During Key Stage 3 we provide a broad and balanced curriculum offer. We are committed to providing a breadth of study for our students and have a commitment to providing the time to build skills, knowledge and understanding in a more focused approach to the more practical subjects including the arts and technology. In this way we hope to safeguard the future of all subjects in Key Stage 4 and maintain the broad curriculum offer we are proud of at Brighouse High School.

English, Mathematics, Science, Technology, Geography, History, Art, Music, Drama, Physical Education, Modern Foreign Languages and Religious Education are studied as part of the Key Stage 3 curriculum. Personal, Social, Health Education and Citizenship are delivered through a weekly lesson in Key Stages 3 and 4, as well as some input through Learning for Life (L4L) tutorials and Super Learning Days. ICT is compulsory for all children and is delivered in discrete lessons and through cross-curricular development. Relationships and Sex Education is also compulsory but parents have a right to request their child’s withdrawal from such lessons.

When students arrive, they are placed in mixed ability form groups, taking into account primary school recommendations. Initially they are taught in these groups for most subjects but setting is gradually introduced in Mathematics, English and Science so that they can be taught in ability groups, which match their strengths and interests. All students are tested during their first half-term in the school, using the NFER Cognitive Abilities Test, which provides us with a baseline of information against which to monitor progress. A few students will be placed in Foundation groups, which will create the extra time to improve the students’ literacy and/or numeracy levels. We also test for Reading Age throughout Key Stage 3, so that we can put in place appropriate support for students who need help with their literacy. For example, we make effective use of the Bedrock programme with targeted students.

In Year 8, students are asked to select two of six option choices from the creative curriculum to study in Year 9. This enables students to specialise in areas of creative arts and technology, areas that they are more interested in pursuing, and means they have more time on those subjects too. This system of pre-options has been introduced to allow for a greater depth of study in two of the subjects in the creative curriculum subjects rather than a shallower experience of them all. What this means in reality is that each student will study one subject from Art, Music and Drama and a combination of two of the technology subjects from the choice of Food Preparation and Nutrition; Fashion and Textiles; Materials Technology. In Year 9 students study 2 hours per week of Religious Studies so that they can start the GCSE course which then culminates at the end of Year 11. By frontloading some time in Year 9, we can ensure that the full cohort has the knowledge and understanding to achieve well in GCSE Religious Studies by the end of Key Stage 4 even though curriculum time in Years 10 and 11 is limited to 1 hour per week.

Key Stage 3 Timetable Allocations

Please click on the links below to read about the curriculum intent for each subject in Key Stage 3, as well as an overview of the content in Years 7, 8 and 9.