The Academy

Curriculum

Our Lower School caters for children aged 11 – 13 (years 7 – 8) working at Key Stage 3 level. This is an important time in a student’s academic career and we take seriously our responsibility to lay strong foundations for future study.

Our Upper School caters for children aged 14 – 16 (years 9 – 11) working towards their iGCSEs. Students are given all the tools they need to perform to the best of their abilities in exams. They are also given the tools to develop independent and creative thinking skills beyond the syllabus.

Our Core Course in Critical and Intellectual Thought is our flagship programme. The content, structure, delivery and deliverables of the course explain better than anything else the essence of the Dartford Excelsior Method. Comprising tuition, discussion and analysis of the ideas that have, and continue to, shape our human experience, this course, more than any other, is the vehicle through which we nurture confidence, academic resilience and excellence in our students.

Beyond this, students follow a broad curriculum that aims to introduce them to the world through the ideas, peoples, sciences and technologies that underpin it. Our curriculum looks to see beyond arbitrary and restrictive subject divisions to nurture young people that appreciate the complexities and opportunities of the world around them.

Our programme of study anticipates iGCSE examinations at all times and so exam-style questions are integrated into our course delivery. However, these do not overtake our course delivery – we teach both to and beyond the exam, developing young people able to engage confidently with and have an impact on their communities.

Subjects

The Core Course

Critical and Intellectual Thought

The Arts and Social Sciences

  • English Language and Literature
  • Historical Narratives
  • Human Geographies
  • Religious, Spiritual and Philosophical Thought

Mathematical, Life and Physical Sciences

  • Mathematics
  • Life Sciences (Biology)
  • Physical Sciences (Physics, Chemistry and Physical Geographies)
  • Information and Communication Technology