Curriculum Overview

The Golborne High School Curriculum

Golborne High School aims to provide a world-class education which enriches pupils’ ambition and love of learning and equips them with the skills, knowledge and cultural capital they need to access aspirational post-16 pathways and the responsibilities and experiences of later life.

Through the three strands of our curriculum, we aim for students at Golborne to be Lifelong Learners, Responsible Citizens and Prepared for the Future. Pupils’ growth in these three areas is developed across all aspects of their school experience: subject lessons, tutor time, assemblies and wider curricular opportunities.

We are immensely proud of the outcomes our pupils achieve through our curriculum, including their exceptional GCSE results in the core and EBacc subjects and in becoming independent, hardworking and caring young people.

Our curriculum in every subject is planned to ensure pupils leave with exceptional outcomes, both in their examinations and in their personal development. We ask every child to strive for personal excellence as well as leaving with the right qualifications to prepare them for the next stage.

We are very proud of the fact that the majority of our pupils follow an English Baccalaureate curriculum (Maths, English, Science, Humanities and Languages) to GCSE and we place equal value on the contribution that vocational and technical learning makes to every child’s development. Less than 1% of our pupils go on to be not in education, employment or training (NEET).

What we teach

The Key Stage 3 National Curriculum (Years 7 to 9) is delivered in every subject and the statutory requirements for delivering Religious Studies and the Personal Development curriculum (PSHE, RSHE) are met and exceeded.

In addition to the statutory subjects, pupils study Drama as a discrete lesson, and are learn both French and Spanish in Modern Foreign Languages lessons. Many other subject areas go beyond the scope of the National Curriculum, by exposing pupils to disciplines such as Photography in Art lessons and Business and Enterprise in ICT and Computing lessons. Subject leaders at Golborne High School plan a carefully-sequenced and broad curriculum, not only as a foundation for KS4 and Post-16 study, but to embed a love of their subject and its wider context. Our planned curriculum helps pupils to “see the bigger picture” by making contextual links in their learning within and across subjects.

Visit the Option Page for information on Key Stage 4 and the Options process

Beyond the Classroom

This year sees the introduction of a new Wider Curriculum, that aims to engage all pupils with experiences that will enhance their love of learning, develop their cultural capital and nurture new talents and interests.

Clubs, visits, guest speakers, annual school productions and high-performing sports teams all form the curriculum that is available to pupils at Golborne High School. See the Wider Curriculum page for more information on the wider curriculum timetable for this term and how to enrol your child.

Covid-19 and the Curriculum

During the national lockdowns in 2020-21, Golborne High School continued to deliver the full National Curriculum and all required content of the KS4 qualifications.

We embraced the learning opportunities that home study allowed, by adapting our subject curriculum to the new context. Computer-based learning brought Humanities lessons to life through virtual “visits” to foreign countries and wartime Britain. PE and Technology lessons embraced using household items to facilitate learning, and many subjects took inspiration from the great outdoors! Since returning to the classroom, subject leaders have adapted their curriculum to ensure pupils who missed any key content are able to fill these gaps in their learning.

Equality of Opportunity

The Golborne High School curriculum is accessible to learners of all abilities and those with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND).

All pupils study the full curriculum at Key Stage 3 and teachers adapt lessons skilfully to scaffold and support learning for individuals with additional needs. Pupils who are assessed as requiring additional support in literacy and numeracy receive small group tuition that is built into the timetable both as a discrete lesson and through additional support in Mathematics and English lessons. For more information on access for pupils with SEND, contact Mrs V Casey, SENDCo.

For any more information about our Curriculum, please contact Mrs C. Whitaker, Deputy Headteacher.