Curriculum

Whitley Bay High School’s vision is: 

• for all of our students to enjoy learning, develop skills and deepen their knowledge to be successful through a broad and rich curriculum.  

• to use evidence informed practice that inspires all learners  

• to achieve outstanding results and ambitious destinations  

• to create an inclusive and safe environment through respectful, positive relationships, mature behaviour and purposeful learning  

• to support students to become healthy, well informed and socially aware individuals  

• to lead with moral integrity at all levels to create a safe and exciting climate where everyone can achieve their potential  

Through our vision we aim to develop: 

• Happy, self-confident, life-long learners 

• Learners ready to embrace change 

• Learners who make a positive difference to the local and global community 

This will be achieved through our innovative and inclusive approach to Teaching and Learning alongside our supportive pastoral system. 

Consequently, our curriculum enriches our vision and ethos by supporting students to become committed, articulate, curious and happy learners who have the core knowledge and essential skills required for the evolving world they will live in.  

Our leadership, staff and governors are passionate about offering a broad and ambitious curriculum and we have ensured, along with the National Curriculum that there are a varied range of subjects on offer to our students across all key stages at the school.  

Our curriculum has been deliberately academic for over 20 years, with students studying the core of Maths, English and Science for the majority of their timetable. Along with being compulsory at Key Stage 3, we advise most students to opt for a humanities subject at Key Stage 4 to facilitate and enhance their knowledge and academic skills. Students have 48 lessons per fortnight, each lesson lasting for one hour. 

With individualised support, technological and physical adaptations, students with disabilities are able to access all aspects of the school curriculum.

Our whole school curriculum map contains information on the content of learning, previous learning that topics build on, assessment, literacy, numeracy and careers links for all subjects. This is available to download and view below: 

Key Stage 3  

At Key Stage 3, we have worked collaboratively with our transition schools to ensure there is progression and, crucially, no regression in students’ performance in their final year of study. We have deliberately decided against starting GCSE content at the beginning of Year 9, to continue to offer students the breadth they require at this age. In Year 9 we do choose to focus on developing the subject specific skills students will need to be successful at GCSE, whilst also providing challenging content to help inform and educate pupils in their potential option choices. Students will study up to two foreign languages, whilst also embracing the Arts, PE and a choice of two technology subjects. This is further supplemented by our LEV (Learning, Enquiry, Values) lessons which include Personal, Social, Relationships and Sexual Health Education, Computing and Religious Studies. Our departments have also worked together to develop cross-curricular links which have shaped our decisions regarding when we deliver appropriate content; facilitating students’ learning.   

Key Stage 4 

At Key Stage 4, we guide students to select four options (at least one of which will usually include a Humanities subject or Modern Foreign Language). This allows us to offer a curriculum to students that is personalised and builds upon their strengths, whilst providing breadth and depth. Indeed, students can select subjects that will have a large content of knowledge such as Business Studies, Computer Science or Religious Studies. Alternatively, students can choose subjects that develop practical and performance skills such as Technology, Drama, Art, PE or Music.  

Key Stage 5 

Our Key Stage 5 curriculum continues to offer a large number of subjects that students can opt to study, which they can continue after achieving success in Year 11. However, there is the opportunity to study new and different courses after Key Stage 4. Most of our subjects that we offer are Academic Qualifications, however we offer an increasing number of Applied General or Vocational Qualifications.   

Supplementing our curriculum is our unrivalled and vast range of extracurricular opportunities. We have a large number of international trips which include visits to Iceland, Russia, San Fransisco and New York. We also offer residential outdoor visits to Northumberland and the Lake District. Furthermore, there are opportunities for external accreditation in courses such as Duke of Edinburgh. Alongside this we have weekly sports, STEM, Art, Music, Drama (including several school productions) and Technology clubs. Whatever the interest, we cater for it at Whitley Bay High School and we firmly believe that our most successful students are our busiest.  

We deliver our curriculum through the most recent and up to date evidence-informed teaching strategies. Our staff training focuses on our quality of delivery and includes methods from educationalists such as Barak Rosenshine and the Education Endowment Foundation. As well as enhancing students’ knowledge, we believe in developing confidence, collaboration and communication through emotionally intelligent methods which include Spencer Kagan’s Co-operative Learning and Mike Hughes’ Magenta Principles. We have led research projects on behalf of the Department for Education and as a result have implemented planning and assessment strategies that are impactful and manageable for our superb teaching staff. As a result, students will experience innovative and expert teaching, whilst receiving regular feedback in a variety of different forms, allowing progress to be made which frequently occurs through tasks designed to practise essential skills or to limit knowledge gaps.  

Our Careers, Information, Advice and Guidance programme ensures outstanding information, advice and guidance to our students throughout their time at the school. This also ensures they can make an informed decision on suitable pathways once they leave school.  

Subject Curriculum Maps 

Subject specific curriculum maps are also available to download which contain information on the content of learning, previous learning that topics build on, assessment, literacy, numeracy and careers links for all subjects. 

Personal Development Curriculum

We offer our students a wide range of experiences both in tutor time and beyond the classroom. Our Personal Development curriculum is designed to strengthen students' knowledge of the world outside the classroom, encourage them to be good citizens as well as support their health and well-being.  This is all delivered through our busy tutorial programme, assemblies and Thought For The Week.  

We  also offer a wide range of extra- curricular clubs catering for all different hobbies and interests from cookery to War Hammer.  We have 55 clubs in total – so definitely something for everyone.

Our LEV (Life, Equality and Values) programme has been designed to give our students the most up to date and valuable information to help them healthy and safe choices. Students will study 4 modules on a rotation basis throughout Year 9. The outline of these modules can be found on the school website. If you would like to know more about the content of these modules please contact james.branson@whitleybayhighschool.org.

The downloads below include the Personal Development Curriculum map, Personal Development overview, a breakdown of Year 9 LEV and an assembly overview.