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A member of Excalibur Academies Trust

Curriculum Approaches

Developing articulate and confident young people

Our curriculum is designed to fully develop students’ skills, values and interests beyond the classroom, so they develop as articulate and confident young people. Nothing is more important than enriching young people’s lives and we pride ourselves at Ashton Sixth with the wide variety of opportunities we can offer our students in conjunction with their academic study. We place great emphasis on pre-course guidance and the school is committed to ensuring that all students start on the course that is right for them.

A bespoke curriculum for our learners

Our curriculum is regularly reviewed to ensure it meets a range of progression pathways based on the individual aims and aspirations of students. This ensures our curriculum is fit for the purpose of the individual academic ambition of our learners. Post 18 progression opportunities are ever-changing and we pride ourselves on keeping up to date with changes that inform how we deliver our curriculum to students. This may be through the design and mapping of the subjects taught, alongside understanding and promoting new opportunities to students such as degree apprenticeships or additional courses which will complement their post 18 progression route.

Supporting all learners

Students from disadvantaged backgrounds, those with SEND and other minority groups receive additional targeted support to ensure their academic ambitions are realised. This is through a variety of ways ranging from Widening Participation initiatives, academic tutoring, additional enrichment opportunities and work experience or volunteering.

Bespoke subject curriculums designed to suit the course

Each subject taught in the sixth form is planned in a systematic way to allow for the course to be constructed in a manner that suits the model of the qualification; this would be linear for A Level and modular for vocational qualifications. This includes curriculum mapping, identification of the composite themes and associated components and recall opportunities. In addition students are equipped with resources to support and correlate with the progression of the subject so that they can assess and monitor their own learning journey. This is typically done via a subject handbook.

Subject specialist delivery to allow access to academic rigour

All stakeholders at the school have a shared vision in the academic ambition of the students and how they will achieve this. Having subject specialist teachers allows for students of differing abilities to access academic rigour where necessary to promote a high level of knowledge and understanding, ready for transition into university. This is further enhanced by offering additional courses such as the Extended Project Qualification and the Science Gold Crest Award whereby students can broaden their knowledge further. In addition a comprehensive wider curriculum exposes our students to cultural capital that has previously not been accessed. A bespoke Pastoral curriculum responsive to our locality alongside national and international matters has been designed to for our students to thrive in modern society.

Learning beyond the classroom

Support for learning and success extends far beyond the classroom. Built into the working week are opportunities for independent study and enrichment activities along with time to meet with a dedicated team of academic tutors. Students at the sixth form benefit from their own personal tutor who will monitor their progress, achievement and approach to learning on a regular basis offering one-to-one support.