Curriculum Overview

The curriculum at Harris Academy Chafford Hundred is designed to give individual student choice. We do not use 'pathways', limit student aspirations or label students early in their educational careers. Instead, pupils are allowed to choose freely from a broad range of academic and practical subjects. Choice is exercised at the end of Year 8 and every year thereafter.

Support

Individual advice and guidance at every step supports students' choices so that options for further education and careers remain as open and accessible as possible, given each student's potential.

Challenge

The curriculum is challenging. While there are adequate choices for students who prefer a practical route, the Academy does not rely on equivalent qualifications or easy options to boost achievement. Expectations are high and students respond by making exceptional progress and reaching outstanding levels of achievement.

Further information

Please refer to our Subjects page for more details on each subject. Further detail about how the curriculum is planned is available below. For further details or to discuss any element of the curriculum please contact r.tannahill@harrischaffordhundred.org.uk or call 01375 484580.

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Curriculum principles

High challenge and high support

The curriculum is intended to provide both challenge, which is a precondition for learning to take place, and the opportunity to enable students to receive the necessary support they require.  To this extent we look for opportunities for students to Fast track in Mathematics where appropriate and for students in Year 9 to begin some GCSE subjects.  At the same time we provide small group tuition within the timetable in English and Mathematics where students need additional time to develop and consolidate their skills in these core subjects.

Individualised and personal to a student’s needs, skills and aspirations

We believe that a curriculum should fit the needs of its students; not the other way round.  To this end we have devised our curriculum and our options to be as flexible and responsive to student need as possible. Pupils try all Design Technology subjects and all Creative Arts subjects on a carousel basis and some may study Latin or Mandarin. Some pupils may choose to study at a higher level - native speakers of Spanish for example often study A level Spanish at a young age.

Academic rigour and expectation

We provide all students with a sound academic basis and expect all our students to be successful.  The Academy supports and encourages our students to meet and exceed the national expectation that a curriculum should provide for successful study of the core subjects, Humanities and Foreign languages while retaining the breadth provided by the Creative Arts and technical subjects.  We actively encourage our students to consider this balance carefully when making decisions about future study while bearing in mind their next steps into further education or careers.  

The curriculum at Harris Academy Chafford Hundred is constantly reviewed and evaluated and we would welcome any comments or feedback from all our stakeholders. To give comments or feed back or request further information please contact r.tannahill@harrischaffordhundred.org.uk.

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Year-by-year summary

At Harris Academy Chafford Hundred we ensure all students follow a rigorous and challenging curriculum that is designed to prepare them for a fast changing and demanding world.  Our intention is that our students will follow a curriculum that enables them to excel, exceed what they thought possible and explore the world around them. Please refer to our Subjects page for more details on each subject. 

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Years 7 and 8

Year 7	Year 8
Maths	Maths
Science	Science
Languages (Students select either Spanish or French. Latin is also available.)	Languages (students continue with the language they selected in year 7)
Design Technology (taught on a carousel including Catering & Product Design)	Design Technology (taught on a carousel including Catering & Product Design)
Creative Arts (taught on a carousel including Dance, Drama, Art and Music)	Creative Arts (taught on a carousel including Dance, Drama, Art and Music)
PE	PE
Humanities (a combination of RE, Citizenship and PSHE taught through a thematic approach)	Humanities (a combination of RE, Citizenship and PSHE taught through a thematic approach)
Geography	Geography
English	English
History	History

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Year 9

In Year 9 students begin to prepare themselves for the study of GCSE subjects and in some cases may begin to study GCSE subjects. Some may begin GCSE Maths. Subjects in bold are GCSE qualifications.

In Year 9 all students study:	In Year 9 all students choose from:
Maths	History
English	Geography
Science	French
PE (either GCSE PE, Core PE or Dance)	Spanish
	German
	Mandarin
	GCSE Media studies
	GCSE Sociology
	Design Technology - Product Design
	Design Technology - Food
	Computing
	RE(Philosophy and Ethics)
	Citizenship
	Art and Design
	Drama

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Year 10 and 11

In year 10 and year 11 students study GCSE subjects. In most cases students begin GCSE subjects in year 10 and complete them in Year 11. Some students will complete in year 10 GCSE subjects started in year 9. Some students may start additional GCSE subjects in year 11 and complete them the same year. All subjects are GCSE qualifications except Core PE and Business BTEC. Business BTEC is a level 2 GCSE equivalent qualification.

All students in Years 10 and 11 study:	All students in Years 10 and 11 choose from:
Maths	Media studies
English language and literature
Science either Separate Sciences or Trilogy	Drama
PE (either GCSE PE, Core PE or Dance)	Geography
	History
	Sociology
	Business
	Business BTEC
	RE (Philosophy and Ethics)
	Psychology
	Citizenship
	French
	German
	Spanish
	Art and Design
	Design Technology - Textiles
	Design Technology - Product Design
	Design Technology - Food
	ICT
	Computing
	Health and Social Care

In our Sixth Form students may choose three A Level subjects in Year 12, or a Level 3 BTEC Extended Diploma. Students may also be selected for our Football Academy in association with West Ham United which is run alongside their other qualifications. All subjects below are studied over two years.

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Year 12 and 13

In Year 12 and 13 students choose from:

• Art and Design
• Biology
• Business
• Business BTEC
• Economics
• English Literature
• Further Maths
• French
• Geography
• German
• Government and Politics
• History
• Law
• Media
• Maths
• Product Design
• Sport BTEC
• PE
• Football Academy
• Psychology
• Physics
• RE (Philosophy and Ethics)
• Sociology
• Spanish