Curriculum Overview

The Academy, Selsey is located at the very heart of our local community and serves the surrounding areas of the Manhood Peninsula. This semi-rural area is one of the last relatively undeveloped stretches of coastline along the south coast. Local employment is primarily in tourism, agriculture and horticulture, and the service sector—including schools and shops.

Our four house groups are named to reflect the rich history of Selsey, with particular reference to the RNLI, helping students develop a strong sense of identity, pride, and connection to their community.

However, our unique coastal location—almost entirely surrounded by the sea—can present challenges, especially in terms of travel and accessibility. This can, at times, foster a sense of isolation. We are determined that our students do not become insular in their thinking. We strive to broaden their horizons, encouraging them to engage with, understand, and appreciate cultures and communities both within and beyond our local context.

Our ambition is that, by the time they leave us in Year 11, all of our young people feel empowered to see, care for, love, respect, and flourish in their world.

Curriculum Intent — PRIDE in Excellence

At The Academy, Selsey, our curriculum is the practical expression of our core values: PRIDE in Excellence. We design an exciting, broad and balanced programme of learning that equips every student with the knowledge, skills and character needed to leave us academically, socially and morally successful.

1. Ambitious pathways for all

   • Our intent is that every learner, regardless of starting point, can progress confidently to the most appropriate next step—be that A levels, T levels, apprenticeships or direct entry into the world of work—so they can lead successful, happy and fulfilling lives.

2. Carefully sequenced knowledge

   • Each subject’s curriculum is deliberately structured so that declarative (“know that”) and procedural (“know how”) knowledge builds logically over time.

   • Key concepts are revisited and interleaved across both Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4, ensuring students know more, remember more, and can apply what they have learned in a range of unfamiliar contexts.

3. Local, national and global relevance

   • Facilitating knowledge adds rich context to core content. We draw on our semi-rural coastal setting, our RNLI heritage and the broader Manhood Peninsula community, then connect these to national and global perspectives.

   • Real-world experiences—fieldwork, employer engagement, cultural visits and virtual exchanges—ensure learning is rooted in authentic contexts.

4. Character and cultural capital

   • Through the curriculum we foster resilience, curiosity and compassion, empowering students to see, care for, love, respect and flourish in their world, mirroring our whole-school ambition.

In short, our curriculum intent is to open doors—geographically, academically and culturally—so that no student is limited by the peninsula’s coastal boundaries but is instead inspired to pursue excellence beyond them.

Assessment and Enrichment

To ensure that any gaps in prior or new knowledge are swiftly identified and addressed, we regularly check students’ progress through a wide range of assessment opportunities. These include:

• Lesson-by-lesson checks of declarative knowledge
• End-of-topic assessments to evaluate knowledge retention and application
• Cumulative common assessments designed to test students’ ability to recall and apply learning across multiple contexts

The insights gained from these assessments are used to inform curriculum adaptation, helping teachers to swiftly close knowledge gaps and keep students on track to meet our ambitious academic flightpaths.

Beyond the academic curriculum, we are equally committed to providing students with a rich and varied co-curricular offer. We aim to open doors to experiences that extend learning and broaden horizons. These include opportunities in sport, the Arts, well-being programmes, catch-up and intervention sessions, visits to places of interest, and welcoming external visitors into school. Together, these experiences deepen students’ learning, build confidence, and enhance their personal development.

Implementation:

Our 5 year curriculum learning journey has been developed to allow depth and breadth of knowledge, to build cultural capital and equip our students with the skills needed to be successful life-long learners.

Reading, literacy and numeracy are at the heart of our curriculum; students have the opportunity to develop their reading through our Accelerated Reader and reciprocal reading tutor programmes.

Our curriculum is mapped out for each year group and cross-referenced against departments. This allows students to develop transferable skills, giving them the ability to adapt to different challenges which is vital to life beyond school. 

Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9)

Our 3-year Key Stage 3 curriculum meets and often extends National Curriculum requirement building on the knowledge gained at KS2 and gives students the tools they need to carry on to KS4 and beyond.  We are ambitious in what we expect students to achieve during this key stage and aspire for all our students to make strong progress from their entry points to the school that enable them to confidently access level 2 courses at KS4.

Alongside mathematics, English, sciences, religious studies and physical educations, KS3 students study a broad range of non-core subjects from day one. Art, performing arts, digital technology, and technology, ensure their curriculum give students a broad experience. 

Towards the end of Year 9, students choose their exam options. Parents and students are supported through these choices by expert tutors and subject teachers, along with a comprehensive CEIAG programme. 

Beyond the core offer, all students from Year 7 benefit from an extended school day including both enrichment and additional academic experiences.

Parents can find out more about the curriculum the school is following by consulting our Curriculum Maps:

Key Stage 4 (Years 10 & 11)

Our KS4 curriculum has flexibility and choice, whilst still being structured and appropriate, and allows our pupils to access the full EBACC. In creating our KS4 offer, we listen to pupil voice and where possible find creative ways to facilitate courses where pupil numbers are small.

Students at Key Stage 4 can study a range of qualification to support career progression and maximize their potential. The qualifications on offer include traditional GCSE subjects, alongside vocational or technical qualifications. Students are advised on the correct balance of subjects to enable them to succeed at Key Stage 4

Students and their parents / carers receive careful guidance to help them select focus subjects in addition to the basic curriculum, to ensure the highest education pathways post GCSE studies.

All our students study:

GCSE English
​GCSE English Literature
GCSE Mathematics
GCSE Science (either Combined or Triple)
PSHE
Physical Education

They can choose four subjects from the following:

History
​Geography
French
Spanish
IT
Computer Science (Extra-curricular)
Food and Catering
Product Design 
Art
3D Art - Product Design
Music
Dance
Drama
Sport / Physical Education
Business Studies / Enterprise
Child Development

Teaching the Curriculum

Our school priorities are evidence based and focus on ensuring that all of our students are maximising their potential through their lessons. Each lesson in school, no matter the subject, begins with a strong start, where students are welcomed at the threshold and where a do now activity is prepared to support maximising learning time. Accessing prior knowledge and being able to retrieve previous learning is a necessity in being able to be a successful student throughout their educational experience. Moreover, at TAS, we want to ensure that:

• Our students have positive experiences in the classroom through their lesson journeys

• Our students are respectful of challenging subject matters, views and opinions

• Our students are supported to be independent learners through scaffolding to support all which is reduced overtime

• Our students are determined to be successful in all of their lessons

• Our students are immersed in engaging lessons.

To support all of our students, teacher may use (but not an exhaustive list):

• Retrieval activities through do nows

• Golden silence to support cognitive overload and build independence

• EOY tests to support independent learning

• Questioning in lessons using cold call to check for understanding

• Use of mini boards to check for understanding

• WCF (whole class feedback) to ensure that students know how to move forward in their learning.

Impact

In every subject, pupils follow a 5-year flight path in their subject which continually builds on their prior knowledge and understanding to give greater breadth and depth to the subject.  Every subject follows their own personalised scheme of work which has been moderated externally by academies who have been graded “outstanding” by OFSTED and achieve high attainment and progress measures in their GCSE outcomes.  Every department has designed their own marking policy which is designed to fit their subject most appropriately.  Every term marking is moderated externally with other academies who study the same specifications and who have been graded “outstanding” by OFSTED and achieve high attainment and progress measures in their GCSE outcomes to ensure best practise is matched.

Students are assessed regularly using a variety of methods to ensure that the learning has been effective and any gaps in knowledge can be addressed.

The methods to assess pupils include:

• Knowledge tests

• End of term tests

• End of year exams

• Verbally in lessons

• Using AFL Techniques

• Mini Quizzes (Whiteboards)

• Any other creative techniques teachers feel are effective in their subjects.

Students are monitored and tracked by each curriculum leader.

For any further information regarding our Curriculum please contact Mrs Ford at head@tas-tkat.org