Intent

Sir William Romney’s School aims to provide a curriculum which actively seeks to improve the life chances of all of our students, addressing any inequalities and barriers that are present and allowing students to realise their true potential. We are a school that is proud to be truly comprehensive, taking in students from a range of diverse social, economic and educational backgrounds and providing them all with a rich and broad curriculum that ensure they become highly literate, confident learners.

Our diverse intake includes students from our local primary schools making the same, long-established transition to us as their siblings and even parents, students from farther afield often opting out of the grammar school system and students who had previously been home schooled or attended Steiner schools moving into mainstream education. We also welcome many students that come to us after realising other schools did not meet their needs. Our size and our commitment to knowing each and every one of our students allows us to be ambitious for all and maximise student potential.

We passionately believe that a curriculum should be more than simply subject content needed for examinations. Our curriculum is therefore underpinned by 4 key pillars. These are; Diversity and Inclusivity, Literacy and Articulacy, Life After School and Life Beyond School. In addition to equipping students with the knowledge and skills of each subject they encounter, we look to capitalise on opportunities to take learning further by placing these 4 pillars at the heart of curriculum content wherever appropriate.

Diversity and Inclusivity

We are committed to ensuring that the curriculum we expose our students to is one that celebrates and respects differences. Subjects regularly explore ways they can diversify their curriculums to ensure they are representative of the rich tapestry of knowledge, experiences and beliefs that exist in our world. Our aim is to ensure that all members of our school community feel represented and valued, and that our students develop the values and skills that will allow them to collaborate across differences in the world beyond school. As a result, subject curriculums are broad and diverse in their choice of content and students are exposed to and explore a wide range of perspectives and ideas regardless of the subject area.

Literacy and Articulacy

Levels of Literacy can be a hugely defining factor in the accessibility of opportunities that present themselves to our students when they leave school. As a result, Reading is at the heart of our curriculum, with all subjects being committed to ensuring students are exposed to a range of high quality, challenging texts wherever appropriate and that they develop the tools to actively digest these and further their understanding. Equally important is the ability of our students to articulate and communicate their own understanding with confidence. Therefore the teaching of written and spoken communication skills are embedded across all subjects and discussion and debate is valued highly in all classrooms. Across all subjects, students are supported in developing and meeting the highest standards in their communication.

Life After School

Preparing our students for the next stage in their education is something we take incredibly seriously. We believe passionately that by making links to the world of work and careers and by building strong links between what students are learning in the classroom and where this will take them, we can ignite aspirations that will drive them toward making distant goals a reality. Whether students go on to join our very own SWR 6, or one of the many post 16 providers in the area, our curriculum has a focus on looking ahead and considering possibilities.

Life Beyond School

As a small, rural school, our Curriculum provision aims to build on many of the strengths that come from being part of a tight knit, supportive community. At the same time, we are committed to ensuring we expose our students to important experiences, concepts and ideas that sit outside of their everyday lives and encourage them to look beyond what they know when setting future goals. Through a wide range of out of classroom visits to unfamiliar places, a rich and vibrant extra-curricular offer and through working collaboratively with schools across the trust and beyond, we look to maximise opportunities that require our students to step out of their comfort zones and build the resilience to flourish in a rapidly changing world.

Our commitment to these 4 pillars ensures Sir William Romney’s Curriculum;

  • Delivers a rich and broad range of subjects to all students at Key Stage 3 and encourages a breadth of study at Key Stage 4.
  • Creates an aspirational and ambitious culture for all students exposing them to opportunities and experiences beyond those they would necessarily be aware of.
  • Inspires all students to achieve and be the best versions of themselves by tending to their Academic and Social
  • Fosters an inclusive and supportive ethos where every student feels valued and respects and values those around them regardless of differences.
  • Is tailored with an awareness of the local, national and international issues affecting our students in their day to day lives.
  • Challenges students to develop and broaden their own viewpoints on the world around them.
  • Actively promotes the development and acquisition of effective literacy skills.

This in turn leads to;

  • Aspirational students who thrive academically and personally.
  • Resilient students who enjoy exploring new ideas and engage with challenges positively.
  • Collaborative students who make a positive contribution to the school and wider society.