Approach to Learning
Our curriculum is designed to be outstanding and to change the life chances of our students. Education is the key to social mobility. No matter where you come from, you have the same right to an excellent education as anyone else.
Our broad, balanced, ambitious and rigorous curriculum allows all students to achieve excellent academic outcomes and to become active citizens in our society.
Our curriculum has the EBacc (English Baccalaureate) at its core and provides students with the chance to develop and experiment using the full range of National Curriculum subjects.
Our curriculum focuses on students acquiring knowledge and developing skills in stimulating and innovative lessons which are enable students to put their learning in context.
This philosophy and the focus on both academic outcomes and personal development provides the students with the 'Master Key' to their future – opening any doors they will come across.
For further information about the curriculum please contact Harry Ingham on H.Ingham@harrisdulwichboys.org.uk or 0208 299 5300. Details of the curriculum for each subject can be viewed on the Subjects pages. Our curriculum policy can be downloaded from the bottom of the page.
"Pupils care about their studies and are eager to take advantage of the high-quality teaching available to them." Ofsted, November 2023
Key Stage 3 - Years 7-9
Key Stage 3 is where our students learn the foundations of knowledge, skills and understanding that they need to become experts in their subjects. Key Stage 3 is as broad as we could make it, with students having the opportunity to study 14 different subjects.
We believe Key Stage 3 is the perfect opportunity for students to experience as many different subjects as possible, whilst maintaining a focus on our core curriculum and their learning of the basics. This table shows the subjects we currently offer at Key Stage 3:
|
Subject |
Lessons |
|---|---|
|
English |
6 |
|
Maths |
6 |
|
Science |
3 |
|
MFL (Spanish) |
3 |
|
Physical Education |
3 |
|
History |
2 |
|
Geography |
2 |
|
Religious Studies |
1 |
|
ICT and Computing |
1 |
|
Design Technology |
1 |
|
Art |
1 |
|
Music |
1 |
|
Performing Arts |
1 |
| PSHE | 1 |
| DEAR Time (Years 7 & 8) | 1 |
| Citizenship (Year 9) | 1 |
| Wellbeing (Year 7) | 1 |
|
Total Hours |
25.5 |
Citizenship is taught as a separate subject in Year 9 and across the curriculum through our Personal Development curriculum. It is also embedded throughout every subject with our focus on developing Active Citizens, and especially in Religious Studies where the Year 9 curriculum tackles some of the key issues around human rights and justice, for example.
"The school has a broad and purposeful curriculum. Teachers are passionate experts in their subjects." Ofsted, November 2023
Key Stage 4 - Years 10-11
For Key Stage 4, students choose certain subjects to continue to GCSE level, alongside their core subjects. At HBAED all students complete the following courses:
- GCSE English Literature
- GCSE English Language
- GCSE Maths
- GCSE Science (Trilogy Combined Science)
- GCSE History and/or Geography
- BTEC Sport
- GCSE Spanish (Currently roughly 70% entry)
We are passionate that all students should have access to rigorous core subjects. As our curriculum develops, we constantly evolve the range of subjects we offer our students. Currently they will choose one subject from the following options blocks:
|
Option 1 - Humanities |
Option 2 |
Option 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
Choose either:
|
Choose one from:
|
Choose one from:
|
These options allow students to choose their own pathway. Choices are made after a personalised meeting with a member with the academy leadership team and students are encouraged to take subjects they enjoy, keeping their options open for the future.
We believe that as many students as possible should face the academic rigour of studying a humanities subject. These subjects are crucial for developing the personal skills and wider understanding of the world we want our students to gain. They are some of the most powerful subjects for building active citizens. Therefore, we enter all our students to a Humanities option.
All our courses are carefully selected to ensure they are fully accredited and count in the DfE performance tables as well as offering a rigorous and challenging, yet appropriate course.
Key Stage 5 - Years 12-13
At Key Stage 5 we are part of the highly successful Harris Federation Sixth Form with over 100 students studying at Harris Boys’ Academy East Dulwich.
Nurturing support
We are proud that our academy welcomes students of all previous abilities and we passionately believe that previous learning should not be a barrier to the future.
However, we understand that some students find it difficult to access the broad curriculum that we offer. We therefore offer these students a specific programme to give them the appropriate guidance they need, including a smaller class to assist with the delivery of the curriculum. The teachers leading this class are excellent Quality First teachers, supported by a great SEN team of teaching assistants and other professionals.
Students in this class receive extra support in English and Maths as well as having the opportunity to explore other creative subjects. All students within these groups are regularly reviewed and changes made where appropriate. In Key Stage 4 this small group again follows a very similar curriculum to other students, with the opportunity to choose options.