Curriculum Overview

The Vision

Our vision is to ensure that all young people, regardless of their background, achieve their best in a safe, secure, caring yet challenging learning environment where all of our students are inspired to respect others.  To develop their talents and to raise their aspirations to leave school with the academic, social and practical skills to lead a successful, happy and responsible life.

Our aim is to provide a broad and balanced curriculum, tailored where necessary to meet the needs of all our students regardless of gender, aptitude, cultural, ethnic or religious background.

Our curriculum:

  • Prepares all students to lead fulfilling lives and gives them the essential knowledge that they need to be educated citizens
  • Values vocational and academic routes equally
  • Nurtures the talents of all and celebrate success
  • Works with partner schools in the primary sector and Post 16 to ease transition
  • Involves the community and parents/carers
  • Is responsive to the current and future needs of students so that they are prepared for further study and the world of work
  • Develops positive personal and social values
  • Provides a variety of extracurricular activities and educational visits to broaden students’ experiences

Intent statement

Stoke High School’s core values of ‘Respect, Inspire, Achieve’ underpin our curriculum. Our ethos is for students of all abilities and backgrounds to feel valued so that they are able to reach their full potential. Our school is a caring and friendly environment which nurtures confidence, kindness and self-esteem whilst challenging students to develop resilience and self-discipline. We encourage our students to be curious of the world in which they live and to question the world around them. We teach them to be respectful of the beliefs, customs and practices of others as we want them to develop into responsible citizens who will play an active role in shaping modern British society.

Our curriculum is broad and balanced and has core knowledge at its heart. There is a clear focus on how literacy and building cognitive skills will help students to be the best that they can be. Our curriculum will build character and will make a positive difference to every young persons’ life chances, opening doors to a brighter future. It is a curriculum which is built upon the needs of our students and the local community.

Curriculum overview

There are five lessons a day.

Stoke High School follows the intent of the national curriculum.

The development of students’ personal and social skills and their spiritual and cultural development are addressed specifically through the PSHE programme, school assemblies and our tutor programme, as well as permeating the whole curriculum, both formal and hidden.

In years 7 and 8 students follow a traditional curriculum consisting of maths, English, science, history, geography, French, ICT, PSHE, RE, drama, music, art and design & technology.

Our curriculum offer in Year 9 broadens so that our students can explore aspects of our traditional curriculum in a new and exciting way which will inspire, motivate and prepare them for their next steps. Students study philosophy and ethics which draws upon their prior knowledge of RE. It allows all students to analyse a range of religious and non-religious world views, whilst also giving the skills to critically evaluate philosophical, theological and ethical debates.

In Years 10 and 11 students follow a core offer of maths, English, science, PE, RE, PSHE and choose options from a range of subjects. All students choose at least one EBacc subject. Our curriculum offer values vocational and academic routes equally and we guide and advise students to study a combination of subjects that will give them the best foundation for their next stage but will not constrain their choice.

Curriculum statement

Our sponsor, Ormiston Academies Trust (OAT), in collaboration with all of its schools, has developed a curriculum statement and a set of principles, to ensure it meets the needs and requirements of all of its teachers and pupils. You can download the OAT curriculum statement below.

OAT Curriculum Statement