Curriculum Philosophy

As well as delivering exceptional teaching, The Academy's curriculum is designed around three key principles that shape the educational experience for our students.

1. Embracing Risk:

Our curriculum is designed to foster a culture of curiosity, experimentation, and resilience. Our teachers incorporate technical challenges, problem-solving activities, student presentations, and hands-on projects that allow students to step outside their comfort zones.

Students will not always get things right, but we aim to make the learning journey an exciting one with a strong culture of support.

By embracing risk, we empower students to develop critical thinking skills, leadership skills, creativity, and self-assurance.

2. Regular Oral Assessment:

Effective communication is a fundamental skill that transcends all academic disciplines and professional fields. To ensure that our students are proficient communicators, we emphasise regular oral assessments as a core component of our evaluation strategy.

Students are expected to articulate their thoughts, present their work, and engage in meaningful discussions during the individual regular dialogues with their teachers. This approach not only assesses their understanding of the subject matter but also cultivates presentation skills, confidence, and the ability to express ideas coherently.

3. Teach - Practice - Action:

Our curriculum follows a structured routine of Teach-Practice-Action to facilitate deep learning and application of knowledge.

Teachers introduce new concepts through engaging instructional methods such as active learning, providing a solid foundation for understanding.

Subsequently, students engage in guided practice to reinforce their learning and develop proficiency. This practice phase takes place in weekly tutorials which are self-directed by students in order to promote independence, agency and self-discipline.

The final step involves applying their knowledge in unfamiliar scenarios or in extended projects. This step involves the regular dialogues (oral assessment) which ensures that efficient feedback can be given to students about their understanding and progress, and that effective remedial action, in close collaboration with families, can be put in place if required.