Holy Trinity School has a strong academic record that has been maintained through a broad and stimulating educational experience. We do, however, believe that school life should be about more than academic results by providing other opportunities. The heart of the school’s aims is the intellectual, cultural and social development of all pupils through an international perspective.
We attract students from a wide intellectual range and pride ourselves on smaller class sizes which allow for close care and attention in order that we bring out the best in each of our puplis, wherever their particular talents may lie.
Importance is placed upon the teaching of English and Mathematics within a broad, balanced and creative curriculum. Dedicated teachers inspire every child to become inquirers of the world around them and to enjoy learning whilst demonstrating initiative when applying their developing skills to solving complex problems.
We encourage our pupils to be independent thinkers and inspire them to grow into confident individuals who are committed to learning for the rest of their lives.
We have an outstanding Creative Arts tradition, where talent is nurtured and stimulated. Pupils explore multi-sensory disciplines which stimulate creativity and imagination and provides visual, tactile and sensory experiences. Music will fill every day, and each child will have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument and sing in the school choir.
Modern foreign languages are an important element of the education that children receive at Holy Trinity School. Our emphasis on is demonstrated through French and Spanish being taught in the school from Reception.
The school’s reputation is sustained by our excellent academic achievements at all levels. This can be seen by the consistently excellent results at National Curriculum Stages, GCSE and A level. In addition, many of our pupils are selected for National and County level in various sporting activities.
SENIOR SCHOOL CURRICULUM
The whole Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 curriculum is designed to provide a solid foundation. This will give them a firm grounding in the key subjects that they will need for progression to the Sixth Form. It is also a natural consequence of the school’s strong emphasis in Key Stage 3 on English, Mathematics, the three separate Sciences and a Modern Foreign Language. The other subjects taught within the Key Stages 3 and 4 curriculum will be: Geography, History, PSHE, Philosophy, PE, Music, Drama, Art, Home Economics, and Textiles. There will be flexibility within the curriculum to develop links between and within subject areas through theme days, visits, field trips, residential experiences and national and local external links.
Key Stage 3
The main features of the Key Stage 3 curriculum are those listed below. The allocation of time to the different components in the curriculum is shown in the Appendix to this section.
• Philosophy will be taught throughout Key Stage 3 through a series of lessons and sessions run by outside speakers within the curricula of different timetabled subjects. This is a new curriculum component and will be developed in the light of the commitment in the school’s Vision to have the highest expectations of all pupils. Experience in teaching philosophy at this age suggests that, in other aspects of the curriculum, it is far too easy to underestimate the levels of conceptual thought of which young people of this age are capable.
• Classes will be taught in their registration groups, except where specified below. Personal, social and health education will be included within Form Period sessions, in separately timetabled Registration/Form Periods cover a set programme, including thinking skills and the setting and reviewing of targets. All students will participate in a daily assembly of a broadly Christian nature. All students will lead/take part in an assembly at least once a term. This will continue throughout the Senior School and Sixth Form.
• English, separate Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) and Mathematics will be taught in mixed ability groups to enable students at all levels of ability to progress to the correct tier at GCSE and to have the level of teacher intervention that will enable them to progress at their own pace. This will provide flexibility in allowing pupils, for example, to experience scientific experiments of varying degrees of complexity, take part in UK Maths Challenges and in events in association with Birmingham University such as the Biology Big Quiz, and be provided with targeted reading activities appropriate to their needs.
• Home Economics, Textiles will be taught on a half termly carousel allowing all students to gain expertise in these important life skill areas, to gain national qualifications in Food Hygiene, and to enter national competitions.
• All students will make use of ICT as an integral part of the curriculum and will have discrete lessons in ICT which will include both use of software and, increasingly throughout Key Stage 3, the writing of programmes.
• Modern Foreign Languages - French and Spanish - will be taught in Years 7, 8 and 9 building on the basis laid for these languages in the primary school. As has been mentioned earlier, arrangements will be put in place to help children who enter at age 11 with no previous experience of these two languages to catch up. The linguistic awareness and intercultural understanding promoted by the Modern Foreign Languages curriculum is seen as a key element of the international ethos of the school.
• Music is a key feature of our school and permeates all year groups with students encouraged to take part in Choir, Musical Theatre or orchestra and to gain the team and social skills which these engender. This will continue. Students perform regularly, gaining in confidence and developing their talents in a variety of environments: Musical productions such as Oliver and The Blues Brothers, performing in the orchestra and choir at church services, local concerts (Youth Makes Music, The Shrubbery Nursing Home, Dudley Competitive Music Festival, with Kidderminster Male Choir, Music For Youth). Music in class will be taught at GCSE level with public examinations taken in Year 9 as an extra curricular class, as part of our commitment to cater for pupils of differing needs and thus provide challenge for abler pupils.
• All pupils will have two lessons of core PE per week which will include competitive sports such as hockey, netball, swimming, football, tennis, cricket, basketball and athletics. The school expects that its participation in local/national competitive leagues will continue and will be extended as even more boys join the school. We acknowledge the role that PE has to play for students of all ability levels in terms of their general fitness levels and general wellbeing. The school also intends to establish provision for the widest possible range of students including those with physical disabilities and learning difficulties so that sport is fully inclusive. We will continue to work with the Wyre Forest Sports Development Team to promote disability sports for young people through extra-curricular clubs for which there is a deficit of provision within the South Worcestershire area. In promoting this opportunity for young people with disabilities the school will be working in close partnership with local secondary schools and leisure centres.
Key Stage 4
The main features of the core curriculum in GCSE subjects, followed by all pupils in Key Stage 4, are listed below. The allocation of time to the different components in the curriculum is shown later in this section. All pupils will have to follow all these GCSE subjects, thus enabling them to aspire to achieving the requirements of the English Baccalaureate.
• English will be taught in two setted ability groups. Pupils will be entered for two GCSE subjects, i.e. English and English Literature; French or Spanish will be taught in mixed ability or setted groups depending on numbers; Mathematics and Science will be taught in two setted ability groups Science will be taught in two setted ability groups. All students will follow separate science GCSE courses.
• Philosophy will be taught in mixed ability groups. All candidates will be entered for the GCSE Short Course in Philosophy at the end of Year 11. In requiring all pupils to continue their study of this subject to age 16 the school will be fulfilling the ambitions of the original national curriculum that all young people would continue to study up to the end of statutory schooling subjects crucial to their sense of identity and their appreciation of the importance of citizenship.
The remainder of the Key Stage 4 curriculum includes both optional and compulsory components, as follows:
• Pupils may choose up to three GCSE option subjects. There will be one teaching group per subject. The groups will be of mixed ability. The subjects will be Art, Textiles, Music (at GCSE/AS level), Drama, Geography, History, ICT, Business Studies, Home Economics, PE, Statistics. The option subjects will be arranged in blocks generally reflecting pupils’ preferences within the cohort. Pupils will choose up to one subject per block.
• All pupils will attend two non-examined Physical Education lessons per week which, as in Key Stage 3 (see above), will incorporate a choice of sports (swimming, netball, hockey, football, cricket, tennis, badminton, fitness etc.). These enable students to develop and review their physical abilities in a supportive environment and to move forwards and make choices in these areas having experienced a range of techniques and skills.
• All pupils will attend Form periods, which involve a planned programme that includes target setting and the review of pupils’ work.
• All pupils will undertake a week of work experience at the end of Year 11 following completion of GCSE examinations. Students take responsibility for contacting employers, making appointments and organising their placements. This promotes independence, fosters self- confidence and allows them to take ownership of the whole experience.