Key Stage 3
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Your child’s journey begins in The Secondary School in Year 7, in Key Stage 3, before transitioning from Key Stage 3 (KS3) at the end of Year 9. The Key Stage 3 Curriculum at ASCS has been designed to master the key skills of English, Mathematics and Science, to spark students’ interests and creativity whilst also providing them with a solid basis of preparation to meet the rigours of Key Stages 4 and 5 (Post-16).
Our core purpose at Key Stage 3
We are confident to deliver an engaging and challenging curriculum through outstanding teaching and learning. We aim to make our learners “GCSE Ready” by the end of Year 9 and to make them confident and responsible members of the school and wider community.
It is designed to challenge students in problem solving, investigative skills whilst perfecting English literacy and oracy skills. We expect our teachers to plan and think deeply about how best to teach our curriculum to suit the needs of the learners in front of them.
We have a three-year Key Stage 3, which attempts to accomplish both breadth of exposure to a range of subjects, as well as promoting depth of thought in each discipline. We are proud of our investment in the arts, languages, humanities, and technology, in addition to a very strong core subject experience.
Design Thinking
ASCS offers unparalleled opportunities for intellectual growth. The ‘Design Thinking’ approach to teaching learning encourages students to foster independent learning; to make connections between the curriculum and the wider world and to increase their cultural capital. The overarching intention is that students are able to confidently apply the higher-order thinking skills of analysis, synthesis and evaluation to solve real world problems, using design principles.
Students also learn through this innovative approach to the curriculum, which transcends all subject areas, allowing them to make cross-curricular links. Every term, students have the opportunity to present their Design Thinking projects in various mediums and forums to their target audiences. During Design Thinking Week, there is a focus on Spiritual, Moral, Social, Cultural learning and 21st Century digital learning skills. In turn, our learners are on the journey to becoming well-rounded, global individuals.
How do we promote literacy and reading at ASCS?
The English curriculum will provide opportunities for pupils to communicate, comprehend and compose in the English Language, using a wide variety of forms. Our ‘Al Salam Literary Canon’ is a list of class reading books that we have created to enrich, inspire, challenge and broaden our pupils’ experiences of the world. The selection is international, culturally diverse and allows our staff and children to learn and share together ‘the best that has been thought, written and said’. Weekly library lessons for every KS3 child aim to foster a love for reading and present opportunities to develop critical reading skills.
Curriculum Enrichment
Research undertaken by the Institute of Education, University College London, suggests children who take part in enrichment activities outside of normal school hours achieve better grades. KS3 curriculum enrichment opportunities during the academic year will include using time in the school day creatively; allowing our students to be involved in Project Based Learning, designed and co-delivered by external providers and experts. These opportunities are designed to:
- Develop skilled, reflective learners
- Develop confident, resilient learners
- Develop active and responsible learners
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