Distinctively Ambitious

We recognise that the benefits of a strong academic core significantly outweigh the sum of each subject/component part. Instead, this core provides the vehicle through which students are able to develop their critical thinking skills, deepen their understanding of key concepts and build their cultural capital.

As part of our strong academic core, we ensure that:

• The vast majority of students study the full suite of EBacc subjects - with sustained EBacc entry approximately double that of national average.
• Religious Education plays a fundamental role in the curriculum (being compulsory for all students in years 7-11) - allowing students to explore their own faith and sense of place in the world whilst also exploring other perspectives and experiences.
• Students in years 7-9 have access to our ‘Literacy for Life’ curriculum – which serves not only to support students in accessing a range of increasingly challenging texts, but also to develop the skills to articulate their views and perspectives with confidence and conviction.
• At KS5, our students are encouraged to become independent learners and develop the skills required for life beyond the Sixth Form. Through our Medical, Health & Social Care Academy, we aim to increase the NHS & Social Care workforce, particularly in the local area.

To promote ambition and achievement for all, we ensure that:

• Our core curriculum for students with some of the most complex needs is aligned closely with the learning journeys in each subject area.
• Our curriculum has the flexibility to respond to the needs of individuals from interventions through to bespoke pathways at KS4.
• Quality first teaching approaches in every classroom ensure that all students are able to access, and engage with, our curriculum at all stages.
• Our curriculum is also used to address social disadvantage – ensuring that all students are able to develop the cultural capital and skills that will allow them to succeed.

Distinctively Coherent

Whilst our curriculum is knowledge rich, we also value the development of disciplinary skills and see these as intrinsically linked to the development of core knowledge. Given our varied and diverse demographic, we do not leave the development of these vital skills to chance.

Learning journeys in each subject area have been crafted to ensure that:

• There is an absolute focus on the most crucial content and the way in which knowledge and skills are built progressively.
• Inter-disciplinary links are drawn out and foregrounded to support students in deepening understanding and placing new knowledge within broader concepts.
• Common gaps on entry to the school are clearly identified and addressed across the curriculum with the needs of the local context taken into account.
• An assessment framework forms a central part of the learning process with the assessment of students’ prior knowledge, current knowledge and application of knowledge and skills used consistently to re-shape the curriculum.

Reading across the Curriculum

Our commitment to reading is underpinned by the belief that being able to read ‘well’ can transform a student’s ability to learn and therefore to succeed. As such, our coherent approach to reading permeates all aspects of the curriculum.

Our approach to reading ensures that:

• Students read widely and often and are exposed to texts that help build cultural capital and introduce students to concepts and ideas from within and beyond their own experience.
• All students, regardless of their background and socio-economic status, have the skills in terms of fluency and comprehension, to access their learning across all subject areas.
• Our approach to reading permeates all aspects of the curriculum – from disciplinary reading approaches across subject areas, through to specific interventions for those students with the greatest weaknesses.
• Key Tier 2 and Tier 3 items of vocabulary are identified in curriculum plans and teachers explicitly teach, revisit and develop students’ understanding of these words throughout their schemes of learning.

Distinctively Enriched

There has been a purposeful, sustained and significant investment in the pastoral life of St Mary’s College, the pastoral curriculum and our extra-curricular offer. We believe that young people at SMC are entitled to:

• Experience significant events as participants and audience members.
• Explore our local context and understand their place within the world.
• Participate in local, national and international events and have the opportunity to share their voice and shape the world in which we live.

Our pastoral curriculum ensures that:

• Students build positive and sustained relationships with their personal tutors.
• School leaders take care to provide a relevant, responsive and impactful pastoral curriculum which includes daily form time and collapsed curriculum sessions every half term.
• There is a weekly routine of assemblies, reflection and prayer that is purposefully planned and follows relevant liturgical themes. In addition, this aspect of the curriculum allows for the flexibility to respond to emerging needs within both the school community and society in the broader sense.
• Focused and immersive sessions allow us to supplement embedded content which is featured across the curriculum by directly addressing carefully selected and mapped topics across the age range 11-19.

Our extra-curricular offer ensures that:

• Students of all abilities are able to participate and/or compete in a vast array of sports.
• All subject areas supplement their academic curriculum with a range of extra-curricular opportunities.
• Through our ‘core cultural offer’, all young people are given the chance to engage in sports and the arts, charity/volunteering and trips/activities.
• We develop relationships with leading organisations that can support student development, such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, British Council, professional sports teams, World Class Schools Quality Mark, Institute of Physics, partner schools in multiple countries and many more.

Personal Development

At St Mary’s College we believe that the Personal Development of our students is one of the most important aspects of education. This incorporates our teaching of British Values and the 9 Protected Characteristics which you can find below.

Each half term have a specific focus and we will hold special assemblies, use tutor time, enrichment and bespoke lessons to focus on our Personal Development themes moving forward.
In a world where there is not justice for all we are proud to be helping our young people to understand this and be ambassadors for change.  

Downloads

PDF SMC Pupil Learning Journeys bookletProspectus

What your child will be learning this academic year

We want you to be involved in your child's learning, please see below details for each year group about the topics and objectives we will be working towards in each subject.

2025-2026

Please see the curriculum overviews for each year group to see what your child is learning across the curriculum. For subject-specific information and overviews, please visit the relevant subject page.

