Mixed-age Curriculum
Many parents ask about the curriculum in our mixed-aged classes. Our curriculum does not treat knowledge as a checklist or skills as isolated drills. Instead, it is built on a concept-based progressive framework that intentionally weaves subject knowledge and skills around concepts.
Big ideas, for example, chronology and culture in history, or locational knowledge in Geography, serve as the foundation. These concepts give context to everything students learn, making abstract ideas meaningful and memorable. Within each concept, students build a deep, structured foundation of domain knowledge.
Driven by Progressive Skills
As students encounter these concepts year after year, the skills required to engage with them grow in complexity. A child might explore their location through basic observation in early years, and later apply those same concepts to understand why the Ancient Egyptians lived as they did.
Continuity
Because skills and knowledge are tied to enduring concepts, the curriculum expands naturally. Students continuously revisit key ideas at higher levels of sophistication, ensuring continuous progress without artificial ceilings. Wherever students step into the two-year cycle, they will experience a learning journey crafted around these concepts.
Frequently Asked Questions
The National Curriculum is structured in "Key Stages" rather than just individual years. This allows us to plan in a way that ensures every child meets their milestones without repetition or gaps. Here are some frequently asked questions about mixed year group classes.
If my child is in the same class for two years, will they repeat the learning?
Rolling Programmes: To ensure that students do not study the same history or science topic twice, we use a two-year rolling cycle (Cycle A and Cycle B). For example, a Year 3/4 class might study "The Romans" one year and "The Ancient Egyptians" the next.
My child is in the lower year group, will the learning be too hard for them?
Differentiation: Teachers plan lessons with multiple entry points. While the topic might be the same, the complexity of the tasks and the expected outcomes are tailored to the specific year group and the individual child’s ability.
Does the order of the learning my child experiences have an impact?
Spiral Learning: We revisit core concepts frequently. This means that subject sequencing throughout the school is progressive and builds on prior learning. For younger students, this provides a "preview" of what’s to come; for older students, it provides a "review" that reinforces their mastery.
