Our Curriculum

PREP SCHOOL CURRICULUM
In the Preparatory School we give children the best possible start to their education, with small classes and a generous staffing ratio ensuring that work is carefully planned to meet the needs of each child. Every child is a valued member of our school community.

Preparatory School pupils enjoy a full range of academic subjects including English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, Religious Education and French. Creative subjects include Art, Drama, Design and Technology, ICT and Music. Creativity flourishes beyond the traditional curriculum, with the choir, instrumental lessons, concerts, plays and competitions. In physical education, all pupils are taught an impressive range of sporting activities, gymnastics and dance, by specialist teachers.

All pupils have weekly swimming lessons in our on-site indoor 20m swimming pool facility. We also have our own science and design technology laboratories, ICT suites, specialist music and art rooms, a well stocked library and assembly and sports halls.

 

Educational visits, visiting speakers, off-site activities including horse riding, golf and water sports plus extra-curricular clubs enhance a rich, varied and stimulating curriculum giving each child the opportunity to develop individual talents and skills.

Learning support is available for children who need additional support to reach their academic potential. Pupils who are identified as being high achievers in whatever curriculum area are given plenty of opportunities for challenge, extension work and high level thinking.

Assessment and Testing
Assessment is an integral part of all teaching throughout the year to monitor the ongoing development of each child. This forms a secure platform for ensuring children are provided with quality learning experiences and enables each child to have achievable yet challenging targets.

Kindergarten and Reception follow the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum and are assessed in the six areas of learning through ongoing teacher observation and assessment tasks. This Foundation Stage Profile, or ‘Learning Pathway’ is shared regularly with parents.

From Year 1 pupils’ progress is monitored continuously through teacher assessment. Pupils are encouraged to participate in the process and work towards his or her personal targets. Formal assessment is also introduced from Year 1 onwards: spelling, reading, English and mathematics are assessed and tracked annually using on-line assessment tests. In Years 3 and 5 pupils also undertake cognitive ability testing to provide more in depth information.

At the end of Year 2 all children are assessed using the Key Stage 1 teacher assessment in English and Mathematics. At the end of Year 6 pupils take National Curriculum tests in English and Mathematics which are marked and moderated externally.

Assessment enables pupils’ individual attainment to be monitored and enables us to help them reach his or her full potential. Parents are informed of assessment and test results through written reports and consultation meetings.

SENIOR SCHOOL CURRICULUM
BCS teaches a broad and balanced curriculum throughout Key Stages 3 and 4; we currently offer 20 subjects at GCSE and 27 subjects in the Sixth Form for AS and A2.

In Years 7 and 8 our pupils have lessons in English; Mathematics; Science; French; Spanish; Geography; History; Religious Education; Physical Education; Art; Drama; Food Technology; Music; Information and Communication Technology; Design and Technology and Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE).  German, Chinese, and Russian are offered as well.

In Year 9 our pupils have lessons in English; Mathematics; Science; Geography; History; Religious Education; Physical Education; Drama; Information and Communication Technology. Pupils may choose either one or two languages (French and Spanish) and this is part of an options choice with Art; Design and Technology; Home Economics and Music.  In addition pupils are taught PSHE and Citizenship.  

During Year 9, pupils will choose their GCSE subjects which they will then study in Years 10 and 11. Most pupils take ten subjects although this is tailored individually, with some taking eight/nine and some even eleven. Most take English, English literature, Mathematics and usually one modern language. They then have the option of taking the three separate sciences (biology, chemistry and physics) or Science and Additional Science. In addition pupils choose up to three further subjects from Geography; History; Religious Education; a second modern language; Business Studies; Art and Design; Drama; Home Economics; Music; Design and Technology and PE. Qualifications in ICT are encouraged, as are those in speech and drama and instrumental music. Spanish, French, German, Chinese and Russian are all offered at GCSE level.  A one year International GCSE course is available for students joining in Year 11.

In Year 12 most students will study four subjects for AS levels and will be examined in these subjects before going on to study three of them to A2 level. A three-year A-level course with a Foundation year is available to overseas boarding students. BCS students regularly achieve excellent results in LAMDA examinations (which now count towards UCAS points), arts festivals and public speaking competitions. The drama clubs put on productions each year, ranging from Shakespeare and Gilbert and Sullivan to modern musicals and comedies. Important though academic qualifications are, school is also an essential training ground for life in the outside world. At BCS we discuss current affairs; personal values and morals; coping with peer pressures; and ‘hot topics’ such as relationships, racism, alcohol and drugs, to help ensure that your son or daughter will become a confident, responsible and tolerant adult. Students may also become involved with one of the community projects sponsored by the school, from fundraising for charity to assisting in social events for disabled children or entertaining elderly people from the local community.

In addition, we place great emphasis on the extracurricular activities of pupils and we strongly encourage all pupils to develop an extensive portfolio of additional skills. These skills and activities are essential in applications to future educational establishments and we strongly urge all pupils to keep a Record of Achievement file.

The school compares itself with other schools by looking at our value added results, these give an indication on how our pupils achieve at GCSE and A level given their previous levels of achievement. We regularly achieve results in the top 25% of the country.

We celebrate the success of our pupils in external music and speech and drama examinations and we promote these activities most strongly to our pupils.
We have an extensive programme of support available to pupils who have LDD (learning difficulties and disabilities), SEN (special educational needs) or those who have EAL (English as an additional language). We have very experienced and highly qualified staff who have a special interest in these pupils and their progress, but all teachers are able to support these pupils due to our exhaustive in service training programmes and following the individual educational plans produced for these pupils.

We offer the IELTS programme and we have a 3 year A level programme, with the first year being a Foundation Year, for pupils who do not have English as a first language (if their English is not at a level that enables them to access the full curriculum effectively). All pupils at BCS have the option to extend their A Level course over 3 years if this will support their learning.

We have a programme designed to enhance the educational opportunities of gifted pupils and we support applications and programmes of study for selective 11+ examinations, scholarship programmes and Oxbridge applications. We have a formal Oxbridge programme of study. We identify potential Oxbridge candidates early on in KS3 and the Sixth Form works with them to prepare them for future application.

Our A level enrichment programme is focused on giving all our students additional career support and we have developed a comprehensive support structure which assists students with university applications. All applications are completed online which allows students to track progress, we offer excellent guidance in relation to the application process which starts early on in Year 12. In addition the Sixth Form works with students in Year 9 – 11 to ensure they receive the correct guidance for university choices.

All Sixth Formers follow a core enrichment programme designed to suit their needs.