Our Curriculum

Students at The Forest High School follow the National Curriculum in the following areas (please click on each subject for more details):

Year 7

From September 2020 we plan on introducing a year 7 ‘challenge’ curriculum that provides specialist teaching for those students who come to us well below age expected literacy levels. The English block will have three groups (despite having around 58 students in the year group), the third of which will be the challenge group. We are maintaining our commitment to PE with four hours a fortnight in year 7 – keeping minds and bodies fit.

Year 8

The current year 7 will see an alteration once they move into year 8. Maths and science lessons will change from ten hours to eight hours. English will move to eleven hours a fortnight. This will allow us to broaden the curriculum in other areas whilst maintaining our focus on literacy.

Year 9

In September 2020 we plan on offering a gradual pathway to GCSE. Currently we ask all year 8 students to make their option choices at the end of year 8. We have devised a curriculum for year 9 starting in September 2020 that gives them the best of both worlds. We will have one option block comprising of BTEC Sport, BTEC Health and Social Care and GCSE Sociology. This will give these subjects plenty of time to fulfil the requirements of the coursework for BTEC and cover the content of brand new subjects, giving students the best possible chance of success. All lessons in year 9 will prepare students for the GCSE content by teaching lessons that are part of the GCSE or lessons that create the building blocks for those subjects. At the end of year 9, students will pick from two more option blocks ready for study in years 10 and 11.

This year group will take their GCSE RE at the end of year 10 in the summer of 2022. The rationale for this is that students will adopt a more serious and focused approach to their studies as this will be the only exam they take this year. Evidence for this comes from other schools that have done the same. For some students RE is not a priority as they work towards all their other subjects to secure places at sixth form or FE colleges. Taking away the stress of the RE exam and moving it to year 10 will not only increase the chances of success but it will reduce stress and anxiety at the end of year 11.

Year 10 and 11

After the legacy groups have moved through the school, KS4 from September 2021 will have ten lessons a fortnight for both English and Science and eight lessons for maths. The difference is because English and Science represent two GCSEs whereas maths is one GCSE. Students will have five lessons a fortnight for their option groups, three lessons for RE and two lessons for PE. Students will not study RE in year 11 for the reason stated above and these three additional lessons will go to the option groups so that they have six hours a fortnight.

The following music clubs are run in partnership with The Music Works in the school’s own recording studios – Soundspace:

• Monday lunchtime – 1pm – 1.40pm
• Saturdays – Audio-Base music sessions 11am – 1pm – cost £6/£5/£3

Please get in touch with Music Works if you need more information.

Contact Music Works

Every Lunchtime from 1pm -1.40pm and after school from 3pm -4pm we offer a variety of extra-curricular clubs:

All year eleven students are required to attend P6 3-4pm, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday each week.

Term 4 (Feb-April 2019)

• Tuesdays: RE, PE BTEC, Food and D+T
• Wednesdays: Art, History, English and Personal Revision
• Thursdays: Maths, French, Science