Please click here to view the Autumn 2018-19 edition of our school newsletter.

Please see the following information on the Hertfordshire County Council website.

Curriculum

Knowledge sits at the heart of our curriculum; we make no apologies for this. Whilst we, like all schools, want our students to leave our care with a strong set of academic qualifications, it is equally important to us that our pupils are culturally literate. To this end, our curriculum is designed to ensure that our students have access to a body of knowledge that they would otherwise be denied.

We advocate a broadly traditional curriculum in terms of subjects offered in our schools. We believe in the specificity of individual subjects and the importance of teaching a rigorous version of each. Consequently, our curriculum is specifically designed to be challenging and aspirational; it is the truest reflection of the high aspirations we hold for our students and the most powerful tool we have available in our efforts to help them achieve those aspirations.

Within each subject we prioritise transmitting both substantive and conceptual knowledge required to think and communicate within the discipline, understanding that the latter can never be taught in isolation but rather as an organic product of the former. For instance, in order to teach the concept of both figurative and literal language, teachers would ensure this is made part of the study of the whole text. That is to say that an English curriculum should consist of the teaching of texts, and not a series of dissociate, disparate concepts. The most extreme example of this might be something like a unit on metaphor, or a unit on semantics. In order to teach metaphor or semantics, teachers would utilise an example from this text to deconstruct and exemplify the concept, rather than attempting to teach it as abstraction. Similarly, when teaching history, we do so chronologically and focus first on substantive knowledge of each given period. Central to this approach is our understanding that the culture of critical thinking, whilst an admirable end goal of education, is not something that can be taught in isolation. In order to think critically, one must know something to begin with. We believe, therefore, that inquiry should not drive the curriculum, but rather test its efficacy.

Pedagogy

Too often schools and teachers chase examination grades, planning lessons backwards from A-Level and GCSE specifications (or in the primary sector, SATs) in an effort to make pupils ‘exam-ready’. This kind of practice holds little regard for the breadth of a child’s knowledge and understanding and, therefore, this kind of teaching and curriculum management is not practised at Future Academies, where we value subject expertise in our teachers and subject specificity in our curriculum.

Whilst we recognise that success in external assessments is important to both schools and their pupils, we also hold firmly to the belief that this success emerges organically from a curriculum that provides breadth and challenge and is delivered in a rigorous and consistent manner. We teach to the subject, not to the test.

As we move towards a more fully-resourced common curriculum, teachers will use the textbooks provided as the core teaching material. The textbooks will provide teachers with the outline for what to teach in a given subject.

We place a premium on the subject knowledge of our teachers. With this in mind, the primary function of our lessons is to facilitate the eventual transfer of their knowledge to students. We do not teach one particular ‘type’ of lesson, understanding that any effort to reduce teaching to an identikit lesson framework is reductive; however, there are a number of common features that our classrooms share.

Please see our list of governors' below.

This funding is used to support students who are currently entitled to free school meals or who have been at some point in the last 6 years.

At Laureate Academy, Pupil Premium funding is used to support the learning of disadvantaged pupils based on the following principles:

• Good teaching benefits disadvantaged students most, so we are investing in experienced and knowledgeable teachers who hold high expectations for all their students
• Effective tracking enables timely intervention; by individually monitoring pupils for both progress, as well as attainment, we aim to intervene before gaps in attainment widen, as well as support FSM pupils of all abilities in making accelerated progress.
• Students who are behind need additional learning time to catch up; we invest in raising attendance, extended day provision, supervised study rooms and tutoring to enable gaps to narrow. We also aim to maximise the effectiveness of home learning through support for parents.
• Early intervention is crucial; we understand the impact of early identification, and invest in work with parents and students during Key Stage 3.
• Life experiences and cultural literacy raise aspirations; we invest in visiting experts, residential experiences and cultural activities.
• Meaningful evaluation maximises impact; we aim to evaluate the impact of expenditure, wherever possible, and reflect these findings in our future spending. We also use evidence-based research, such as the Education Endowment Fund (EEF) Toolkit, to inform our judgements.

Each year, allocation of funding is determined by the identified gaps in attainment, knowledge of the pupils, and evaluation of the effectiveness of previous spending.

The funding is used in a variety of ways but the main focus is on providing additional academic support.

At Key Stage 3, we offer a broad and balanced curriculum that supports, challenges and excites our students. Subjects are taught discretely according to schemes of work that set out what knowledge we expect our students to acquire. This rigour not only gives our students the fulfilment and joy of mastering particular subject areas in depth but also allows them to analyse and to discuss their subjects with greater sophistication.  

