Curriculum

As an independent school, we are free to adapt our curriculum as we see fit, so we can build on the requirements and expectations of the National Curriculum which our having to be constrained by it. This allows us to offer an exciting, forward-thinking curriculum which blends the core academic requirements of literacy and numeracy with other disciplines. 

Every half term the learning for each class centres around a 'focus topic' which connects different subjects and disciplines in a meaningful and relevant way. This helps the pupils to make connections between different areas of their knowledge and gain a broader, deeper understanding of the world. The activities are also designed to encouraging critical thinking, problem-solving and analytical skills as well as challenge the children to think deeply and critically about complex issues.

Woven through the activities is the Leweston Learner, our bespoke programme which develops the skills and qualities essential for success in today’s rapidly changing world. 

Each topic has an engaging and thought-provoking text at the centre. Our topic titles are broad and open to interpretation so that the pupils and teachers can work together on building a learning journey that is both exciting and meaningful and allows opportunities to them to follow their own lines of enquiry. 

For example, in Prep 6 one of the topic titles recently studied was “Utopia and Dystopia”. The pupils begin with a session exploring what these words might mean and all of the potential leaning links they could think of. In English they looked at the dystopian novel The Boy in the Tower and how the characters in the novel embodied the Leweston Learner value resilience. In PSHRE they learnt about the working world; exploring whether by striving for utopia through the advancement of technology has the potential to lead to a dystopia. In Education for Social Responsibility the pupils looked at collaborative consumption and how we can improve society by sharing and reusing items. In Art, the pupils looked at surrealist paintings and how surrealism often represents dystopian values. In Religious Studies they investigated the history of the term “Utopia” and how it was Thomas More who first coined the term. 

We believe that our new curriculum will prepare our students to become lifelong learners, critical thinkers, and responsible global citizens.