The Curriculum
The Giles Academy curriculum is under constant review. We make changes to what students learn across school and within subjects based on their feedback, progress and aspirations. We are immensely proud of the outcomes our students achieve through our curriculum, including their exceptional GCSE results in the core, EBacc subjects, in the technical and vocational areas and in becoming independent, hardworking and caring young people. We believe that, without exception, our students have individual talents and abilities and are committed to providing a curriculum which is broad, rich and balanced in order to meet the needs of all. We value every curriculum subject area and students are encouraged to pursue a range of subjects reflecting their own interests and aspirations. This range is appropriate to age and ability ensuring students have the opportunity to learn and make the best progress possible, with the โCurriculum Journeyโ in each subject underpinned by the National Curriculum and puts high challenge, enjoyment and breadth of experience at the heart of learning.
Our curriculum firmly underpins the Trustโs vision for a high performing non-selective school located within a selective area of education which aspires to be โOutstandingโ and the current curriculum is the next step on our journey towards this curriculum intent / vision:
- Key Stage 3 aims to provide a secure foundation and subsequent extension of prior knowledge, skills and understanding before broadening out into an ambitious and varied curriculum in Key Stage 4.
- At Key Stage 4 we are unique within the local area for offering a specialised mix of academic, technical and vocational subjects.
In determining the Trustโs vision for an outstanding curriculum we identified 5 strands of the curriculum: These five strands of the curriculum reflect our belief the curriculum is far more than just a studentโs experiences within lessons, but is far more holistic, reflecting the entire sum of their experiences within their school life.

Underpinning these curriculum strands is CURRICULUM INTERVENTION, which is a crucial part in our ambition for all students at Giles Academy to Aspire, Challenge and Achieve; in doing so to be resilient, lifelong learners, responsible citizens and prepared for the future.ย Studentsโ growth in these areas is developed across all aspects of their school experience: the formal curriculum, that matches and exceeds the ambition of the national curriculum, the wider curriculum and the โhidden curriculumโ.
This means that our curriculum in every subject and beyond is planned to ensure students leave with exceptional outcomes, both in their examinations and in their personal development. We ask every child to strive for personal excellence as well as leaving with the right qualifications to prepare them for the next stage.
The Trustโs overall vision based on these 5 strands of curriculum is summarised in the diagram shown to the left.
Promoting the Ebacc Qualifications
We are very proud of the fact that students can follow an English Baccalaureate (EBacc) curriculum (Maths, English, Science, Humanities and Languages) to GCSE. We have redesigned our curriculum model in Year 9 over the last three years to further promote the Ebacc subjects and to encourage higher participation across these subjects at KS4 while being committed to maintaining choice for learners.
Alongside promoting the Ebacc we place equally high value on the contribution that creative, vocational and technical learning areas also makes to every childโs development and our approach is for every student to follow their own pathway, based on strong careers advice and high aspiration for all learners. Less than 1% of our students go on to be not in education, employment or training (NEET).
You can read more about how the curriculum is organised in each school year on the Curriculum Implementation pages. For a more detailed overview of the knowledge and skills taught in each discipline, please see the individual subject pages.
Beyond the Classroom: We aim to open the door to a wide range of experiences. All subjects provide additional learning contexts including; annual school productions, art events, careers fairs and high-performing sports teams in the majority of disciplines. You can find out about these on these on the subject pages and website home page.
For any more information about our Curriculum, please contact Mr Tom Martin, SLAT Deputy Chief Executive Officer: tmartin@gilesacademy.co.uk
Giles Academy Curriculum Intent

Whole School
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Art
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Business
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Computing
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English
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Food
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Geography
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Health & Social Care
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History
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Maths
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MFL
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Performing Arts
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PHSE / SMSC
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PE
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Religious Studies
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Science
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Statistics
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