We work hard to ensure that students are supported to express themselves accurately, fluently and confidently, both orally and in writing, in all subjects.

Art & Design Technology

Head of Department: Miss N. Mayers

We begin Art education at Laureate through an exploration of materials and techniques, intended to teach students to create art, in its many forms, in a competent and confident way. We hope the skills embedded at Key Stage 3 will prepare students for future study at GCSE and A Level. We endeavour to initiate curiosity; above all, to make Art exciting, interesting, challenging and surprising. Our Art teachers are experienced, well-informed and from varied backgrounds and specialisms.

During year 7 and 8 students will focus on developing their art skills and understanding of the formal elements; in Year 9 they will undertake GCSE style projects, applying their knowledge to more complex projects, referencing GCSE assessment criteria in preparation for their options selection in the spring term.

We encourage our students to challenge themselves, take risks, to be creative and experimental in their work and comfortable discussing and showing their outcomes.

KS3 are taught in mixed ability groups.

Computing

Head of Department: Mr K. Arshad

There are many different labels for Computing but it encompasses Computer Science, ICT and Digital Literacy.

All of these are important skills to be exposed to as we live in an ever technologically developing world.

The curriculum from KS3 onwards has been chosen and organised in a way that best helps students develop a wide range of foundations skills before choosing to specialise more in a particular area from KS4.

In KS3 all work, except some assessment, is done digitally and we use a virtual learning environment (VLE) called Moodle where students submit work electronically every lesson. This gives a unique opportunity to see lesson content from home and have digital archive of their work, as well as being able to work in a paperless environment which many big companies are now working towards.

Lessons throughout all key stages comprise of a mixture of theory, practical, group work and individual projects. Topics covered include: people, computers, & information, presenting information, coding, hardware & networking, cryptography, processes & algorithms.

Science

Department: Science

Head of Department: Ms L. Surridge

Science helps students to understand the phenomena that occur in us, and the world in which we live, as well as enhancing our knowledge of the universe.

In Key Stage 3, pupils study the following:

Drama

Head of Drama: Mr R. Flowers

All students receive one lesson a week and explore drama through the three key concepts of; skill development, devising theatre performances and script and exploration.

Year 7 students begin with an introduction to the necessary skills and techniques needed to achieve in this subject.  Skills such as role play, character development, mime and soundscape are explored.  In term 2 students explore the history of theatre.  Starting with the birth of theatre in Ancient Greece and working their way through the history of theatre to the present day. Students explore the key elements of each historical period and gain a deeper understanding of the development of drama.  In term 3 students create their own group piece of devised theatre in responses to a variety of stimuli presented.

Year 8 students study begin by exploring a variety of theatrical genres and performance styles.  Genres such as comedy, tragedy, physical theatre and naturalism are presented to the students. In term 2 students are introduced to devising theatre using the BBC Proms 10 pieces as their stimulus, works such as Toccata and Fugue by J.S Bach and Bernstein’s West Side Story are used as stimulus to create a final piece of drama.  Finally in term 3 students gain an understanding of the technical aspects of production such as lighting, sound design, costume design and set design.  This unit also includes a professional theatre visit to observe all of these aspects in action.

Year 9 build on their skills and techniques introduced in Year 7 and 8 to explore more challenging and thought provoking work.  In term 1 students study the transition from novel to theatrical performance using works such as War Horse, The Woman in Black and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night.  In term 2 students explore the social, cultural, political and historical elements of a specific theatre text delving deep into the contextual elements of performance.  Finally in term 3 students undertake a number of workshops that explore the philosophies and acting techniques of theatre practitioners such as Stanislavski, Brecht, Steven Berkoff, Augusto Boal and DV8.

History

Head of History: Ms C Hardingham

We aim to provide our students not only with a breadth of knowledge and understanding of the past, but to enable our students to think critically about the world around them.

Students should expect to be challenged in their lessons and in their set homework pieces, both academically and in terms of their character; we believe that the study of history is key to the development of every child’s ability to empathise with others and remain resilient in the face of challenge.

In year 7, students study a rigorous curriculum, specially designed by our sponsor, Future Academies, to develop a broad knowledge of history, and start to develop the skills and thinking of a historian.

These are further developed in years 8 and 9, where students study set historical periods in depth. Each unit in years 8 and 9 is mapped to a GCSE Assessment Objective (AO) focus and a GCSE Second Order Concept (AO2) focus with assessments that assesses the students’ progress in that AO.

