Geneva English School
Curriculum
Curriculum
Our teaching approach prepares students for their future. We use modern and traditional teaching to ensure that all students thrive in school.
Students not only learn the important subject content, but also develop their individual, often unique, talents. Learning focuses on developing key skills such as creatively solving problems, confidently communicating ideas, working collaboratively, and approaching tasks in an open-minded way. These are threads that bind the whole curriculum and equip our young people for a rapidly changing world in which creativity, confidence, adaptability and collaboration will be vital attributes.
We blur the traditional lines between different areas of the curriculum, enabling students to connect their learning across subjects, and encouraging them to think critically and creatively in all their learning. The curriculum focuses on the same set of key skills – analysing, evaluating, problem-solving, reasoning, synthesising – in every subject. This means that the curriculum is much more coherent and enables students to make connections and apply these skills across subjects.
In order to give students a good balance between mental and physical stimulation, all students take part in weekly sessions of physical education led by our Head or Deputy Head of Sport. The programme of study draws on the outstanding local facilities to ensure that our students get access to a wide variety of physical activities. We create a breadth of opportunity that gives pupils the chance to find the sport or activity they can be passionate about.
Key Stage 3
Our provision in Key Stage 3 is a commitment to giving students every opportunity to experience a wide range of subjects, develop successful study skills and start identifying subjects they will thrive in.
A significant proportion of teaching is in core disciplines of Maths, English and Science. This is to ensure our students have strong skills on which their future success is built.
Students study two humanities subjects – History and Geography – two modern languages, which includes French. Students also study computing as well as an array of creative subjects including Drama, Music, Art & Design. The timetable also features the holistic subject PSHCE (Personal, Social, Health, Citizenship, Economic education) and of course PE and Sport, which takes an important place across all of GES.
Wherever suitable, subjects are taught with a cross-curricular focus helping students to develop key life skills that they need for the future. These skills include problem-solving and reasoning, interpersonal skills and communication, real-world understanding and application of learned content, critical thinking and analysis, and how to work independently and as a part of a team.
Subject learning at Key Stage 3 includes:
Art & Design | Computing | Drama |
English | French | Geography |
German or Spanish | History | PSHCE |
Mathematics | Music | Science |
PE and Sport |
As a result of this breadth, students find making decisions about their GCSE/IGCSE subjects relatively straightforward. They have a clear sense of where their strengths and enthusiasms lie, which prepares them successfully for the next phase in their educational journey.
Key Stage 4
In Years 10 and 11, students follow a wide-ranging curriculum designed to be intellectually stretching, creatively challenging and to develop them as individuals. Most students work towards ten GCSE/IGCSEs with examinations at the end of Year 11.
Core subjects are:
English Language | English Literature | French |
Geography | History | Mathematics |
Science (Biology, Chemistry and Physics ‘Double Award’, equivalent to 2 GCSEs) |
In addition, students choose one subject from each of the below Options blocks:
Option Block 1
- Computer Science
- German
- Spanish
Option Group 2
- Art & Design
- Drama
All students also study the following non-examined subjects:
- PSHCE
- Sport and PE
Key Stage 5 / A Levels
With the firm foundation of their GCSE years behind them, our students will be well equipped for the rigour of A Levels. Having developed a good sense for their strengths and enthusiasms, this is the moment to play to those strengths and build the springboard for their future path.
The fact that students freely choose their 3 or 4 A Level subjects makes this a programme like no other, playing to their strengths, allowing them to ideally prepare entry to university, further specialised education or rewarding professional careers.
In addition to studying their A Level subjects, our oldest students have plenty of enrichment options. We focus on three distinct pillars to teach additional knowledge and skills. The combination of these allows for fantastic experiences and prepares students in an amazing way for their university studies or professional careers:
- 3 or 4 A Levels
- Extended Project Qualification
(EPQ) - Language Qualification
(French or German) - Duke of Edinburgh International Award (DofE)