Curriculum
The first three years at St Laurence are important ones as it is here that students will build and develop their knowledge and understanding in a wide range of subjects, some of which will be very familiar to them from Key Stage 2 and also some which they will experiencing for the first time. Our curriculum is broad and balanced; we have retained a 3-year Key Stage 3 in all our subjects in order to build a solid platform of transferrable, independent learning skills and good progress prior to GCSE courses. You can access full details of our Key Stage 3 curriculum in the PDF downloads below
Grouping
When students join us in Year 7, they will be placed in Learning Groups. Our transition team work very hard prior to the arrival of our new in-take to ensure that each of the eight Learning Groups represents a cross section of our St Laurence community – as such, it is a group where the full range of our prior attainment profile is represented. Year 7 students will be taught in these groups for the duration of Year 7, with the exception of PE where students may be re-grouped in some lessons according to prior experience.
Some subject areas introduce different grouping arrangements in Year 8 and Year 9. The structure and organisation of these arrangements is not fixed and a decision will be made each academic year to best meet the needs of the students. This academic year in Year 8 Maths, English, French and PE have re-grouped students. In Year 9 re-grouping has taken place in English, Maths, languages, DT and PE. Further details about these changes can be found in the PDF downloads below.
Assessment
Following the national changes to assessment arrangements at Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3, we have introduced a system of assessment which is now utilised throughout Key Stage 3 in Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9. Our approach is based on the development of Key Learning Concepts which will need to be mastered and practised in each subject area during Key Stage 3 to prepare students for successful study at Key Stage 4. You can access full details of this assessment framework in our Key Stage 3 Assessment Booklets for each year group below.
Careers-Information, Advice and Guidance
Follow this link to the Careers page.
How to Read your Child’s Report
Please follow the link to the Curriculum Overview page below to download information about how to read your child’s report.
