Curriculum Overview

The curriculum at Cheney School: thoughtful, relevant and rich

Our curriculum has been carefully designed to reflect our school motto:

Think for yourself; act for others

and to ensure that students benefit from a breadth of study from Years 7 to 13. It is thoughtful, relevant and rich and is frequently reviewed to ensure it stays that way. The curriculum captures our proudly comprehensive nature and reflects our students’ own experiences and interests while remaining traditional enough to ensure that students can access a wide range of post-16 and -18 options.

Our school follows a three year Key Stage Three curriculum, a two year Key Stage Four curriculum and a two year Key Stage Five curriculum. We also have a small amount of internal Alternative Provision.

Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9)

Our Key Stage Three curriculum meets, and in some places, exceeds the National Curriculum. Students study from a range of eighteen subjects, including four Modern Foreign Languages and Latin, four Design Technology subjects and three Humanities subjects. Students in Year 9 also enjoy discrete Personal Development lessons which support our PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) curriculum.

Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)

At Key Stage Four, students choose from seventeen options subjects in addition to English, Maths, Science, PE and PSHE. Please see the Curriculum by Year Group page for a list of courses studied in Years 10 and 11.
Some students will be offered a different suite of qualifications, usually alongside GCSE. This ensures that students will get appropriate qualifications to move on to College, even if they do not get grade 4 or above at GCSE. From September 2024, we will introduce several vocational BTech Courses L1 (Award and Certificate) in Hair and Beauty, Land-Based Studies, Health and Social Care and Construction - Painting and Decorating. We will also offer ASDAN, a Life Skills programme aimed at developing team work, social communication and interaction and self-awareness.

Key Stage 5 (Years 12-13)

In the Sixth Form, students choose from twenty six A-level courses and six BTECs. Most students study three subjects, although some take four, and many also take on the EPQ and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

To find out more about our curriculum, please contact Deputy Head, Louise Marsh.