Prepare students for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life.
Promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils and of society
Provide opportunities for all pupils to learn and achieve
Encompass personal, social and cognitive development

In order to achieve these aims the Curriculum should have:

Breadth - to provide a range, variety and scope of skills and understanding

Balance - to afford each element of the Curriculum sufficient time and emphasis to play its part in achieving the above aims

Progression - to allow for increase in challenge and achievement over time

Continuity - to ensure that pupils’ experiences build on what has gone and prepare them for what is to come

Access - to ensure that all pupils have access to relevant components of the Curriculum

Differentiation - to ensure that the Curriculum contents and methods of the Curriculum meet the needs of individual pupils

School Curriculum Plan

Pre-Prep

The teaching programme acknowledges and broadly follows the principles and guidelines of the National Curriculum Foundation Stage. Staff have the freedom to vary or to enrich syllabi where they feel it is in the best interest of the girls. The curriculum is balanced and access to the whole curriculum is for all.

Key Stage One

The teaching programme acknowledges and broadly follows the principles and guidelines of the National Curriculum. Staff have the freedom to vary or to enrich syllabi where they feel it is in the best interest of the girls. We are able to offer greater breadth, for example including French from Year 2. The curriculum is balanced and access to the whole curriculum is for all.

Key Stage Two

The teacher programme acknowledges and broadly follows the principles and guidelines of the National Curriculum. Staff have the freedom to vary or to enrich syllabi where they feel it is in the best interest of the girls. We are able to offer greater breadth, for example including Latin from Year 5. The curriculum is balanced and access to the whole curriculum is for all.

Lower School - Years 7 to 9 (Key Stage 3)

During Years 7 to 9 students study:

English, Mathematics, Science, Design & Technology (Textiles and Resistant Materials), Home Economics, a Modern Foreign Language (French), a Classical Language (Latin), the Humanities (History, Geography and Religious Education), Arts Education (Art, Drama and Music), Physical Education, ICT and PSHE with Citizenship. From Year 8 the Curriculum is extended to include a second Modern Foreign Language (Spanish or German). In year 9, Science is taught as three separate subjects - Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

Upper School - Years 10 and 11 (Key Stage 4)

Girls normally study nine subjects for GCSE, including a compulsory core of English
Language, English Literature, Mathematics, Science (double or triple award) and a
Modern Foreign Language (French, German or Spanish). From 2009 the number of GCSE subjects will increase to ten as all girls will study the new triple award science as part of the compulsory core. We recommend girls to follow a broad and balanced Curriculum until the end of Year 11, so that no career paths are closed off and every girl has the opportunity to gain the best possible examination result.

Girls are encouraged to choose their options from different areas of knowledge:
Languages (French, German, Spanish, Latin, Greek), Humanities (Geography, History
Religious Studies), Aesthetic/Practical Subjects (Art & Design - Painting, Drawing
Graphics, Textiles, Art & Design or Three-Dimensional Studies, Design and Technology - Graphic Products or Resistant Materials, Textiles Technology, Home Economics, Music and Drama).

In addition to examination subjects, all girls have classes in Physical Education, Religious Education, Personal Social and Health Education with Citizenship, and Careers Guidance. Every girl is offered work experience after the GCSE examinations and is given the opportunity in Year 10 to develop ICT skills through the CLAIT course.

Sixth Form - L6 and U6

In L6 students study four AS subjects and also General Studies. Students have a completely free choice from the 29 subjects on offer, subject to demand and timetabling considerations: Art (2D or 3D), Biology, Chemistry, Classical Civilisation, Design and Technology - Graphics with Materials, Design and Technology - Resistant Materials, Economics, English Literature, French, Geography, German, Greek, Government and Politics, History, History of Art, Home Economics, Latin, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Music, Physical Education, Physics, Psychology, Religious Studies, Sociology, Spanish, Textiles Technology and Theatre Studies. However, students are encouraged to include contrasting subjects within the four.

