The Curriculum

Our Vision for Learning

At Penrice we are unwavering in our commitment to deliver the highest quality of education for all our students, ensuring the best possible life chances for them. This involves achieving success in public examinations but also involves the development of the individual, to be able to lead fulfilling, happy and purposeful lives. We want our students to leave Penrice being able to contribute to society in a positive and valuable way; being able to think freely, make informed choices and explore the world around them. As such we are fully committed to placing the English Baccalaureate suite of subjects at the heart of our curriculum offer to students.

We believe that equipping students with knowledge and understanding is pivotal in ensuring we achieve our ambitions. As such, our curriculum and strategy for learning is crafted to empower students with knowledge and provide a broad and diverse range of enriching opportunities. We inspire our students to contribute to society through our knowledge rich character curriculum, which empowers them to make considered choices through teaching them about character virtues and the attributes they may strive to have.

An Inclusive Curriculum

Our curriculum at Penrice Academy is inclusive, accessible and progressive for all. We know that students have individual needs; our approach is to understand and anticipate those needs and remove barriers to learning so that everyone can access a broad, balanced and deliberately ambitious curriculum.

In the spirit of the Equality Act 2010 we have a culture of inclusion, support and awareness within the school community. Please see our Accessibility Plan to understand what that means in greater detail.

In line with the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 and Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years, we regularly assess the needs of our students, plan the best ways to support them personally, do everything we can to make sure that that provision is in place, and review how that provision is enabling each student to access the Curriculum. For more information, please visit our SEND page.

Our Curriculum Structure

Our curriculum is split into three phases…

Years 7 & 8 – Broad and Strong Foundations

In Year 7 and 8 students study the full breadth of the KS3 National Curriculum and beyond. Developing strong, knowledge rich foundations across a broad range of subjects. We endeavour to provide the strongest possible foundation, ensuring all our students have access to powerful knowledge across the full breadth of subjects.

All students study:

• English
• Maths
• Science
• History
• Geography
• French or Spanish
• Computer Science
• Art
• Drama
• Music
• Food
• Design Technology
• CLASS
• Religion and World Views
• PE

Years 9 – Personalisation and Enrichment

In Year 9 students personalise the range of subjects being studied and experience our enrichment curriculum. This broadens their horizons and ensure the students are equipped with an appreciation of the place each subject has in the world. We continue to develop powerful knowledge.

When students move into Year 10 they then further specialise in the subjects they will take qualifications in.

All students study:

• English
• Maths
• Science
• History
• Geography
• French or Spanish
• CLASS
• Core PE

Pupils study three of the following:

• Additional Language – Mandarin (New for 2022/23)
• Art
• Business
• Creative iMedia
• Drama
• DT & Engineering
• Food
• Sociology
• Sport & PE
• Photography
• Film Studies
• Computer Science
• Music
• Animal Care
• Health & Social Care

Years 10 & 11 – Specialisation and Expertise

During Year 10 and 11 our students develop expertise in their chosen subjects. Students leave Penrice having been highly successful in their chosen disciplines. We encourage students to engage with curriculum choices that are right for them. Students are proactively encouraged to study the full English Baccalaureate, placing this at the heart of our curriculum offer.

All students study:

• English
• Maths
• Science (Combined or Triple)*
• History or Geography (can study both)
• French or Spanish**
• CLASS
• PE

Pupils study two/three of the following:

• Art
• Business
• Creative iMedia
• Drama
• DT & Engineering
• Food
• Sociology
• Sport and PE
• Photography
• History
• Film Studies
• Computer Science
• Music
• Digital Information Technology
• Animal Care
• Health and Social Care

(*) Science (Combined or Triple) – Our Science team work with students and parents during the course of Year 9 to identify students who should study Triple Science. Students are then selected to study Triple Science from the beginning of Year 10.

(**) For the Class of 2024 – Current Year 10 – Studying a language is part of our core curriculum and will continue to be for future Year groups, unless our SENDCO recommends this is not appropriate for individual students. For the Class of 2023, Languages was not part of their core curriculum offer – 43% of students study languages.

Outstanding Teaching and Learning

Download our Curriculum Overviews for each subject below.

If you are looking for Key Stage 4 options, the full brochure can be found here.

If you would like to know more about the curriculum at Penrice Academy, please email enquiries@penrice.org.uk where your request will be forwarded to the most appropriate subject teacher.