We want all of our students to be challenged academically and supported so that they develop a love for learning. In addition, our extensive careers education programme helps to motivate and inspire our students helping them to develop their own personal goals and aspirations for the future.
Students follow a fortnightly timetable, subjects are taught in mixed ability groups and groups set by academic ability. Throughout Years 7 to 9, students follow a three year Key Stage 3 curriculum, choosing their Key Stage 4 options ready for the end of Year 9.
In Key Stage 4, students study English, Mathematics, Science (either combined or separate sciences). They select a core option of either Geography or History and select three other choices. More information can be found on the Options page.
At Biddick Academy we are unwavering in our determination that every student achieves highly, enjoys
their learning, and is happy and cared for. We not only prepare students with the knowledge to excel in
examinations but to have the skills and attributes to be successful in life. The curriculum, both in and out
of lessons, is carefully structured and delivered to fulfil this aim.
The curriculum is founded upon four values: curiosity, aspiration, resilience and readiness. These are
interwoven in all aspects of school life.
At the heart of the curriculum at Biddick Academy is:
- An academic culture with high expectations, embracing the depth and breadth of the National Curriculum at Key Stage 3 and ensuring that this remains broad and balanced at Key Stage 4.
- Subject mastery, with the carefully sequenced acquisition of knowledge and skills, both within and across all subject areas, with clearly defined end points. Therefore, enabling and supporting students to ‘know more and remember more’.
- Reading and disciplinary literacy.
- Relevance to the local context. Subject matter and opportunities outside the classroom are pertinent to the needs of our students. Students experience a knowledge rich curriculum, including the best of what has been thought, said and done in each subject and within this context, the develop transferable skills.
- Skilful links with the Key Stage 2 curriculum, ensuring that students are supported both in their transition into secondary education, as well as thoroughly prepared, for the rigours of post-16 education, employment or training.
- The understanding and promotion of British Values as well as an appreciation and reflection on
- Social, Moral, Social and Cultural dimensions.
- High-quality careers education, which is threaded through learning and contains unbiased and relevant information, advice and guidance.
- Participation in a diverse range of extracurricular opportunities, as part of the informal curriculum, with a particular focus on student leadership and character development.
Therefore, when students leave Biddick Academy, they do so with positive outcomes enabling them to
progress onto well considered and aspirational education and/or training. The knowledge rich curriculum,
unlocks social mobility and enables students to lead healthy, happy lives.
Curriculum Delivery
Practice in the classroom is based upon evidence-based research ensuring that teachers are experts in
curriculum planning and delivery. Strong subject knowledge and expertise means that the curriculum is
logically sequenced, with the core knowledge and vocabulary accumulating over time. Key features in the delivery of lessons include:
- Identification of the ‘learning location’ so that students can connect their learning to prior and future learning.
- Interleaving of topics and knowledge to develop new connections in learning.
- Retrieval practice to aid students in remembering core knowledge and threshold concepts, thereby developing subject fluency and long-term memory.
- Modelling to develop confidence and mastery of subject specific skills.
- Strategic reading to aid students’ ability to analyse and evaluate texts.
- Disciplinary literacy teaching, which supports the improvement in literacy across the curriculum.
- Responsive teaching strategies so that teachers promptly react to progress within lessons.
- Assessment both formative and summative to inform intervention and planning.
- Metacognition to develop effective learners through supporting them to organise their thinking about the curriculum.