Curriculum overviews

Our curriculum is at the heart of St Mary's. We are proud of the breadth and depth of learning experiences we can offer our pupils from Year 5 to Year 8. Pupils joining us in Year 5 benefit from the opportunity to follow subjects such as textiles, resistant materials, cooking & nutrition and art, using specialist equipment in dedicated rooms. Science is taught in well-equipped laboratories, and we can offer specialist facilities in music and PE. All pupils study maths, English and the humanities which are taught as discrete subjects; history, geography and theology & ethics. Our curriculum vision is to equip all our pupils with the knowledge and skills to thrive as forward-thinking, outward-looking citizens in a global 21st Century society. Subjects such as Modern Foreign Languages and PSHE are key to us achieving this, and we are delighted to be able to offer both French and Spanish at St Mary's, taught by specialist teachers, along with a progressive, modern approach to PSHE.

*We continually review and adapt our curriculum to ensure that it is contemporary, relevant and suited to our pupils' needs.  This year we have increased the amount of lesson time for maths and English in years 5 and 6.  It is key to the future success of our children that they benefit from a strong foundation in numeracy and literacy skills.   The increase in time for maths and English at Key Stage 2 is part of a more innovative approach to curriculum planning at St Mary’s which will also see some of the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and maths) delivered in increasingly engaging ways.  For example, subject leaders are planning more applied, cross-curricular opportunities in Science and ICT.  It is important to note that although ICT lesson time has been reduced at Key Stage 2, we will ensure that important knowledge and skills are delivered in other ways, for example via cross-curricular work, focussed Science and/or ICT days / half days and by hosting visiting specialists.

You can view current curriculum plans by clicking on the subject tabs on the left-hand side of this page.

Curriculum hours 2024/25