Curriculum
Curriculum Overview
At The Cottesloe School, the focus of ‘Prepare, Aspire, Succeed’ is to support all our students through their ‘Cottesloe Journey’, combining learning about and from, the world in which we live. The journey does not expect each student to follow the same path but empowers them to develop aspirations to become an excellent version of themselves, whatever their ability or background. Students gain a sense of fulfilment and success through educational and personal achievement; they achieve their best through the opportunities we offer, as preparation to becoming informed, well-educated, active citizens.
To achieve this, The Cottesloe School has a progressive, deep and knowledge-rich curriculum that is well-planned, sequenced and imaginative, encompassing the widest range of disciplines; Arts, Sciences, Humanities, Technologies, Maths, Literacy, Languages and Sports. With clear milestones and high expectations for all students, our curriculum allows character to develop. This is promoted through healthy relationships and the 6Cs; inspiring curiosity and developing independent thinking. These skills help create well-rounded, resilient, confident young people.
Our curriculum evokes a sense of curiosity and encourages questioning which deepens students’ understanding. Challenging goals are set to enable our students to become increasingly independent young people who achieve their potential. Our curriculum is a combination of the past, present and future – a blend of historical and contemporary knowledge as well as a skill set for today and tomorrow. It offers a range of experiences for students of all abilities and backgrounds so they can make positive contributions to their families and community.
Our curriculum is inclusive and educates the whole child through supporting what it means to be human: artistic ability and appreciation; questioning the world around us; sporting talents; having skills in new technologies; being happy, healthy and confident; and having a strong sense of personal responsibility. Students are enabled to confidently take their next steps in learning and life.
The Cottesloe School Curriculum Statement in full (PDF)
Curriculum Implementation - What is studied
At The Cottesloe School, we have a two-week, fifty-period timetable of one-hour lessons for all year groups. A student's Week 1 timetable is likely to be slightly different to their Week 2 timetable.
In both KS3 and KS4, we place students in ability-based sets in the core subjects of English, Maths and Science so that learning can be effectively tailored. This setting is flexible and reviewed regularly to ensure students are most appropriately placed.
KEY STAGE 3 - YEARS 7 TO 9
We are required to follow the National Curriculum at Key Stage 3.
YEAR 7 AND YEAR 8
Across a fortnight, all students in Years 7 and 8 study.
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Art and Design Technology is taught through a carousel. Students will have the opportunity to participate in intense, thematic learning within art and design, hospitality and catering and product design, experiencing each subject across an academic year in rotation.
YEAR 9
The curriculum is largely similar to that of Years 7 and 8, however, students study three choice subjects, chosen from a suite of Creativity and Enrichment subjects, in readiness to make KS4 Options in the Spring term of Year 9.
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KEY STAGE 4 – YEARS 10 AND 11
At The Cottesloe School, we have a two-year Key Stage 4, running from Year 10 to Year 11.
Most students follow a core provision of:
- English (nearly all students study both English Literature and Language)
- Maths
- Science (Combined Science or Triple Science)
- Humanities – either Geography or History
- Languages – either French or German (or home language for bilingual students)
- PE (non-examined)
- Personal, Social, Citizenship and Health Education (non-examined)
Our curriculum caters for individual needs at all levels; we are proud of our flexibility. Some students benefit from additional Maths and English support and more able students can opt for, for example, two humanities subjects and a language if there is a demand. Some students also take GCSE Statistics.
The majority of our students follow a curriculum closely aligned to the English Baccalaureate; History or Geography, French or German (whichever language they have been studying at KS3) as well as English, Maths and Science.
There are also a wide variety of option subjects that students can select from.
We offer a range of qualification types to suit learners; the most common include GCSE, BTEC and Cambridge OCR Nationals.
KEY STAGE 5 (POST 16)
For more information about our Key Stage 5 offer, please see the Sixth Form section of the school website.