Most students continue with three of their subjects in U6 at A2 level and all girls continue with General Studies.

The timetable is built around the choices made by the Sixth Form. Wherever possible each subject is taught by two members of staff, giving different perspectives on the subject.

In addition to examination subjects, all girls have a weekly sports afternoon with a wide range of options both on and off site. There are also weekly lessons in Personal, Social and Health Education, and a General Studies Course shared with the Royal Grammar School and Guildford High School

Teaching and Learning

Teaching and Learning Styles

Teaching styles are supportive, enthusiastic and rigorous. Students are encouraged to ask questions and to seek help if needed. Within the subject departments, Heads of Department employ approaches and teaching methods appropriate to their disciplines. The different learning styles of pupils (visual, audio and kinaesthetic) are taken into account in planning and teaching. Lesson planning recognises that learning occurs through active intellectual engagement on the part of the learner, is always in context and involves making meaning, involves linking new knowledge with previous understanding and involves feelings.

The resources in the Junior Department of an ICT room, a Science/Design Technology room, Music room and a Library support the teaching and learning, offering stimulus and challenge. There are interactive boards in the Junior Department in the Year 6 classrooms, one of the Year 4 classrooms and the Science/Design Technology room.

In the Senior school the resources of the three ICT rooms, a set of lap-top computers in the Science Department and two libraries support the teaching and learning, offering stimulus and challenge. There are interactive whiteboards in the school — seven in the Science Department, two in each of the Geography Department, Sixth Form Centre and the Mathematics Department, and one in a computer room and one in each of the History, Textiles and Design & Technology Resistant Materials departments.

The school has a rolling programme to increase the number of data projectors/interactive whiteboards and generally enhance ICT facilities.

Both teachers and students have high expectations and achieve high academic standards. Many subjects run “surgeries”, where girls may have help with difficulties or try more advanced work. A system of academic mentors is also in place, where the older girls help the younger ones with their studies. Study skills are taught in all sections of the school. As girls move up the school they are helped to make appropriate Curriculum choices, and encouraged to take more responsibility for their own learning and time management.

Learning Support

The school is committed to recognising and addressing the learning needs of students with Special Educational Needs, whether of a permanent or temporary nature, and provides for these in different ways. These include individual support lessons, differentiation within whole-class lessons and extra time in examinations. SEN provision is made explicit in Departmental Handbooks and Schemes of Work.

Gifted and Talented Provision

While recognising that all students at Tormead are of above-average ability relative to national standards, the school is committed to providing a programme for gifted and talented students through departments. Gifted students are those who have abilities in one or more subjects in the School Curriculum other than Art and Design, Music and P.E. Talented students are those who have abilities in Art and Design, Music, P.E. or the performing arts, such as Dance and Drama.

The top 10% of pupils in the school in each discipline are viewed as gifted or talented and are identified within each discipline. Gifted and talented provision is made explicit in Departmental Handbooks and Schemes of Work.

Sex Education

Sex education is carried out principally within PSHE lessons, and is dealt with across the years according to the needs and maturity of students at different ages. Parents have a right to withdraw their daughter from these classes.

Careers

Tormead follows a structured programme of Careers Education throughout the school from Years 7 to 13. Key Skills such as decision-making and self-evaluation are encouraged to ensure that the student is fully equipped to make appropriate choices regarding her future. Specialist Careers Guidance is offered in Year 11 by a professional Careers Adviser.

There is a well-stocked Careers Library which offers a variety of sources such as university prospectuses, job directories, CD-Roms and Internet links to assist students.

Homework

Homework is an integral part of the Curriculum. Homework helps students acquire learning skills needed for self-organisation, encourages independent learning and helps foster a sense of responsibility. It also gives parents the opportunity to be involved in their daughter’s learning and promotes a home-school partnership. Differentiated homework is set where appropriate so that the more able students can be stretched, and the relatively less able can be supported.