• Y10-Curriculum-Overview 2025-09-19-143030 ywtg download_for_offline
  download_for_offlineY10-Curriculum-Overview 2025-09-19-143030 ywtg
• Y11-Curriculum-Overview 2025-09-19-143036 mwur download_for_offline
  download_for_offlineY11-Curriculum-Overview 2025-09-19-143036 mwur
• Y7-Curriculum-Overview 2025-09-19-143012 fbqt download_for_offline
  download_for_offlineY7-Curriculum-Overview 2025-09-19-143012 fbqt
• Y8-Curriculum-Overview 2025-09-19-143018 uput download_for_offline
  download_for_offlineY8-Curriculum-Overview 2025-09-19-143018 uput
• Y9-Curriculum-Overview 2025-09-19-143025 rtew download_for_offline
  download_for_offlineY9-Curriculum-Overview 2025-09-19-143025 rtew

Homework

At St Mary's College, students are expected to complete homework regularly, to the best of their ability, and submit it on time. Homework is designed to consolidate classroom learning, encourage independent study, and help students develop essential skills such as organisation, time management, and self-discipline. By engaging with tasks outside of lessons, students deepen their understanding, prepare more effectively for future learning, and build good study habits that will benefit them both academically and beyond school. Most of the homework tasks set for students will utilise students' Chromebooks and use online platforms such as Educake, Mathswatch or Google Forms. Parents/carers will be able to view their child's homework deadlines via Google Classroom (can be accessed via students' Chromebooks).

SMC Homework Policy

Literacy for Life

Literacy for Life at St Mary’s College

At St Mary’s College, Literacy for Life empowers students to access, understand and engage with a wide range of texts - not just for academic success, but to support them emotionally, socially, practically and professionally throughout their lives. We want our young people to leave us with both the skills and the compassion to build a world shaped by justice, love and peace.

Our Literacy for Life curriculum is more than a reading and writing programme- it is rooted in our Catholic ethos and our call to live out the values of Catholic Social Teaching. We believe that literacy is not just an academic skill but a tool for human dignity, for solidarity, for building peace and for creating a just society.

Why we teach Literacy for Life

Our faith calls us to love God and to love our neighbour in every situation, especially our sisters and brothers living in poverty. By engaging with powerful stories, thoughtful discussion, and critical reading strategies, students learn to listen, to empathise, and to use their voices for the common good.

In line with Catholic Social Teaching, Literacy for Life helps students to:

• Recognise dignity - understanding that every person is valuable and deserves respect, no matter their background or circumstances.
• Live in solidarity - seeing themselves as part of a human family, connected to and responsible for others.
• Work for the common good - reflecting on how words and actions can build stronger, fairer communities.
• Prioritise the option for the poor - exploring stories of injustice, prejudice and inequality so that they can stand alongside those whose voices are often unheard.
• Promote peace - learning to use language with care and compassion, building dialogue rather than division.
• Care for creation and environment - recognising through literature and discussion that we are responsible for the Earth and its future.
• Value work and participation - developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing that allow them to participate fully in society.

Aims of Literacy for Life

Through this curriculum, pupils will:

• Engage with texts that help them to develop compassion for themselves, others, and the wider world.
• Build strong oracy skills through group discussions, whole-class dialogue, and presentations.
• Apply forensic reading strategies to understand how language shapes meaning and impacts readers.
• Develop a lifelong love of reading and an appreciation for voices that reflect a wide range of experiences.

What it looks like in practice

Our curriculum runs across both Years 7 and 8 and takes place for one lesson per week (delivered by English teachers) and is structured to build confidence and skill step by step.

• Half Term 1 & 6 Valued Voices Strategies (introducing and revisiting the importance of listening, discussion, and respectful dialogue).
• Half Terms 2–5 Core and Forensic Reading (engaging deeply with whole texts and carefully chosen extracts to practise close reading and critical thinking).

Year 7: A Journey of Discovery

• Core Text: My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece
• Context: Starting school, family dynamics, prejudice and Islamophobia
• Forensic Reading: Exploring extracts and supplementary texts to practise AO2 analysis
• Speaking & Listening: Group presentation / writing stories for children

Year 8: Finding Home

• Core Text: The Bone Sparrow
• Context: Refugee crisis and the search for belonging
• Forensic Reading: Close analysis of extracts and supplementary texts to develop higher-level reading skills
• Speaking & Listening: Paired presentation

Literacy, Faith and Values

The Literacy for Life curriculum not only reflects Catholic Social Teaching but also complements British Values, particularly respect, tolerance, and democracy. By reading about diverse experiences and perspectives, our students learn to respect difference, stand against injustice, and use their voices responsibly.

A Note to Parents and Carers

We understand that some parents may have questions about the Literacy for Life curriculum, especially as it includes sensitive themes such as prejudice, family dynamics, and the refugee crisis. These topics have been carefully chosen because they allow pupils to reflect on dignity, solidarity, and compassion - key values in both Catholic Social Teaching and modern society.

All texts are age-appropriate, taught in a supportive and structured way, and provide opportunities for a teacher led discussion where students can respectfully share their views respectfully. Our aim is always to nurture empathy, resilience and understanding, equipping students with the skills they need both academically and personally.

If you have any concerns or wish to discuss this curriculum further, please contact your relevant year team or Ms O. Bucknall, who will be happy to help.