Curriculum
What is our vision?
- Every child is uniquely important and of equal worth.
- Every child has the right to a world-class education, whether their parent can afford it or not.
- Through education, every child should be able to achieve their potential and ultimately improve their lives and the lives of those around them.
What is our mission?
At John Ferneley College we believe that every child is of equal worth and is entitled to a broad, knowledge-rich curriculum. Our Curriculum is ambitious and we strive to open our student’s eyes to the world around them.
How is our Curriculum sequenced and remembered?
Each subject area carefully tailors their five-year curriculum plans by selecting the knowledge they believe is vital for all students to know, understand and most importantly, to remember.
By shaping the sequence of the subject journey to enable key threshold concepts to be revisited to aid memory retention, we aim to remove barriers and enable every student, regardless of starting point, to achieve and aspire to the next steps.
Our Heads of Department are our subject experts, prioritising subject knowledge and ensuring that each student is taught the depth, and each works closely with their teams to ensure consistency.
‘We need to develop our pupils' knowledge of themselves as learners, of strategies, and of tasks’ (Alex Quigley, EEF 2019)
Classroom feedback and the use of formative assessment is clearly focused on the core knowledge outlined in the curriculum schemes of learning for each department. Furthermore, we aim for it to support the students’ long term memory for each type of knowledge. “Learning…is defined as a change in long-term memory” (Kirschner, Sweller and Clark, 2006).
Lessons feature regular memory retention quizzes and knowledge recall tests which are carefully monitored to ensure that important knowledge is retained.
Students with SEND or EAL are well-supported with adaptations to suit their needs and academic abilities without compromising our ambitious and aspirational vision.
Our Personal Development Curriculum wraps around the academic classroom by supporting and nurturing individual growth and development in character for all students at JFC. We strive to achieve a sense of belonging. We believe that in addition to academic success, it is vital to understand the importance of community and belonging.
You can find out more about our Personal Development Curriculum and RSE Policy here.
Curriculum in each Key Stage
The tables below show the number of lessons per fortnight.
Key Stage 3
| Year 7 and 8 | Year 9 | |
| English | 8 lessons | 8 lessons |
| Maths | 8 lessons | 8 lessons |
| Science | 8 lessons | 8 lessons |
| Physical Education | 4 lessons | 4 lessons |
| Modern Foreign Languages | 4 lessons of French, German or Spanish | 4 lessons of French, German or Spanish |
| Social Sciences | 4 lessons History 4 lessons Geography 1 lesson Personal Development 1 lesson Business Studies |
3 lessons History |
| Computing | 2 lessons | 2 lessons |
| Design Technology |
2 lessons 1/3 termly rotations of Design Technology, Food Technology and Art. |
2 lessons 1/3 termly rotations of Design Technology, Food Technology and Art. |
| Performance | 4 lessons split between Drama and Music. | 4 lessons split between Drama and Music. |
Key Stage 4
| English | 9 lessons of GCSE English Language and Literature |
| Maths | 9 lessons of GCSE Maths |
| Core Science | 9 lessons |
| PE | 2 lessons core PE |
| Options | Students choose four subjects from the list below (5 lessons per fortnight):
GCSE: BTEC (Level 1 & 2): Students also continue their Personal Development Pathway with 1 lesson per fortnight. |