At Lincoln Castle Academy, our overarching intent is to ensure that every student, irrespective of background or circumstance, leaves the academy with the skills, qualities, cultural capital and crucially the qualifications needed to successfully transition to the next stage in their learning or training journey.

We are passionate about our desire to provide students with the cultural capital needed to understand the modern world and to play an active and productive role within it. We are striving to ensure that all aspects of our curriculum are intrinsically linked to ‘real’ aspects of their local community, so that the knowledge and skills learnt in the classroom have a tangible connection to the world they experience. This includes off-site visits, talks and workshops from local organisations and specific connections made through the classroom experience.

Our curriculum aims to develop young people who are:

We recognise that to provide our young people with rich learning experiences in a range of contexts it is crucial to work in partnerships with others. Expertise often lies beyond the school and learning opportunities are regularly planned with partner organisations including statutory and voluntary organisations as well as employers and charitable organisations.

KS3

At Lincoln Castle Academy, we follow a three-year Key Stage 3 (Years 7, 8 and 9) and then a two-year Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11). At the end of Year 9, students opt for subjects that they will study in Years 10 and 11 and they complete those subjects by the end of Year 11.

We are passionate about delivering our learners the qualifications, skills and qualities required to be socially mobile. This means that irrespective of their background they have the chance to fulfil their potential and progress into their chosen career. The focus of our curriculum model is to ensure that each student achieves a broad and rounded exposure to all aspects of learning but with an unrelenting desire to achieve the results they need to succeed.

At Key Stage 3, our intent is to ensure that all students have the opportunity to develop a rich and full knowledge base which will benefit them in later years. This is done through participation in an extensive broad range of subjects including; music, the arts, physical education, languages, humanities, science and of course maths and English. Where a student joins the academy with lower than expected levels in maths or English, additional support in these subjects is provided both within the curriculum and through extra-curricular measures. This intervention is bespoke to each student and may incorporate foundation maths, reading or writing packages. We work closely with our feeder primary schools to ensure the pace of progress is maintained as students transition from KS2 to KS3 so that no time is wasted.

All students are also encouraged to participate in our extra-curricular activities through our ‘Pledges’ program. This requires every student to take an active role in the school and local community. We ask them to take part in charity events, artistic productions, outward bound courses, residentials and sporting events as well as a range of subject based activities. Our 3-year KS3 gives students the opportunities to embark on cultural development. Through memorable experiences over the three years, students develop an appreciation for many different cultural opportunities.

KS4

As students move into KS4, they will begin to specialise and focus on the subjects which they feel, will enable them to transition into the most appropriate and ambitious further education or training. This allows for their option subjects to be taught in greater depth and provides them with the opportunity to pursue areas of learning which are of most benefit to them. Having experienced a broad and highly-varied KS3 curriculum, pupils are able to individually tailor their KS4 program of study to align with their strengths, interests and future goals. We spend a significant amount of time talking with students, their parents/carers as well as any relevant external support to ensure that the curriculum meets their individual needs. Regular Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG), drop-down days and 1-to-1 guidance sessions aid this process.

Alongside the taught curriculum, we have developed a comprehensive series of drop-down days, giving all our students the chance to gain a better understanding of themselves and the world of work through life and careers sessions. These often incorporate professionals, external businesses, training providers, colleges and universities. Students are better informed than they ever have been and so make more thoughtful choices about their future, resulting in fewer students deemed not to be in education, employment or training (NEET).