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Curriculum

Marling School fully recognises the importance of a strong curriculum model that is designed to give all students the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life. We believe that, at the core of any outstanding curriculum model, is the appropriate balance of breadth and depth of learning for all students, and the whole school curriculum model has been designed with this in mind.

In Year 8 students make informed decisions around which foreign language(s) and practical subjects to study in greater depth prior to GCSE, and a curriculum model that starts all students on a route to 9.5 GCSEs is currently maintained in KS4.  The Key Stage 3 Options - Course Descriptions for our current Y8 (2023-24) students can be accessed by clicking the document below.

As part of the GCSE options process students can opt for 4 from a range of 19 subjects to study alongside the compulsory curriculum. The model is also constructed so that all students can access the full range of English Baccalaureate subjects should they wish to do so. The focus on breadth and depth continues into Sixth Form, where all students studying 3 A Levels also opt for what is defined to be a ‘breadth option’ to study alongside their A Level choices. Sixth Form students currently select from a range of 29 A Levels and 8 breadth options. More information can be found about the options processes by using the menu above.

Within individual subject areas curriculum models are constructed according to the following key principles:

  • Programmes of study are ambitious in that they provide all students with appropriate levels of challenge, as well as opportunities to secure and deepen knowledge, understanding and skills as appropriate.
  • Programmes of study have been constructed with the core knowledge and skills, or fundamental constructs, which will need to have been developed at their heart. Aligned to this there will also be a coherent assessment model that allows students and teachers to identify and support individual progress towards the identified outcomes.
  • Programmes of study are planned and sequenced to ensure that new learning builds and develops on prior knowledge and skills, thus allowing students to make sustained progress towards the identified end points.
  • Programmes of study will identify connections, both within a given subject and across different subject areas where appropriate, that need to be explicitly highlighted to students in order for them to link existing knowledge or skills to new learning.
  • Teaching and learning strategies will be employed that facilitate long term retention of knowledge, thus allowing students to utilise prior knowledge by applying it as a skill to support new learning.

 Detailed information about individual subjects and key stages can be found below in the KS3 Curriculum Statements document.

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Key Stage 3
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Key Stage 4
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Key Stage 5

For further information about our co-educational Sixth Form, please visit www.marlingsixthform.org

Regular Review Booklets
The Regular Review booklets provide clear information about what is taught when in each subject, what prior knowledge could be revisited prior to each topic and recommended resources for reviewing the topic.
Assessment & Marking Policies
Please click on the PDFs below to read our Assessment Policy and the booklet containing subject specific assessment policies.
Exam Results

Key Stage 4 Results 2023

  • The school’s provisional progress 8 score for 2023 is +0.50
  • The school’s attainment 8 score is 68.17
  • The % of pupils who’ve achieved a strong pass (grade 5 or above) in English and maths at the end of KS4 is 96%
  • The % of pupils entering for the English Baccalaureate is 39%
  • The % of pupils who’ve achieved the English Baccalaureate at grade 5 or above is 23%

Please click here to see the DfE Schools Performance Tables which compare school performance, characteristics and other data locally and nationally.

Key Stage 5 Results

Attainment, Retention and Destination data for the school's 16-18 performance can be found here 

 

Marling School - Cyber School Hub

Marling School is pleased to be part of the National Cyber Security Centre's Cyber School Hub initiative, sharing equipment and skills with schools in Stroud and the surrounding area. We can support your classroom with the loan of innovative technology, developing pupils understanding of the digital landscape by using real world applications and tested classroom experiments. The range of equipment available on free loan means there is something suitable for all age groups.

This area is currently under construction, check back for more information in September 2023.

In the meantime, for more information, please telephone Marling School 

Literacy & Reading
Literacy and Reading at Marling School

Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. It is a tool for daily life in modern society. It is a bulwark against poverty, and a building block of development…. For everyone, everywhere, literacy is, along with education in general, a basic human right…. Literacy is, finally, the road to human progress and the means through which every man, woman and child can realise his or her full potential.
- Kofi Annan
At Marling School, we are committed to developing the literacy and reading skills of all our students, in the firm belief that it will support their learning and raise standards across the curriculum.
To support literacy and to develop a love at reading at Marling, we do the following:
KS3 students have a fortnightly library lesson in which they read and discuss texts aloud and work through the KS3 Bronze, Silver and Gold reading schemes.
KS3 students have a fortnightly literacy lesson to develop their spelling, reading comprehension skills, oracy, grammar and writing.
KS3 and 4 students read as part of a regular programme of tutor time activities. This includes silent reading as well as a booklet of texts that can be read aloud to demonstrate reading skills and expand vocabulary, while giving students the opportunity to learn about and discuss a range of interesting topics from the environment, to health and well-being, to equality and human rights.
Mini Debating takes place fortnightly in KS4-5 tutor groups for students to discuss important world issues. During the tutor time students develop their oracy (ability to communicate ideas clearly) , learn to practise expressing ideas coherently and, most importantly, listen to different viewpoints.
In KS5, departments share suggested reading and super curricular lists with students prior to starting Y12. Lists of Recommended Super Curricular Reads per subject are also available in the library.
As part of the Marling Diamond, Year 12 students volunteer in KS3 library lessons to hear students read aloud.
Teachers and Support Staff display ‘I am currently reading…’ posters in their work spaces to share their love of reading.
Students’ literacy is tested in Y7 and 10 and interventions are put in place as necessary. All the data is shared with colleagues to inform their teaching and scaffolding.
Poets and writers come into school to give talks and groups of students attend the Cheltenham Literature Festival each year.
Prizes are given to students who complete the Library Reading Scheme. Those who finish the scheme by Term 5 are invited to a ‘Laureates Lunch’ as well.
We celebrate World Book Day each year and this year we are planning a Whole School Agatha Christie event.
All departments focus on Dynamic Dialogue and Disciplinary Literacy in their lessons so students can ‘Read/ Write/ Listen and Speak like a (eg Scientist). Keywords are displayed and work is assessed using Whole School Literacy Codes.