The Swanage School broadly follows the National Curriculum.

Curriculum - Year 7

Year 7 is the first year at secondary school. All students take the same subjects (GCSE options start in Year 10). All subjects are taught in mixed ability classes.

What subjects will my child study?

In Years 7 and 8 all students study:

• English
• Maths
• Science
• Project based Learning – a combination of History, Geography, Philosophy, Religion & Ethics
• Art & Design
• Computing
• Drama
• Food preparation and nutrition
• French
• Music
• PE
• Product Design
• Personal, Social & Health Education

Curriculum - Year 8

Year 8 is the second year at secondary school. All students take the same subjects (GCSE options start in Year 10). Most subjects are taught in mixed ability classes. In line with educational research we teach students in ability groups for maths and science.

The subjects taught in Year 8 are the same as those in year 7.

How is my child taught?

In secondary school most subjects are taught separately. At The Swanage School we like to facilitate deeper learning, where our students have the time to become independent reflective learners, so teach the humanities subjects through a Project approach. Project Based Learning (PBL) is a well-researched and respected teaching method, where students learn a range of subject areas through working on a particular project. Students are introduced to subjects through investigation, and gain understanding through learning independently