 

Below is an overview of what is taught:

See: http://www.laureatehistory.co.uk/ For more information. 

Modern Foreign Languages

Head of Department: Ms D. Archer & Mr M. Willis

Languages enable students of all abilities to develop their potential in communicating with people from other cultures, equipping them with the knowledge to communicate in a variety of contexts with confidence.

French

French: French is the First Language spoken in many countries across Africa, Europe and the Caribbean, offering lots of opportunities for development in a range of business industries.

In Key Stage 3 French, pupils study the following:

Spanish

Spanish: Spanish is the First Language spoken in many countries across South and Central America, and Europe, offering lots of opportunities for development in a range of business industries.

In Key Stage 3 Spanish, pupils study the following:

Maths

Head of Department: Mr T Richardson

Maths helps students to understand numbers, algebra, geometry and statistics and how they link together to achieve the ultimate goal of problem-solving.

At Laureate Academy we are introducing the Mathematics Mastery programme of study, which involves studying particular topics in depth before moving on. Thereby ensuring complete understanding of the curriculum content.

 

Religious Studies

Head of Department: Ms A. Stone

We teach young people to ask questions, while also teaching them knowledge and understanding. We explore the main tenets of world faiths in order to support our young people in developing their own values and principles, and to promote their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

Across Key Stage 3, we study the foundations of the world’s main religions, as well as examining moral issues, ethics and philosophy.

In Key Stage 3, we study:

PE

Director of Learning: Miss T Crosland

Head of Department: Miss R Harris

We are fully committed to the development of physical education within the curriculum, and provide a positive learning environment where students feel confident, safe and thrive on the need to develop themselves, physically, mentally and emotionally. We encourage positive values through a variety of teaching strategies and methods in order to gain the best results from all students, irrespective of gender or ability.

In addition to our GCSE, A-level and BTEC courses, we also provide students with the opportunity to develop their leadership skills as part of the Laureate Leadership Academy. Students frequently assist our School Games Organiser with festivals or competitions within our family of schools.

The opportunities we provide to students are not confined to the school timetable: extra-curricular activities are crucial to promoting lifelong participation in physical activity. It is vital that students take part in physical activity outside of school not only to improve fitness and skill levels but also as part of a healthy lifestyle. Our staff freely give up their time to create opportunities for extra-curricular clubs and fixtures, and we expect students to attend at least one club per term.

PE at KS3 is very varied and builds on basic skills and strategies. Students have between 100 to 150 of timetabled P.E per week. Each half-year group consisting of 3 or 4 teaching groups.

Below is a summary of what is covered in Year 7 PE lessons:

Below is a summary of what is covered in Year 8 PE lessons:

Below is a summary of what is covered in Year 9 lessons:

Geography

Head of Department: Mr A. Easthorpe

Geography is the study of the world around us, a combination of the arts and the sciences and provides those that study it with a broad sense of the ever-changing processes, that just by being alive, contribute to and are affected by every second of every day. From the personal to the global, the past, the present and the future. In rates of change that extend form the instant to those that take place over millions of years.  We are all life geographers.

Through studying Geography, we aim to make sense of all these processes and phenomena, and in order to do so Geographers have to employ a wide range of skills; independence, enquiry, perseverance, analysis (written, mathematical, graphical and digital) and the ability to reflect upon practice and improve. Mastering these skills makes us academic geographers.

Here is an outline of what is taught:

Knowledge is at the heart of everything we do at Laureate Academy, and we have the very highest expectations of our students and what they can achieve.

Our school motto is Libertas per Cultum (freedom through education). We strive to instil in our students:

• Freedom to choose, to be knowledgeable enough to make good choices in life.
• Freedom to think well – we think with words, therefore depth and breadth of knowledge are vital tools in life.
• Freedom from ignorance and prejudice through knowledge and conceptual understanding of the world.
• Freedom to lead a purposeful and fulfilling life.

We believe in the joy of knowledge, and in fostering in our students an insatiable curiosity in life. We teach our students the best that has been thought and said, giving them access to high-quality, classic texts, and lessons from subject experts. We strive to give our students a rigorously academic education that puts them on a level playing field with their independently-educated peers. We believe in pitching lessons high so that our most able students are never bored, whilst supporting our less able students to make steady progress.

The school is open from 8:15am, when breakfast is also available at the restaurant for all students.

All students must be on site at 8:30am in order to start lessons at 8:40am.

There are six lessons daily. Before the start of lessons, all students in Years 7 to 13 attend registration time in their tutor group for 25 minutes.

 

Please download our important documents below.