Mayfield Grammar School, Gravesend
Learning at Mayfield
Mayfield Grammar School delivers an ambitious high-quality curriculum for each of our students which aims to equip them for the challenges and demands of the 21st century. We want all students to attain highly, enjoy learning and realise their full potential across all areas of school life.
We believe that it is our responsibility to offer a broad and balanced curriculum which stimulates our students’ curiosity and imaginations, and which is sufficiently diverse to meet the needs of individuals enabling them to realise their full academic potential. Alongside encouraging students to develop confidence in themselves and their skills whilst promoting an awareness of the importance of positive wellbeing and mental health, spiritual, cultural and fundamental British Values which engender a sense of trust, respect and tolerance of others.
Our curriculum is an academic one as befits a selective grammar school, and it is designed to enable all students to realise their potential. Every member of our school staff is committed to this, and each subject area is clear on their responsibility to deliver our school’s philosophy and vision. It is the intent of our school curriculum to deliver on these to ensure our students leave our school successful, confident, well qualified and skilled, equipped to meet the demands of a 21st century world.
Our curriculum is designed to be exciting, offer challenge and to stimulate an interest across a wide and varied range of subjects.
Our curriculum aims to:
- To ensure that our students engage in their learning so that they take responsibility for their own learning across each phase of the school.
- To ensure that our students understand how they learn and how they can improve.
- To develop systems which enable them to be effective learners who regularly review their subject content.
- To develop opportunities for retrieval practice across the curriculum.
- To develop our students’ creativity, resourcefulness, and their enquiry skills so that they can identify and solve problems, develop higher level thinking skills, and communicate in a variety of ways.
- To develop our students as independent learners, able to use their skills across the curriculum.
- To allow our students to enjoy learning for learning’s sake, not just as an end to gain qualifications.
- To develop our students’ emotional intelligence and emotional literacy by giving them opportunities to develop their social and communication skills.
- To develop students who are confident, have a sense of self-worth and personal identity and who relate well to others.
- To equip and support all students to ensure they can manage and take a positive approach to their own mental health and well-being.
- To ensure that our students have secure values and beliefs, to be able to distinguish right from wrong, to be able to make healthy lifestyle choices and keep themselves safe through making informed decisions.
- To ensure equality of opportunity for all students.
- To ensure that our students are responsible citizens who develop empathy and understanding, celebrate the different peoples, cultures, and traditions in the world and who are prepared for the world of work.
- To use the PSHE Association guidance and criteria to create breadth of delivery on health and wellbeing, relationships and living in the wider world.
The school’s curriculum fulfils the National Curriculum guidelines. Initially, during the early weeks of Year 7, students will work to consolidate their learning. It is from these firm foundations that students quickly move to develop breadth and depth across a wide range of core and foundation subjects. All students in Years 7 and 8 study two languages from either French, German or Spanish. In addition, we offer Mandarin as part of the Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP), pupils who follow this pathway study Mandarin instead of a European MFL.
Our extended curriculum programme, LEAP, is followed by students in Years 7 and 8 as well as a varied Personal Development Programme which includes PSHE and Learning to Learn. The Learning to Learn (Years 7-9) course introduces students to a wide range of thinking skills, learning strategies and revision techniques which underpin the Mayfield Effective Learner characteristics. It is delivered through a series of enrichment days which support their learning journey in Years 7, 8 and 9. We will help each student develop their resilience, build up effective systems and good learning habits to enable them to be an effective learner and access our curriculum effectively.
Our Year 9 curriculum is designed to build on the knowledge and skills developed during the Lower School. Year 9 is intended to serve as a foundation for the GCSE courses which formally begin for core and foundation subjects in year 10. Students follow a three-year Key Stage Three, selecting their GCSE option subjects in Year 9. All students follow the GCSE short course in Philosophy as part of their RE studies and complete the Entry Level Certificate in Computer Science. Students following the MEP have the opportunity to access either French, German or Spanish (offered on rotation) via a bespoke “express” course designed to prepare students to access GCSE level study. A varied Personal Development Programme which includes PSHE and Learning to Learn is also followed by all.
