Curriculum Overview

Curriculum Intent - Harris Academy Purley 

Our curriculum is ambitious, inclusive, and knowledge-rich, designed to enable every student to achieve excellence and develop as confident, resilient learners. It provides a broad and balanced education, ensuring depth within each subject and strong cross-curricular links that build contextual understanding. We prioritise academic rigour and accessibility, so all students—regardless of starting point—can thrive and succeed.  Subject teams focus on explicit teaching of knowledge supported by mapping both substantive and disciplinary knowledge across the seven year journey.

We aim to:

• Deliver a coherent, well-sequenced curriculum that builds knowledge and subject-specific vocabulary progressively from foundational concepts to advanced understanding.
• Foster curiosity, creativity, and a love of learning, enabling students to explore ideas and develop talents across a wide range of disciplines, including modern foreign languages.
• Personalise learning to prepare students for further education, employment, and life, equipping them with the skills and character needed for success.
• Promote confidence, resilience, and well-being, embedding personal development alongside academic achievement.
• Uphold British values and SMSC, preparing students to be responsible, informed global citizens.
• Ensure neutrality and integrity, avoiding any political or ideological bias.

Key Principles

• Deep engagement with subject content.
• Knowledge and vocabulary as the foundation for mastery.
• Literacy and numeracy embedded across all subjects.
• Personal development integrated with academic success.

Equality and Inclusion Our curriculum guarantees equal access and opportunity, complying with the Equality Act (2010) and SEND Regulations (2014). We prioritise reading, writing, speaking, and numeracy, offering targeted support from phonics intervention to advanced language development. Teachers know their students and adapt learning to meet individual needs, ensuring every learner can succeed.

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Key Stage 3 (Year 7 to Year 9)

The Key Stage 3 curriculum is followed by students in Years 7, 8, and 9. Students are taught in both mixed ability and steamed sets depending on the subject.

This structure ensures stretch and challenge for all students while providing additional support where needed, allowing teaching to be closely matched to individual needs and enabling every student to make the best possible progress.

Curriculum Allocation

Subject	Periods	Total Minutes
English Language	3	150
English Literature & Drama	3	150
Maths	5	250
Science	5	250
Physical Education	2	100
Languages (French or Spanish)	2	100
Geography	2	100
History	2	100
RE	1	50
Computing	1	50
Music	1	50
Art	1	50
DT (Food, Product Design and Textiles)	2	100
PSHE & Careers (Tutor x3)*	2	100
Total	30	1500

*PSHE within tutor time so not included in total

 

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Key Stage 4 (Year 10 and Year 11)

The Key Stage 4 curriculum is followed by students in Years 10 and 11. The Academy offers a wide range of academic and vocational courses. All students receive options advice and guidance and make their choices during the spring term of Year 9. They elect four GCSE options. A humanities subject (Geography, History or RS), a creative or languages subject (Spanish, Product Design, Food Science, Art or Music), and then two open choices (Separate Science, Sport, Computing, IT, Business, Media and the other choices previously listed).

Subjects	Periods	Minutes
English Language	3	150
English Literature	3	150
Maths	5	250
Science	6	300
Physical Education	2	100
Open Choice 1	3	150
Open Choice 2	3	150
Open Choice 3	1	150
Open Choice 4	1	150
PSHE & Careers (Tutor)*	2	100
Total	33	1650

*PSHE within tutor time so not included in total.

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Key Stage 5 (Year 12 and Year 13)

The Harris Academy Purley Sixth Form curriculum offers a broad and balanced programme for students with diverse interests. Most subjects are A Level qualifications, while some follow Technical Level routes to support vocational pathways and alternative learning styles.

• A Levels: Assessed mainly through external examinations.
• Technical Levels: Include a higher proportion of coursework.
  Students may choose either route or a combination, ensuring a cohesive programme of study that builds on KS3 and KS4 foundations and develops cultural, social, and intellectual depth.

Our current offer includes the following subjects:

Computer Science (A-Level)	Biology (A-Level)	Chemistry (A-Level)
French (A-Level)	Economics (A-Level)	English Literature (A-Level)
Government & Politics (A-Level)	Further Mathematics (A-Level)	Geography (A-Level)
Mathematics (A-Level)	History (A-Level)	Psychology (A-Level)
CTEC Business (Diploma)	Physics (A-Level)	CTEC Media (Extended Certificate)
CTEC Sport (Diploma)	Sociology  (A-Level)	GCSE Retakes (English and Mathematics)
	CTEC Business (Extended Certificate)
	CTEC Sport (Extended Certificate)