CURRICULUM
Our knowledge rich curriculum is built on the strong pillars of powerful and ambitious knowledge, reading , vocabulary and scholarship. These provide the foundations for our children to access the disciplinary and substantive knowledge which will open magical new worlds and reduce educational inequality. Equally important as substantive and disciplinary knowledge, is the hinterland knowledge which allows students to experience the true majesty and meaning of a subject and its role in the story of humanity.We value the uniqueness of the individual subjects which provide the warp and weft of the curriculum tapestry and allow subjects to approach curriculum planning in the way that best suits that particular subject.
We are passionately committed that every child will be a reader and leave Thurstable on or above their chronological reading age. Reading will be central to all aspects of school life as we are creating a culture of reading for purpose and pleasure. We guarantee that every child will read silently for 30 minutes every day and that all of our students will have read 30 high quality books by the end of Year 11.
Our curriculum provides a coherent learning experience for our students as it is carefully sequenced to ensure that students are ready for and notice new learning. Above all else, we are striving to structure and implement our curriculum so that it has the impact of long term learning and not just short term performance.
Finally, our curriculum must develop the whole child in their learning journey and we have focused our wider curriculum around: employability, future choices, community and participation in the sporting and cultural life of the school. We are striving to develop educated, tolerant and kind citizens who are ready to actively participate in a global and diverse society.
“Children spend a limited number of years in school, and a large part of what they leave with is the direct result of the curriculum, of the substance of what has been taught. Our students can leave us with a rich and detailed understanding of the world and our placings in it. They can leave with a sense of ownership and belonging, and the knowledge that knowledge itself is in flux, that it is created in time, and that they themselves may join this story if they wish.” - (Ashbee, R., 2021, p.3)
The curriculum at Thurstable School resonates strongly with the words of Ashbee above. The purpose of our curriculum is to provide students with opportunities and experiences which give meaning to their lives. Not only do we strive for the best outcomes for our students in public examinations, but also to add value to the unmeasurable, so that our students become valuable and responsible members of the local community and wider society.
Our curriculum makes clear to our students how important knowledge is and that knowledge is both empowering and liberating. Through their experiences at Thurstable School, they will develop both intellectually and socially through the transformative experiences lived through their curriculum. Students will join our school as children, and leave as young men and women.