Arthur Mellows Village College

Delivering learning for life within an aspirational culture

Curriculum Intent

At Arthur Mellows our intention is to deliver learning for life within an aspirational culture. We aim to foster students who are active, responsible and resistant members of society. We want our students to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to enable them to play a full part of life beyond our College community.  We aim to provide opportunities for all students to learn and to achieve, irrespective of social background, culture, race, gender, differences in ability and disabilities.

We provide an inspirational and aspirational curriculum that is ambitious for all students, regardless of their starting points. Our coverage is broad and balanced and fulfils the National Curriculum requirements at Key Stage 3 whilst also equipping students with the knowledge and relevant skills to prepare for Key Stage 4 success. 

Our curriculum is holistic and promotes students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and supports them in developing principles for distinguishing between right and wrong.  Students are encouraged to think creatively and critically and to respect others and the environments in which they live.  They are enabled to develop their physical skills and promote their personal and social well-being.

We also deliver a strong Life Skills and Citizenship curriculum which prepares students for life in modern Britain and teaches them to value themselves and each other, respecting and celebrating  religious, cultural and ethnic diversity, all underpinned by our ‘Respect, Responsibility, Excellence’ ethos promoted in our Behaviour for Learning Curriculum.

We aim to ensure our students should value the key skills of literacy and numeracy across all subjects and staff understand their importance. In addition we wish to engender a love of reading and support students to value the idea of reading for pleasure.

Our curriculum sets out the knowledge and skills that students will gain at each stage, ensuring the following: 

  • It is planned and sequenced so that students develop the knowledge and skills, building on what has been taught before, so they can reach those clear end points. 
  • It is coherent and based on the best research and practice.
  • It has rigour, where relevant, so that students learn the knowledge that they need to answer subject-specific questions and to gain knowledge of how the subject works.
  • We do not offer disadvantaged students with SEND a reduced curriculum.
  • A stimulating careers curriculum, which prepares students for the next steps in their education and ensures that they are ready for the workplace, enabling the school to meet the requirements of the Gatsby benchmarks. 

We offer a diverse and inspiring wider enrichment curriculum to capture students’ interest, widen opportunity, develop cultural capital and support the development of personal skills.  We wish to ensure our students develop as independent individuals, prepared for meaningful and ambitious opportunities throughout their lives and preparing them effectively for the next steps in their education.

If you require any further information regarding the curriculum, please contact the College.