key stages 3 aND 4
OVERVIEW
Our creative curriculum is based upon the International Baccalaureate's Middle Years Programme.
What is the Middle Years Programme?
It is a programme of international education, designed
to help students develop the knowledge, understanding,
attitudes and skills necessary to participate actively and
responsibly in a changing world.
The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) is designed for students aged 11 to 16. This period is a particularly critical phase of personal and intellectual development and requires a programme that helps students participate actively and responsibly in a changing and increasingly inter-related world. Learning how to learn and how to evaluate information critically is as important as learning facts.
What does the curriculum contain?
The curriculum contains eight subject groups together with a core made up of five areas of interaction.Students study subjects from each of the eight subject groups through the five areas of interaction.
What are the five areas of Interaction?
The five areas of interaction are:
- approaches to learning
- community and service
- human ingenuity
- environment
- health and social education
Approaches to learning (ATL)
Through ATL teachers provide students with the tools to enable them to take responsibility for their own learning, thereby developing an awareness of how they learn best, of thought processes and of learning strategies.
Community and service
This component requires students to take an active part in the communities in which they live; encouraging responsible citizenship.
Human ingenuity
Students explore in multiple ways the processes and products of human creativity, learning to appreciate and develop in themselves the human capacity to influence, transform, enjoy and improve the quality of life.
Environment
This area aims to develop students’ awareness of their interdependence with the environment so that they understand and accept their responsibilities.
Health and social education
This area deals with physical, social and emotional health and intelligence — key aspects of development, leading to complete and healthy lives.
How are students assessed?
Teaching staff organise continuous assessment over the course of the programme, taking account of specified criteria that correspond to the objectives for each subject. Teaching staff are responsible for structuring varied and valid assessment tasks that allow students to demonstrate achievement according to the required objectives within each subject group. These may include:
- open-ended, problem-solving activities and investigations
- organised debates
- hands-on experimentation
- analysis
- reflection
Assessment strategies, both quantitative and qualitative, provide feedback on the thinking processes as well as the finished piece of work. There is also an emphasis on self-assessment and peer assessment within the programme.
