Yes! Each expedition is mapped to National Curriculum at Key Stage 3 in Years 7-9 and GCSE standards in Years 10 and 11
Students at XP Schools study these standards through cross-curricular learning expeditions that typically last around 12 weeks. We appoint teachers that can teach across more than discipline to enable this. Expeditions can combine all subjects together, or sometimes there might be a HUMAN and a STEAM expedition happening at the same time. At GCSE there can be expeditions for a single GCSE subject.
Expeditions are centred around a guiding question which provokes thought about a range of disciplines. Each expedition starts with an immersion which builds background knowledge. There are then a number of case studies that look at different people, places, periods or concepts. Students work with their teachers and in addition alongside experts in the community to carry out purposeful fieldwork. Expeditions then culminate with students producing purposeful products that have an audience beyond the classroom and impact upon their community.
For example year 7 students studied an expedition called From the Ground Up with the guiding question โWhat do the communities of North East England owe to the miners?โ creating a local history book which is now on sale at Seven Stories.
Our core offer at GCSE is:
- Maths
- Statistics
- English Language
- English Literature
- Dual award Science
- History
- Art and design (with a choice of pathways)
- A Communication strand – Spanish, Creative Media or additional support for English and Maths
Students can study and be taught additional GCSEs or Level 2 qualifications (for example Geography, Health & Social Care, RE, Sports) where they have the motivation, capability and capacity as part of our ‘Leading Our Own Learning’ curriculum.