Subjects ensure learning in the curriculum includes Cultural and Character development for all Students. Opportunities are planned for all students to develop the South Axholme Mindset values of Expect Excellence, Ready, Resilient and Respectful through activities linked to SMSC, British Values, Personal development and to prepare themselves for the future through real world experiences and CIAG.

The General Studies programme is part of the Personal, Social, Health and Economics Education (PSHE) offer.  It includes: - Character and Culture Education, Citizenship, Careers Education Information Advice and Guidance and Relationship and Sex Education (RSE), in addition to the South Axholme Mindset

We see the EBacc as being at the core of our curriculum. All students study a modern foreign language in KS3; students are then guided onto appropriate pathways at KS4, with well over half of our students studying the EBacc suite of subjects.  
We are ambitious for our students and see it as an issue of moral and social justice that our students do not settle for jobs less than they are capable of.   We recognise that education is one of the most important predictors of people's life chances.  We know that well educated people are more likely to be in work and earning more.  In other words, by putting the EBacc at the core of the curriculum allows our students to aim high, with plenty of opportunities available for the life in Modern Britain as well as the wider world.  
Through our curriculum in all subject areas, we aim to develop not only the core academic knowledge and transferrable skills to prepare students for the world of work, but we also aim to build the all-round person

The General Studies program is extended to deliver South Axholme Mindset Cultural Capital  Days which introduce students to the best that has been thought and said and helping to engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement.’ The days also include essential careers information and guidance to meet the Gatsby Benchmarks e.g. two contrasting visits to Universities and work experience.

The Tutor Time Programme is designed to boost and improve the core skills that aid students’ progress and development across all subjects.  Form Tutors lead their forms in literacy, vocabulary and careers education activities during a weekly tutor timetable.

The range of Form Time activities ensures that there is sufficient time for discussion to help build social confidence developing oracy skills, as well as the ability to form positive relationships.

RnR is a weekly reading task, consisting of both factual and fictional texts.  Covered in the task are a range of topics (and subject areas).   It is designed to develop the reading skills of inference and deduction.  Each year group has their own PowerPoint to follow.  Students lead this session using the roles of the Leader, Predictor, Questioner, Clarifier and Summariser.

Once every two weeks, Form Tutors set and explain the spelling rule from a list of spellings which are made up of commonly misspelled words, subject specific vocabulary, and tier 2 vocabulary.  Students are then tested on these words.

Our Futures Programme is a weekly career’s education session with a half termly theme.  There is a different theme in each year group.  These include the knowledge and development of employability skills, local and national labour market information (LMI), pathways post 16 and 18 and the important skill of decision making in readiness to select GCSE options and post 16 choices.  The programme includes apprenticeships, T-Levels, further education and higher education.  Links are made to online platforms Unifrog and Be Ready.

As part of the Form Time activities students are updated weekly about their attendance and ACHIEVED points total.

Numeracy and Literacy

Numeracy and Literacy are essential skills needed to be ready in all subjects and opportunities to develop the knowledge within Maths and English are given in all subject areas. Liaison with other subjects in curriculum design is important in this regard.  

Numeracy

South Axholme Academy is committed to raising the standards of numeracy of all of its students; we want our students to be confident and capable in the use of numeracy to support their learning in all areas of the curriculum and to acquire the skills necessary to help achieve success in further education, employment and adult life.

Numeracy is delivered within daily maths lessons as well as being developed and reinforced throughout other curriculum areas. 

Students are supported to develop the ability to use numeracy skills effectively in all areas of the curriculum and the skills necessary to cope confidently with the demands of further education, employment and adult life.

Literacy

Language and literacy are fundamental life skills, not only to our well-being, personal identity and social and emotional development, but also for our ability to think, understand, evaluate, dissect and disseminate knowledge.

At South Axholme Academy, we believe our students should be given every opportunity possible to develop their reading, writing, speaking and listening skills, so that they may access the wider curriculum.  This will lay the foundation for lifelong learning to lead a happy and successful life as adults. By being literate, all learners will be able to embrace a wider range of opportunities in all aspects of life.

Reading skills are developed through Register and Read (RnR) and our Inspire Challenge and Engage (ICE) programme. In RnR, fiction and non-fiction texts are read in form time weekly, and questions are used to develop understanding and reading comprehension.

The ICE programme offers students the chance to read with other students and members of staff, to develop their reading skills and confidence levels. Students are also able to re-visit phonics should they require it.

Oracy skills are developed in every lesson, every day. Our students are encouraged to speak like experts, using full sentences and sophisticated vocabulary to express their ideas.

South Axholme Academy is committed to providing an ambitious, balanced and broad Key Stage 3 curriculum.  Students cover all the national curriculum subjects. In addition, all students study Expressive and Performing Arts ( Dance, Drama and Music ).

Lessons are 50 minutes in length with 30 lessons each week, distributed as below. 

Core Subjects – English, Maths, Science, PE

Students will be organised into two bands: X and Y of even abilities.  Subjects will set the groups by ability within each band.  Initial setting will be based on teacher grades from Key Stage 2.  Setting will be reviewed regularly following formative and summative assessments.

Non core- subjects

Students will be organised into three mixed ability bands.  Subjects will be able to regroup students within these bands.  Students can be regrouped for: 1) History, Geography, and Spanish; 2) Art, Computing and RE; 3) Food and Design Technology; 4) Music, Drama and Dance

Form Groups and General Studies

Students will be placed in form groups for pastoral reasons based on information received from primary schools.  These groupings will be followed for General Studies lessons.

Year 9 Options

In Year 9, students will make option choices for study in Year 10. All students will receive support to help them to make the right choices. This includes an options’ evening followed by a parents’ evening with subject teachers and a whole school assembly. Information is shared through the Pathway's booklet and one to one support and guidance is available, if required.

Pathway Guide 2024

All students will follow a core curriculum of English, Mathematics, Science, Physical Education (PE) and General Studies alongside the options subjects they selected at the end of Year 9.

Core Subjects – English, Maths, Science, PE

Students will be placed into one band.  Subjects will set the groups by ability within the band.

Options

Options subjects will be in one band and mixed ability based on students’ subject choices.  Where more than one group is available in one band subjects may set by ability.

Form Groups and General Studies

Students will be placed into form groups for pastoral reasons. These groupings will be followed for General Studies lessons.

South Axholme Academy is ambitious for all its students, as well as meeting their individual learning needs. The range of options offered are designed to recognise that our students have different strengths; some students may excel on traditional academic courses whilst others will embrace the opportunity for a more applied or vocational approach to a subject.

The table below illustrates the rage of subjects available to students at each Key Stage

For more information about each of these subjects see our subject details page.