At George Mitchell School, our children and their success, well-being and ambition is our priority. As well as the outcomes they achieve at the end of each key stage, we aspire to develop students’ character, so that they reflect wisely, learn eagerly, behave with integrity and cooperate consistently with others.
The aims of George Mitchell School are to:
- Provide children with meaningful qualifications and opportunities which enable them to be successful and achieve within school, in their lives and in their work after leaving us.
- Help each child become a successful learner who is confident, happy and fulfilled. With a set of positive traits (PRIDE) which guides their conduct and supports them to become responsible citizens who can make a positive contribution to society.
In considering our curriculum*, we consider the context of students at GMS:
- The requirements of Post 16 provision and Universities
- The job market in Waltham Forest, London and beyond
- Student safety, welfare and PSHE
- British Values and Equality
- The development of character and skills that are important for life
*The curriculum includes all organised/guided experiences for students including:
- Assemblies
- Extracurricular Clubs
- Interventions
- PSHE
- Structured Lessons
- Trips
- Tutor Time
- Speakers
- Workshops
- Cultural and social capital opportunities
- Student leadership programmes
At GMS we believe it is important that we develop learners who demonstrate PRIDE values:
- Perseverance – Enjoy the challenge
- Respect – Be kind, be safe
- Independence – Think for yourself
- Diversity – Include everybody
- Excellence – Go above and beyond
Early Years (Nursery and Reception)
Our Early Years curriculum is designed to be joyful and allow for creative and varied free-flow play and the development of confident language skills. We aim to ensure that all children are nurtured as confident, capable learners with robust language knowledge and skills, enthusiasm for and love of learning, enhanced cultural capital, high expectations of themselves and others, and the ability to read for meaning and pleasure. We aim to provide opportunities to develop their executive function through retrieval, adult intervention during play as well as explicit teaching and increased challenge.
The EYFS curriculum at George Mitchell contains rigorous and careful teaching which builds an understanding of the world and strong reading, writing and maths skills. Language, play and attention skills are curated to the highest standard, with free-flow play, structured play, whole group carpet sessions and small group focus activities working together to broaden interests and develop knowledge, skills and enthusiasm for learning.
Key Stage 1 and 2 (Years 1-6)
George Mitchell offers a rigorous, creative and knowledge-rich curriculum in both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, based on the National Curriculum. The curriculum is taught through discrete subjects, arranged into half termly topics, and has an emphasis on developing resilient, enthusiastic learners with lifelong skills and deep subject knowledge. We recognise each child as a unique individual and our curriculum is designed and adapted for pupils of all abilities.
In Key Stage 1 (Years 1-2), the foundations of fluent reading, confident oral skills and strong number sense are built systematically. There is an early emphasis on vocabulary and reading fluency to enable children of all abilities and backgrounds to access the full breadth of the curriculum.
In Key Stage 2 (Years 3-6), pupils continue to develop their linguistic and number skills, together with an additional emphasis on developing critical thinking skills. As children move through Key Stage 2, they receive increasing opportunities to experience independence of thought and action, to support them in their transition to secondary school.
Throughout the Primary phase, children’s personal development is a priority, with a strong PSHE programme, individually tailored interventions and opportunities, high levels of trust and a focus on building morally strong, positive and resilient individuals who love learning and have ambition for themselves and their peers. Where possible, children are exposed to exciting learning opportunities linked to their curriculum topics.
Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9)
In Key Stage 3, George Mitchell School offers a well-balanced three-year programme that entitles students to study a full range of subjects including English, Mathematics, Science, Design and Technology, Food and Nutrition, MFL, PE, Geography, History, Art, Music, Drama, PSHE and Computer Science. The National Curriculum is followed in all of these subjects.
Throughout Key Stage 3, we aim to ensure our students develop the required knowledge via a carefully sequenced design. We aim to ensure our students meet the highest expectations by training them to develop the skills required to be able to think like Geographers, Mathematicians, Artists, Scientists, and Historians. Each department has its own curriculum intent which reflects the subject-specific skills and the intention for teaching these via the curriculum.
The curriculum is designed to help pupils gain the skills, knowledge and understanding that they need to
become successful learners who are confident, happy and fulfilled. Pupils are encouraged to reflect on
their experiences and to recognise how they are developing personally and socially, addressing the
spiritual, social, moral and cultural issues that form an intrinsic part of growing up.
Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)
GMS has a personalised curriculum model at Key Stage 4 that has proved popular with students. Each year, following individual guidance interviews, students choose from four possible pathways. At Key Stage 4 students’ study 4 options in addition to English, Maths, Science, PE and PSHE. Whilst our key intent is to secure a broad and balanced curriculum we also work diligently to ensure students are supported in building a curriculum diet that will enable them to access post-16 pathways as well as to become responsible citizens who can make a positive contribution to society. We work hard to personalise the curriculum that we offer and stress the importance of providing a programme of study that is designed to meet the needs of individual students.
Further information
Further information about our curriculum can be found on the pages under the ‘Curriculum’ website tab. To request any additional information about our curriculum, please email Ms Kathleen Smith (Secondary Office Manager) at Kathleen.Smith@georgemitchellschool.co.uk.