so we keep to a schedule of assessment, moderation, discussion and information-sharing and then group changes.

Whilst we endeavour to do everything possible to avoid mistakes, we are human and mistakes can happen. If you think that this is the case for your child, then please contact their Progress Tutor or ultimately their Progress Manager so that we can engage in dialogue to rectify any issues or resolve any queries or misunderstandings. Please remember that grouping is not about parental preference, but about our proven methods of correct placement.

Where students are not making sufficient progress towards the expected standards, we will alter their curriculum provision to support them to make expected progress. This can be on targeted withdrawal from some lessons or classes or extra support in classes. We assess the need for this from internally administered reading age tests and other assessments.

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Students are grouped (broadly in ability order) in English classes using information from the previous year. In Year 10 there are four classes in y band and five classes in z band classes in each year half for English and they are numbered 1-5 and are split to allow smaller class sizes and therefore more dedicated support. Group 1 is at the top of the ability spectrum for set 1. Groups y2 and z2 are of similar ability for set 2. Groups y3, y4 and z3 are of also of similar ability for set 3 and groups z4 and z5 are of comparable ability.

As an example, on a student’s timetable this will appear as 10y/En3. This is Year 10, y half, English, group 3, set 3.

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Students are grouped (broadly in ability order) in Mathematics classes using information from the previous year. In Year 10 there are four classes in y band and five classes in z band classes in each year half for Mathematics and they are numbered 1-5 and are split to allow smaller class sizes and therefore more dedicated support. Group 1 is at the top of the ability spectrum for set 1. Groups y2 and z2 are of similar ability for set 2. Groups y3, y4 and z3 are of also of similar ability for set 3 and groups z4 and z5 are of comparable ability.

As an example, on a student’s timetable this will appear as 10z/Ma2. This is Year 10, z half, Maths, group 2.

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Students are grouped into 10 classes in Science. In Year 10 there are five classes in each year half for Science and they are numbered 1-5. Students studying Triple Science (Option subject) are placed in mixed ability groups within groups y1 and z1. The remaining students are grouped (broadly in ability order) in Science Trilogy classes using information from the previous year.

Groups 2 and 3 are of similar ability for set 1 in Science Trilogy whilst groups 4 and 5 are of comparable ability. Groups for Science Trilogy are split to allow smaller class sizes and therefore more dedicated support.

As an example, on a student’s timetable this will appear as 10z/Sc4. This is Year 10, Science Trilogy, group 4.

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In year 10 students continue to study their language pathway in mixed ability, language specific classes. Students who have chosen to study a second language (Options) will be in two separate language specific classes.

As an example, on a student’s timetable this will appear as 10A/Fr3. This is Year 10, Block A, Languages, French group 3. (Es for Spanish and De for German)

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Classes in Religious Education are organised by their English class, so if your son/daughter is in group Z4 for English, then they will also be in Z4 for Religious Education.

As an example, on a student’s timetable this will appear as 10y/Re1. This is Year 10, y half, Geography, group 1.

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Students are placed in, single-gender mixed ability groups and do a variety of sports throughout the year. There are 4 groups in each year half.

On the student’s timetable this will appear as 10y/Pe2, for example. This is Year 10, y half, Physical Education, group 2.

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Students follow a programme of guest speaker talks, assemblies and lessons that cover all aspects of Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education, British values, Food & Nutrition and careers guidance. There are 10 groups in the year and they are organized by progress (form) groups.

On the student’s timetable this will appear as 10yz/T4, for example. This is Year 10, PSHCE, progress group 4.