Secondary School

Secondary Education

Secondary

The education offered in the Secondary School at Upper School Campus builds on the students' previous learning and knowledge from KS2. In KS3 lessons are taught by a series of subject specialists with the class tutor having the important pastoral role of coordinating all aspects of the pupils' academic and social development. The class tutor also delivers the PSHE program which includes global citizenship and health education. At BSG our expectation of our students are high – all participate in the learning process and each student’s contribution to the school is valued.

Key Stage 3 & 4

Key Stage 3

In Years 7 to 9 at BSG specialist teachers deliver a balanced program broadly based on the English National Curriculum. Students study English, Mathematics, Science, Geography, History, Drama, Art, ICT and PE. In addition students choose to study one Modern Foreign Language from a choice of Chinese, French or Spanish. The curriculum is designed to be engaging for all students, with many units of learning being set within local or international contexts that are drawn from real world examples and case studies.

Key Stage 4

In Years 10 and 11 students follow the UK Cambridge University International Examinations Board (CIE) and UK EdExcel Examinations Board IGCSE programme. This two year programme is globally recognised to be one of the best academically rigourous programme for this age range of students.

These IGCSE qualifications are recognised by all higher education providers in Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and they provide an excellent academic grounding for students to continue into A-Levels (British curriculum), the IB Diploma (global curriculum) or Advanced Placement certification (USA curriculum). Students study the ‘core’ subjects – English Literature, English Language, Science, Mathematics, Statistics, ICT and PE (non-exam).

They then choose a further four ‘option’ subjects from a choice of Mandarin First Language, Mandarin Modern Foreign Language, French Modern Foreign Language, Spanish Modern Foreign Language, Art and Design, Music, Geography, History, Drama and Business Studies. This diverse option choice is one of the reasons why our IGCSE programme is so engaging for all our students.

Accelerated Maths Programme

One feature of our secondary curriculum that caters for our ‘gifted and talented’ students is the accelerated Mathematics programme. All students at BSG start studying for their IGCSE Mathematics in Year 9 and by doing so enables those ‘gifted’ Mathematics students to sit their IGCSE at the end of Year 10 – one year earlier than usual. This then enables them to study for the Additional Mathematics IGCSE in Year 11 giving them a further IGCSE qualification.

Assessment

As well as using this summative assessment to track student progress throughout the school, teachers use a range of formative assessment techniques in lessons, including peer and self- assessment opportunities, rich questioning techniques, personalised learning and target setting.

These Assessment for Learning (AFL) strategies enable every student to become confident, independent learners that play a significant role in guiding their own learning needs and progress throughout their time at BSG. Regular student target setting and reviews by the individual subject teachers ensure that all our students are constantly monitored and tracked to ensure they all make academic progress as they progress through the school. This ensures that no child is performing below their expected level of academic achievement.