Curriculum Overview
At Holyrood Academy we aim to provide a curriculum that is ambitious for all students, regardless of their background, that is coherently planned and sequenced and that provides students with the knowledge, skills, vocabulary and cultural experiences they need to be truly successful.
Curriculum
Curriculum Principles
The individual subjects in the curriculum continually evaluate and develop their curriculum planning and delivery based on these key principles:
• The prior learning of students has to be considered to determine where to start.
• The sequencing of curriculum content makes a big difference to how students understand it.
• Since we make memories as connected networks, we deliberately link concepts in the curriculum within and between subjects.
• Advanced skills are built on a foundation of secure knowledge, and we use overlearning and retrieval practice to promote fluency and automaticity in fundamental knowledge and skills.
• Developing students’ literacy, in the broadest possible sense and including developing a broad academic vocabulary, is vital to our curriculum.
• Curriculum content is interleaved to allow recap and recall of previous topics after a ‘forgetting’ period.
Curriculum Structure
and Time
Students are taught for 25 lessons a week - each is 60 minutes long.
In addition students have a daily tutorial period of 20 minutes and a fortnightly independent study session of 60 minutes.. The school day starts everyday Monday to Friday at 8:35am with the first lesson/morning registration and the end of the school day is at 3:10pm. Term dates can be viewed here.
Our curriculum structure is designed to maximise the benefit our students obtain from the excellent teaching at the Academy. Throughout Key Stages 3, 4 and 5 our students are supported, challenged and encouraged to do their best. Students choose their options at the end of Year 9.
Details of the taught curriculum can be found on the individual subject pages and the Key Stage 3 and 4 sections of this website.
Setting Arrangements and
Option Subjects
Key Stage 3 (Years 7,8 and 9)
Broadly, we look to have set ability groupings with some mixed ability groups where appropriate at Key Stage 3.
Set by Ability - Maths, English, Science, MFL, Geography, History, RS, Computing, PE, Independent Study
Mixed Ability - Art, Drama, Technology, PDP
Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11)
Set by Ability - Maths, English, Science, PE
Mixed Ability - Option Subjects
Key Stage 4 Option Subjects
Art, BTEC Sport, Business Studies, Computer Science, Creative i-Media, Drama, Engineering, Food & Nutrition, French, Geography, German, Health & Social Care, History, Music, Resistant Materials, Religious Studies, Spanish, Textiles,
To see more information on the KS4 subjects please go to our Year 9 Options page.
Key Stage 5 Option Subjects
Applied Science, Art, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Computing, Computer Science, Digital Media Production, Economics, English, Engineering, French, Geography, German, Health & Social Care, History, Maths, Photography, Physics, Psychology. Religious Studies, Sociology, Textiles
To find out more about the Sixth Form subjects please got to our Sixth Form Subject page.
Find out more…
Click on the curriculum plan below to find out more
Key Stage 3 - Years 7, 8 & 9
Key Stage 4 - Years 10 & 11
Key Stage 5 - Years 12 & 13 (Sixth Form)
Personal Development Programme (PDP)
FURTHER CURRICULUM INFORMATION
Information about academic setting, GCSE/A-Level and BTEC Options can be viewed here.