Learning at Icknield is organised into eight faculties and at Key Stage 3 and 4 we provide breadth, balance and choice. Our Core Curriculum consists of English, Maths and Science, with our Health and Sport faculty providing PE and our Personal, Social, Careers and Citizenship programme. ICT and more practical subjects such as Design and Food Technology are taught by the Technological and Vocational Learning faculty. The Creative Arts team develop students’ creativity through Art, Drama and Music. Our Wider World Faculty groups Geography, History, RE and Modern Languages together with the aims of widening horizons and deepening understanding of other times and cultures.
At KS4 we offer a wide range of GCSE courses and we are able to enrich our curriculum through our excellent links with The Henley College and Oxford and Cherwell College. Their range of vocational courses, such as Hair and Beauty, Construction and Vehicle Maintenance, as well as the new Diplomas, provides a wider choice for students who do not want to follow a purely academic pathway.
At Key Stage 3 academic subjects are arranged by sets, which enable students who can work at a faster rate and who can be taken to higher conceptual levels to benefit from a more demanding curriculum. The sets are subject specific so that a student who is very capable in, for instance Maths, would be in the top set for Maths, but might be in a lower set for English if his or her written work was not as good as in Maths. The system is also flexible, so that a late developer would be able to go to a higher set if he or she made good progress, and by the same token a student who was failing to progress satisfactorily in a top group, either through ability or inclination would be moved down to a lower group.
At Key Stage 4 setting is used in English, Maths and Science. The option system is also designed to allow more academically inclined students to choose a more appropriate pathway for their particular needs, while also catering for the needs of students who may be more suited to a more practical or vocational programme.
