Curriculum Aims

To provide a broad, balanced and exciting curriculum that:

• enables all our students to be successful and make good progress
• promotes the development of values, moral purpose, physical and mental wellbeing in an ethical and diverse environment
• prepares students for future opportunities, responsibilities and experiences

Our curriculum has been carefully designed to deliver knowledge and skills in a logical order, building on prior knowledge to ensure that all our students develop as successful learners. Knowledge is delivered within all aspects of the Curriculum in a progressive manner from Key Stage 2 starting points, all the way to Year 13 as part of a 7 year journey. The journey of each subject is depicted on our website through our carefully planned learning journeys. The ability to apply this knowledge practically or cognitively (skills), is developed through our teaching and learning strategies, and the experiences we provide for our students.

We actively encourage Subject Leaders to take appropriate opportunities to enhancing their curriculum offer with trips and experiences that will enrich the learning of all students.

Curriculum and our CORE values 

• Commitment:   We are committed to providing a relevant, broad, balanced, exciting curriculum that reflects the needs of all our learners, reflects national agendas and equips all learners through appropriate progression routes into employment and long term success in an ever changing world.
• Opportunity:  Through our curriculum we seek to provide as many opportunities as possible for students to develop their skills and talents.  We constantly review the opportunities we offer to enrich our curriculum to ensure that they are varied and relevant. All students have the opportunity to study a wide variety of subjects for as long as possible, and our wider curriculum offer including, extra-curricular clubs, year group trips, international schools activities and much more, ensure our students have a wide variety of experiences.
• Respect:  We explicitly seek to develop the principle of respect throughout our curriculum.  One way this is done is through choosing curriculum content and specific areas of study that teach students about the concept.  This is through subject based lessons and also our tutor curriculum.  We aim to ensure that all of our students develop into respectful citizens capable of displaying empathy and understanding with the world around them.
• Excellence:  We provide a curriculum that enables students to develop excellence in a wide range of areas.  This can be through examination success, performances and sporting achievements for example.  It is important that everyone has the opportunity to achieve excellence and to be proud of their achievements.  Through our curriculum provision we seek to remove as many barriers to learning as possible so that all can achieve their ‘personal bests’

Every subject benefits from specialist rooms and resources which enhance the fantastic learning experience. Subjects are grouped into 3 faculties and each faculty is led by a senior member of staff who ensures consistently high standards and facilitates the sharing of ideas about teaching, learning and our student’s progress. 

Further details can be found in our Curriculum Policy

 

 

“NLS is a good school and students make good progress in learning there. Also , the introduction of revision classes and other extra curriculum activities such as boxing are really useful for students overall wellbeing. Well done to the leadership team and staff at NLS!” Parent

Wider Curriculum 

We offer our students a range of other learning opportunities throughout their time at NLS such as school trips, workshops and performance events, to enhance our Curriculum. Many of these can be seen on the subject pages on the Learning journeys and Curriculum Overviews. 

As well as these opportunities which link to curriculum delivery or development of wider skills at relevant points in the learning journeys, we also offer regular extra-curricular activities and clubs for students of all abilities. As well as clubs in subjects such as Science, Maths, Drama and Computer Science we also offer a wide range of opportunities to take part in sports and arts based activities.

Please view our current extra-curricular-activities