At GCSE all students study a core curriculum of English Language, English Literature, Mathematics and Biology, Chemistry and Physics (Triple or Combined Science), they also study four options selected from a wide range at the end of Year 9. Across Years 10 and 11 students are working towards up to 10 GCSEs. Our students are strongly encouraged to follow the English Baccalaureate and to select a language and humanity as part of their GCSE programme. We monitor student curriculum choices via the Mayfield Baccalaureate which recognises the specific contributions made by a wider group of subjects specifically Classical Civilisation, Economics, Psychology and RE which are popular choices within our student body. At Mayfield Grammar School, students are encouraged to follow a curriculum which is broad but also reflects their interests and passions. Students also follow a compulsory core programme of PE and RE as well as a Personal Development Programme (PSHE, Development and Well-Being).
The A level curriculum offer aims to ensure that students leave Mayfield Grammar School, fully equipped for the next phase of their lives as confident and independent young adults, ready to become the leaders of tomorrow. Mayfield Grammar School students can choose study programmes of either 3 or 4 A Level courses with 11 hours allocated to the delivery of each subject. We are proud to offer a wide range of subjects to study with 30 subjects currently being offered A Level. Students are encouraged to complete the EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) which is offered in addition to the AL programme. Sixth Form students are supported by a varied Personal Development Programme which includes, PSHE, General Lecture, Prep, Work Experience and Enrichment which forms the core component of our Sixth Form Extra Programme. All students have access to Careers Education advice and support.
Across the curriculum a variety of teaching and learning strategies will be employed so that all students are provided with opportunities to be motivated and stretched according to their aptitude and ability. Regular and varied assessment tasks will be set, final outcomes contributing to Academic Review grades which are published three times per year.
Curriculum Models
Our curriculum runs across a two-week timetable, each day comprising 5 hours of teaching. The models below show how curriculum delivery time is allocated across each phase of the school.
Lower School Curriculum Model: Years 7 & 8
| Subject Allocation | Year 7 | Year 8 | |
| Core Subjects | English | 7 | 6 |
| Mathematics | 7 | 6 | |
| Science | 6 | 6 | |
| Foundation Subjects | MFL* | 4 (2 x 4) | 4 (2 x 4) |
| Geography | 3 | 4 | |
| History | 3 | 4 | |
| RE | 2 | 2 | |
| Computing | 2 | 2 | |
| Art | 2 | 2 | |
| Drama** | 2 | 2 | |
| Music** | 2 | 2 | |
| PE | 4 | 4 | |
| PSHE | 1 | 1 | |
| Technology | 3 | 3 | |
*Students study two MFL subjects selected from French, German or Spanish or they follow the MEP (Mandarin Excellence Programme) across these lessons.
**Drama and Music are taught on rotation across the Lower School, with each student completing two rotations of each per academic year.
Upper School Curriculum Model: Year 9
| Subject Allocation | Year 9 | |
| Core Subjects | English | 6 |
| Mathematics | 7 | |
| Biology | 3 | |
| Chemistry | 2 | |
| Physics | 2 | |
| Foundation Subjects | MFL* | 4 (2 x 4) |
| Geography | 3 | |
| History | 3 | |
| RE | 2 | |
| Technology | 3 | |
| Art | 2 | |
| Music | 2 | |
| PE | 4 | |
| Computing | 2 | |
| PSHE | 1 | |
*Students study two MFL subjects selected from French, German or Spanish or they follow the MEP (Mandarin Excellence Programme) across these lessons.
Upper School Curriculum Model: Years 10 & 11
| Curriculum Offer | Year 10 | Year 11 | |
| Core Subjects | English | 7 | 7 |
| Mathematics | 6 | 6 | |
| Biology | 3 | 3 | |
| Chemistry | 3 | 4 | |
| Physics | 4 | 3 | |
| Option Subjects (4) | From a wide range of options, please see options book | 5 | 5 |
| Personal Development programme | PE | 4 | 4 |
| PSHE | 1 | 1 | |
| RE (Short Course)/Financial Literacy | 1 | 2 | |
| Development & Well Being | 1 | ||
Sixth Form Curriculum Model: Years 12 and 13
| Curriculum Offer | Year 12 | Year 13 | |
| A Level Courses (3 or 4) | From a wide range of options, please see Sixth Form Options Booklet | 11 | 11 |
| Personal Development Programme | PSHE | 1 | 1 |
| General Lecture | 1 | 1 | |
| Prep | 1 | 1 | |
| Enrichment (Sixth Form Extra) | 2 | 2 | |
| Supervised Study | 3 | ||
For further information please visit our subject pages.
For any further information regarding the school curriculum please visit our subject pages or contact Mrs Kemp, Deputy Headteacher via the Main School Office with any specific questions or queries.