In Art, Design and Photography, we strive to inspire, enthuse and excite students in a creative curriculum, pushing the limitations of self-expression through a variety of different disciplines. Students are provided with a breadth of knowledge and transferable skills that encourage independence, critical thinking and self-confidence. As well as innovative and engaging lessons in school, we boast a wide range of extracurricular opportunities to enthuse students in the limitless possibilities and potential career paths within the creative industry.
Our curriculum aims to develop our students’ academic and practical understanding in the subject related industries, including Accounting and Finance, Marketing and Human resources thus equipping learners with the essential skills and knowledge to confidently demonstrate their ability and aptitude when progressing into Higher Education or the world of work.
The subject allows pupils to develop their digital literacy in this evolving world. The objective is to equip students with a solid understanding of computer science principles, practical programming skills, and the ability to apply computational thinking to real-world problems. The curriculum is designed to develop students who are not only proficient in using technology but also capable of thinking creatively and acting as responsible digital citizens.
Key focus areas include:
By integrating these elements, the program prepares students to navigate the digital world confidently and innovatively.
Our Design and Technology Curriculum aims to equip students with the creative, technical, and practical skills needed to design, make, and evaluate products that solve real-world problems. The subject fosters innovation, encouraging students to think critically, explore new ideas, and develop solutions that are functional, sustainable, and user centred. Through hands-on learning, students gain experience working with a variety of materials, tools, and technologies, preparing them for future careers in design, engineering, and manufacturing.
Hospitality and Catering
The curriculum has been designed over a five-year period that transitions from KS2 and leads to, further education and careers beyond school life. With food and drink being a vital source, one that a human cannot live without, students are taught the importance of a healthy lifestyle and how this can be achieved, by cooking a range of dishes. capable of thinking creatively and acting as responsible digital citizens.
Our curriculum is aimed at inspiring a love of reading and the written word where students can demonstrate a confident control of Standard English when analysing, crafting, and articulating their ideas. Within English lessons, we aim to build students’ resilience when approaching all types of language, including a diverse range of texts. We strive to equip students with the confidence to articulate and craft their opinions in a range of situations not only in their preparation for GCSE and A level success but in their lives beyond examinations.
The Health and Social Care curriculum is to prepare students with the comprehensive knowledge, practical skills, and ethical values necessary for effective engagement in the healthcare sector by integrating theoretical frameworks with practical applications. The curriculum equips students to deliver compassionate care and make informed decisions in diverse healthcare settings. The subject emphasizes the development of empathy, professionalism, and ethical conduct, preparing students to navigate complex ethical dilemmas and uphold patient confidentiality and dignity.
Geography
Our spiral curriculum aims to sequence geographical knowledge and skills throughout the Key Stages in order to develop critical geographical thinkers who can analyse and comprehend the challenges in an ever changing world with the goal of building a sustainable future. Our knowledge-rich curriculum and cultural capital aims to develop our learners in a way that supports them in becoming active and successful citizens globally and in their communities.
History
History at Ormiston SWB enables our students to develop a range of skills that prepare them for success both in the classroom and beyond. Our chronological curriculum demonstrates a clear narrative over time, developing students’ knowledge of both British and global History. Pupils will learn about the significance of people and events and understand the causes and consequences of the topics that we study, as well as, comparing their similarities and differences.
In addition to this, students develop a range of skills that are needed to become a great historian, including showing empathy for the experiences of others, making informed and reasoned judgements, plus analysing and interpreting historical evidence to help paint a picture of the past. They will be able to see how different events impact the world around them and understand how the past affects them in the present. These skills will equip our students with the ability to make positive choices. Our aim is for students to leave us with a love of History that will last them a lifetime.
Philosophy, Religion and Ethics
Our intention in Philosophy, Religion and Ethics is to ensure all students receive a rigorous, inspiring, spiritual, thoughtful and knowledge-rich curriculum which equips students to take their place in a multi- religious and multi-secular society, in which they understand and respect the diverse range of beliefs and practices within it. At Ormiston SWB Academy, through our RE curriculum, we are committed to developing within our students an understanding of cultural diversity, empathy and tolerance for others, enabling them to become 21st century global citizens. As key drivers of our curriculum, social justice and ambition underpin the RE curriculum through our commitment to ensuring all students have the opportunity to become religiously literate. This means students are equipped with the skills and knowledge to hold balanced and well-informed conversations about theology, philosophy, ethics and human and social sciences.
Our spiral curriculum is aimed at developing a love of and confidence for maths, giving students the tools to apply their mathematical knowledge to solve problems in a range of situations.
The curriculum has been specifically sequenced to improve student’s progress and retention of key mathematical facts and skills. It is our vision that this will ultimately give students the ability and the passion to take mathematics beyond KS5 and the aspiration to seek careers in the mathematical field.
Our Media curriculum aims to equip students with the skills to work in the creative industries, the fastest growing sector for employability. At SWB, students from year 10 to13 will develop core skills that will allow them to excel in their time studying Media. Students will engage in theory and key concepts such as purpose of media products, target audience, regulation and distribution. These key concepts will be applied to creative practical components throughout the course. In an increasing media saturated society, we are passionate about enabling students to fully understand the power and influence media can have, from a multi-national conglomerate, to a seemingly simply post on social media. This course aims to develop student’s transferable skills in idea generation, teamwork, independence and critical thinking through exploring and producing a range of media products which they engage with on a daily basis.
Our curriculum equips students with the knowledge and skills to be able to communicate about their daily lives with native speakers, both verbally and using written language. It is designed to carefully develop students’ competence in several tenses and through our spiral curriculum in which students are exposed to wide range of vocabulary over time. Students will also develop an appreciation and understanding of different cultures in the Spanish-speaking world.
Music
Mapped against the national curriculum for music, our curriculum builds on the work at key stage two to give students a broad and varied music curriculum and enjoyment and insight into music. Students learn about the building blocks of music, actively engage in music making and listen to a range of music from different periods. Students cover a range of traditions and musical styles from around the world, engaging in techniques that complement the musical genre being studied. This broad grounding in the essential tenants of music leads to a deepening understanding of the music that they perform and to which they listen.
Performing Arts
Our students will be independent, organised, creative and critical learners. They will understand the impact Performing Arts and the skills learned has on their lives everyday. They will know how Drama directly impacts them, their community, and the wider world around them. They will be able to demonstrate their understanding through the use of six key skills:
Perform, Devise, Evaluate, Subject Knowledge, Research, Exam Preparation.
Through this they will become confident, respectful and responsible learners.
The PE curriculum equips students with the knowledge, skills and confidence to inspire a love for sports and lifelong physical activity. The curriculum is designed so that students experience a wide and diverse range of physical activities as possible, providing a well-rounded and holistic physical education that leads to expert performers, thinkers and leaders.
Our curriculum is designed to create knowledgeable, scientifically literate and technologically capable problem solvers, by fostering a spirit of inquiry that nurtures students’ curiosity of the scientific world. It will provide opportunities for students to apply their scientific skills and knowledge to contemporary issues, whilst making connections between scientific disciplines.