The curriculum at Bolton School Boys' Division is organised in
the spirit of the National Curriculum but is certainly not limited
by it.
The curriculum operates on a 60 period two week cycle, with six
50 minute periods per day. It provides a strong framework for
future study, in that it:
- encourages breadth of experience without sacrificing depth of
understanding;
- combines traditional academic rigour with opportunities for
self-expression and creativity;
- offers a breadth of study and range of experience for the Lower
School;
- gives a range of choice to give a broad and balanced curriculum
in the Middle School for GCSE;
- offers the chance for boys to study the three science subjects
as separate disciplines at GCSE;
- allows the possibility of two or more foreign languages being
taken through to GCSE;
- offers a wide choice of 4 AS subjects, and at least 3 are
normally taken through to A2 in the Upper School;
- gives all Lower and Middle School boys experience of
outdoor activities at Patterdale Hall.
All boys in the first five years of the school have a carefully
balanced academic programme, set within a wide core of subjects,
the majority of which are studied to GCSE level.
Pupils progress through the
Lower School and
Middle School into the Upper School, where they are joined by
students from other schools who have achieved the standard required
of all entrants to Year 12.
Monitoring Progress
Pupils' progress is monitored by subject teachers, Form teachers
and Heads of Year. Parents will receive two written reports a year
and they will have the opportunity to attend a Parents' Evening for
a face to face discussion with those involved in their son's
education. Parents have constant access to their son's academic
progress on line, through the School's ePortal record system.
However, they are urged to contact their son's Form teacher if they
have any concerns about his academic progress. Internal
examinations for Years 7-10 take place in early June. GCSE mock
examinations for Year 11 take place in early January, with the main
GCSE examination period being in May and June. AS and A2 Level
examinations take place in January and in the summer.
Homework
Evening homework is set throughout the School, and parents are
encouraged to ensure that their sons have adequate working
conditions for personal study at home. Pupils in the Lower and
Middle Schools are required to spend between one and two hours a
night on homework assignments, and for them a formal timetable of
subjects is arranged. In the Upper School, pupils have greater
flexibility, assignments normally being set by the week, allowing
them the opportunity of learning to plan their own schedules. Year
12/13 students need to do considerable reading and research in
addition to set exercises, and for this, they have private study
periods allocated within their weekly timetable.
Each pupil is given a study planner to help him organise his
work. Parents are encouraged to use the relevant space in the
planner to communicate with staff.
Form teachers regularly check these planners in order to monitor
pupils' organisation.
Departmental Planning and Delivery
Within this overall curriculum structure the responsibiltiy for
devising schemes of work lies with the Heads of Departments.
A department's handbook will often describe the particular
departmental emphasis in each part of the school and schemes of
work will guide the day to day work of colleagues. Departments are
encouraged to have an agenda item on teaching and learning at their
planned meetings. The nature of classroom teaching is guided by
Bolton School Boys' Division's Teaching and Learning Policy. The
work of the Heads of Department is managed by the Academic
Assistant Head.
Personal Social Health Education and Careers Guidance
PSHE and careers guidance are delivered through the PSHE lessons
in Lower and Middle School, by the pastoral system, assemblies and
form meetings, through curriculum study and the wide variety of
extra-curricular activities. The work is managed by the Deputy Head
with the Heads of Year and the HoD PSHE and HoD Careers. The
Pastoral Group recommends strategic decisions on the aspect of the
curriculum and other pastoral issues to the SMT.
Curriculum Management and Delivery
The curriculum content and delivery is managed by the Academic
Assistant Head, in leading the team of Heads of Department, who
meet each half term to discuss issues affecting the curriculum and
teaching and learning. The Learning Development Group,
chaired by the Director of Learning is a forum for discussing
teaching and learning initiatives, which are fed back to staff on
inset days and inform the agenda of Heads of Department
meetings.
Mr D J Jones (Academic Assistant Head) is
responsible for the organisation of the curriculum throughout the
School and welcomes contact from parents or prospective
parents to discuss any aspects of our provision in this area.
Contact can be made via email at djj@boys.bolton.sch.uk