St Gregory’s Catholic School Curriculum

St Gregory’s offers a broad, diverse and balanced curriculum that begins in the Lower School and enables students to make appropriate and fully-informed choices as their learning progresses into the Upper School and the Sixth Form. These choices include subjects for the English Baccalaureate at GCSE and the facilitating subjects in the Sixth Form required by the top universities.

Years 7-9

The following subjects are taught in Lower School:

• Religious Education
• Science
• Maths
• English
• ICT
• PSHE
• Physical Education/Games
• Modern Foreign Language (French or Spanish)
• Geography
• History
• Art
• Music
• Technology (which consists of Food, Resistant Materials and Textiles)

Students in the Lower School are taught in one teaching class for most of their subjects. This class is named after a Saint and we refer to this class a ‘Saint Group’. We believe the Saint Group structure benefits a child’s learning and progress by developing stable learning relationships within the same class of children, not unfamiliar to their primary school experience. A growth mind set is encouraged with no ceiling on what a child can achieve.

We recognise that Maths is a subject whereby setting can be more effective in challenging our higher attaining students; it is for this reason that two top streams are still created in Maths at the end of Term 1. From Jan 2024, we will set in English, Science and MFL in Year 7. This will allow for a more personalised learning experience for our students, maximising the individual progress of each student.

In Technology, students are allocated to a colour group. These colour groups are smaller in size to better facilitate learning within the workshops / kitchens.

Year 7 Discipleship

Once a week, students follow our Discipleship curriculum. The Discipleship curriculum provides students with a diverse and exciting range of opportunities which seek to inculcate in students a sense of awe and wonder. Students will reflect on how they approach the opportunities in their lives and will be equipped with the resources they need to capitalise on these opportunities, along with key focuses on communication, resilience, leadership and working within our community.

During Year 7, students will have one period a week allocated to Discipleship. In Years 8 and 9, this will be one period a fortnight. This will support students to cultivate qualities such as empathy, resilience, integrity and compassion, which are essential for their personal growth and wellbeing.

Year 10 and 11

At St Gregory’s, students study a two-year GCSE curriculum in most subjects. The exceptions to this are Maths and RE where they begin their GCSE courses in Year 9 - Maths from the outset and RE from Term 4. Core subjects such as Maths require a set of foundational skills that take time to develop so starting these courses in Year 9 allows students to begin honing their skills early, providing more time for practice, reinforcement and mastery of key concepts. This also supports a seamless progression in their academic journey to KS4.

Sixth Form: Years 12 and 13

The Sixth Form at St Gregory’s Catholic School offers a broad range of subjects to successfully springboard students into higher education, apprenticeships and employment. High quality teaching coupled with a range of experiences outside of the classroom inspires, builds self-esteem and the confidence to achieve.

Students study a two-year A Level and/or BTEC National equivalency course. All students follow a full-time study programme and most study three subjects, with the opportunity for some to study four.

Students have the choice of the following A Level subjects:

• Art and Design: Fine Art
• Biology
• Business
• Chemistry
• Computer Science
• English Language
• English Literature
• Film Studies
• French
• Further Mathematics
• Geography
• History
• Mathematics
• Photography
• Physical Education
• Physics
• Psychology
• Religious Studies
• Spanish
• Statistics

Students have the choice of the following BTEC National courses:

• Applied Science (BTEC)
• Criminology (Applied Diploma)
• Finance (Level 3 cert/dip)
• Information Technology (BTEC)
• Media – Creative Digital Media Production (BTEC)
• Music Performance (BTEC)
• Performing Arts (BTEC)
• Product Design (BTEC)
• Sport (BTEC Level 3 Extended Certificate)

Enrichment:

Students partake in a number of activities designed to develop organisational, interpersonal and leadership skills as well as build a sense of commitment to the school community. The acquired skills foster experiences of empowerment, responsibility, empathy, maturity and personal challenge required for young people to flourish in their life beyond school.

Enrichment activities:

Drama/musical productions
Sport
Field trips
Day and Residential trips
University visits
Conferences
Community
Head students and leadership roles
Public speaking
Peer mentoring
Work experience
Theatre trips
Futures week
Fundraising
Leavers Ball

*All students follow a weekly programme of Core RE.

*All students partake in weekly Sports and Physical Activity in the Sixth Form.