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WLFS Secondary

The Knowledge Schools Trust

We aim to provide children with a classical liberal education, regardless of background or ability.

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Curriculum

The West London Free School aims to provide children with a knowledge-rich education – one that is centred around the best and most important work in the humanities and the sciences. Once leaving school, we hope to have given our pupils an understanding of the world they inhabit, and the ability to participate in the great conversations that have been animating humankind for thousands of years. By giving all our pupils firm foundation, we expect them to pass at least eight academically rigorous GCSEs and go on to study at leading universities. The West London Free School is also a music specialist school.

You can find out more information about each subject in the Curriculum Booklet 2024-25.

You can find out more about the principles behind our curriculum design by reading our Seven Principles of Curriculum Design.

 

Key Stage 3 (Years 7, 8 and 9) 

For the first three years at the school, pupils will follow a broad and challenging academic programme that closely follows the National Curriculum in Key Stage 3. Alongside English, maths and the sciences, every Year 7 pupil will study Latin and ancient history during classics lessons. History lessons focus on the events that have shaped the British Isles and the wider world, delivered in chronological order from the Anglo-Saxons to the 20th century. In geography lessons, pupils focus on the processes that shape the natural world, while divinity teaches the origins and beliefs of the world’s main faiths. All pupils will have the opportunity to study a modern language (either French or Spanish), develop their creative flair in art and music and enjoy a healthy competitiveness in games and PE.

Throughout Key Stage 3 pupils are taught in ability-based sets for English, maths and modern languages. Science in set from Year 8. Class sizes are an average of 26 pupils.

To see the content covered at Key Stage 3, please see the Curriculum Booklet 2024-25.

 

Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11)

Every pupil in Year 10 and 11 will study the core set of subjects that underpin a knowledge-rich education: English language and literature, mathematics and science (the last of which is worth either two or three GCSEs, depending on the depth of study). Most pupils will also study at least one ancient or modern foreign language plus history or geography. Further GCSE options include art, classical civilisation, music, divinity and PE.

There is a full guide to the GCSE options offered at the West London Free School in the brochure GCSEs – Passport to the Future

Pupils will be taught in ability sets for English, mathematics and science. Other subjects will generally be taught in mixed ability groups. Class sizes can vary significantly from subject to subject but they again average 26 pupils per class.

 

Key Stage 5 (Years 12 and 13)

To learn about our curriculum at A Level please click here

 

Personal Development Curriculum

The Personal Development Curriculum at West London Free School encourages community building and helps our pupils thrive as they become young adults. It is an all through curriculum, unique to WLFS, responding directly to our pupil’s needs and their feedback, which runs from Year 7 to 13. Our carefully considered resources also address the government’s statutory guidance on Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) in schools and adheres to the Ofsted framework for Personal Development. 

We want the PDC to be a space where, weekly, pupils practise the school's Core Values – Kindness, Hard Work and High Standards. We want pupils to engage in discussions and help shape each other as welcoming, thoughtful citizens. We all have a role in creating the WLFS community and these lessons are an essential part of this. Through the PDC, form tutors help pupils learn about themselves, their relationships, and their wellbeing, from carefully collated, unbiased resources. We hope this will help our pupils to become more understanding of others, enabling all to live happier, richer lives.

PDC sessions take place over two consecutive form times each week and are led by form tutors. There are 6 questions each half-term covering Character Development; Physical and Mental Health; Sexual Relationships; Alcohol, Drugs and Illicit Substances; Online Safety; and Healthy Relationships and Families. In Year 11 pupils also undertake a course in Study Skills. The curriculum builds on prior knowledge at levels appropriate to their age, responding to the social issues pupils experience on a day-to-day basis. Each week, we share the discussion topics with parents via the Friday update. 

All resources were created by Ms Stewart, Head of Personal Development, in liaison with SLT and teaching staff. 

A curriculum map and overview of the questions can be found here

For more information, please contact Ms Lulu Szego, Head of PDC (maternity cover) at l.szego@wlfs.org   

 

British Values

At the West London Free School we value the diverse ethnic backgrounds of all our pupils, our families and our staff. We embrace the Department for Education’s requirement “to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs”. These values are part of our school culture. Pupils study religious and philosophical viewpoints in Divinity while learning how key historical events have shaped the values that are found in Britain today. Through collective reflection in assemblies and teaching within our Personal Development programme, the fundamental British values of democracy are regularly reinforced.