“Inspire happy, confident and successful students who are independent and resilient”

Inspiration, Influence and Integrity

At Felixstowe School, our focus is on educating the whole person, and providing young people with the experiences and opportunities that will help them achieve success wherever their talents and interests might lead.

Teaching and Learning is at the heart of everything we do as educators. Every member of our school community is committed to playing their part in supporting our students in making progress and being the best they can possibly be. Our curriculum has breadth and depth; it exposes students to a range of subjects and topics within those subjects. We have designed our curriculum to be inclusive, diverse, and exciting – topics are sequenced ensuring that our students go on a journey that will not only enable them to be successful in their final exams, but it will also support them in becoming informed, empowered, and empathetic humans.

Our Curriculum

The curriculum at Felixstowe School is designed to meet the needs of all our learners. It is a broad and balanced curriculum, characterised by stretch, challenge, specialisms and the development of the spiritual, moral, social, cultural, mental and physical development of students within both formal timetabled lessons as well as the wealth of extra-curricular activities and experiences promoted throughout the year.

Each department has developed a curriculum that enables the explicit teaching of the literacy that is required to access the subject and communicate the key concepts in that discipline effectively. Subject topics are thoughtfully sequenced so that departments can build on pupils’ prior learning, and return to concepts that pupils have studied before in order to interleave them with later topics.

The curricula are developed so that students at Felixstowe School not only develop the knowledge and skills that they need in order to be successful in their public examinations, but also so that our students master what they have learned and take this knowledge with them to enrich their lives once they leave school.

The school’s curriculum aims to improve the life chances of our young people through academic success at GCSE, BTEC and A Level, and the chance to continue their studies at respected universities and providers of vocational courses. An equally important aim is that the cultural literacy gained during their time at Felixstowe School will equip our young people for the challenges of the exciting, fast paced and complex society they live in.

Curriculum Content

All students study a core of English, Mathematics, Science, Faiths and Beliefs and PE throughout Key Stages 3 and 4. In addition, all Key Stage 3 students study the full range of subjects that you would expect to see in a Secondary school; Humanities, Modern Foreign Languages, Drama, Art, Music, Technology, and ICT/ Computer Science.

At the end of Year 9, students will choose from a wide range of subjects, based upon their own skills and aptitudes. In order to maintain a borad and balanced curriculum at Key Stage 4, students will be asked to choose a minimum of one subject from History, Geography, Computer Science or a Modern Foreign Language, plus three other choices. More information on this process is shared with students and parents in the autumn term of Year 9 to ensure ample time for individual advice and guidance conversations to take place. Students are encouraged to study a language and a humanities subject in order to give the broadest base for future study.

Our curricular and extensive range of extra-curricular activities actively encourage students to take responsibility for their learning and develop a clear understanding of British values such as democracy, mutual respect and tolerance.

Progression through the curriculum is seen as students develop a wide range of skills, knowledge and understanding.

Organisation of the Curriculum

Classes at Key Stage 3 are set based on students’ prior attainment following consultation with parents and partner schools. Changes to these classes are made following key assessment points, and in consultation with parents. The curriculum that students then study is based on each student’s strengths, skills and aptitudes.

At Key Stage 4, students are set based on prior attainment and progress within core subjects, and are usually taught within mixed ability classes in option subjects.

Our Learning Environment

We are fortunate to work in a modern, very well equipped, purpose built building, complete with outstanding Sports facilities, drama facilities, performance spaces, and a fabulous “super-lab”, set in large grounds. We continue to develop the learning environment to meet the changing needs of our students, and to ensure that our students continue to thrive; for example, we have recently developed a new Student Services provision within our school to enable students to access support to remove barriers to their learning more easily.

Contact us

Please feel free to contact us. See below for a list of the heads for each department in Felixstowe School with their contact details: