Curriculum Overview

Curriculum Intent

At Hillcrest, our curriculum is built on the belief that knowledge empowers every learner. We are committed to providing an academically ambitious, engaging, and rigorous curriculum that ensures every student can achieve excellence.

Reading is placed firmly at the heart of learning, with all subjects supporting literacy development and many enriched by exposure to high-quality academic texts. We encourage students to be reflective, curious and motivated, growing as confident individuals who can positively contribute to modern society. We set high expectations for all and foster a culture of aspiration and success.

Our curriculum is broad and coherently planned, enabling students to:

Access a wide range of subjects while developing strong expertise within each discipline
Build secure knowledge through clear sequencing and ambitious end points
Strengthen literacy and numeracy, developing a rich vocabulary and essential skills for life
Become confident communicators who are creative, resilient and keen to explore new opportunities
Act responsibly, show respect to others and make a meaningful contribution to the school community and beyond
Enjoy extensive enrichment experiences that build character and prepare them as well-rounded young people

We believe that mastering subject knowledge enables students to enjoy deeper learning and sustained progress. By revisiting key concepts and skills with increasing complexity, knowledge is retained in long-term memory, raising both engagement and achievement.

Our teachers understand precisely the knowledge students need to succeed and use this to tailor support and challenge effectively. This ensures that every learner can make strong progress, fulfil their potential and pursue their future ambitions with confidence.

At Hillcrest, we strive to deliver the highest standard of education—one that empowers all students to thrive academically, personally and socially.

Over a two-week timetable, students follow courses with the following number of learning hours.

Year 7

English 7 hours, Mathematics 7 hours, Science 7 hours, French 5 hours, Design & Technology 3 hours, Religion and Worldviews 2 hours, Geography 3 hours, History 3 hours, Physical Education 3 hours, Performing Arts (Dance and Drama) 2 hours, Music 2 hours, Art 2 hours, Computer Science 2 hours and Life Skills 2 hours.

Year 8

Year 9

Key Stage 4: What Will The Curriculum Look Like?

There are a number of core subjects that the government requires all students to study, such as English, Mathematics, Science, Physical Education and Religious Education. Students also study French and either History or Geography.

In addition to the core, students make guided choices from a range of subjects including Art, Computer Science, Dance, Drama, Music, Psychology, Textiles and Food Preparation and Nutrition. This ensures that we provide opportunities for different kinds of learning to suit the interests and abilities of individual students, whilst retaining a strong focus on academic subjects which will enable them to progress to further and higher education. We aim to give as many students as possible the opportunity to achieve the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) by the end of Year 11.

The EBacc is not a qualification in itself. It is a wrap-around award that recognises students’ achievements across a core of selected subjects. Students would be expected to attain between grades 9 to 5 in English, Mathematics, Science, a Modern Foreign Language, and either History or Geography.

The EBacc is highly regarded by colleges, sixth form, universities, other higher education institutions, and employers. Therefore, this award would be advantageous to students who are intent on further study for an Undergraduate Degree or equivalent.

Curriculum hours	Year 10	Year 11
English	8 hours	9 hours
Maths	8 hours	9 hours
Science	8 hours	9 hours
MFL	5 hours	5 hours
Religion and Worldviews	2 hours	1 hour
PE	2 hours	2 hours
Optional Subjects	5 hours	5 hours
Life Skills	2 hours	1 hour

For further information regarding our curriculum, please contact Mrs S Palmer - Deputy Headteacher spalmer@hillcrest.bham.sch.uk