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Curriculum Design

At Ivybridge Community College, our Curriculum is a blend of three key components:
• Academic Subjects
• Personal Development
• Enrichment
Alongside rigourous academic studies, we believe that it is essential that students are provided
with the opportunity to explore and develop as young learners, ready to embrace the ever
changing world around them, and be encouraged to take part in a wealth of enriching experiences
and activities whilst at the College.
In all year groups, students will follow our CPSHE programme, alongside Character Education,
which supports academic studies, by helping students to develop skills such as teamwork,
communication and resilience which are crucial to navigating the challenges and opportunities
of the modern world. Our CPSHE programme also incorporates careers advice, guidance
and information, development of Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural qualities and the RSE
curriculum.

Throughout Years 7 to 11, students take part in Core Physical Education each week; the College
fully embraces the notion of sport for all: for enjoyment and for physical and mental well-being.

In addition, all students will study Forensic Reading. The aim of the programme is to support
our students to establish a strong foundation of knowledge, vocabulary, understanding,
phraseology and experience, which helps form a basis for success in difficult examinations
and the challenges of adult life beyond their time in College. Forensic Reading will expose our
students to challenging, complex and academic texts which will not only develop their vocabulary
but also their ability to appreciate what makes a great writer. In essence, the focus is on putting
language under the microscope to arrive at a deeper understanding of it (hence the word
‘Forensic’).
The Forensic Reading programme core purpose can be summarised as:
• Supporting reading for pleasure.
• Developing a fascination for learning new things.
• Building the ability to contribute from an informed perspective.
• Developing language analysis of high quality/challenging texts.
• The development of oracy (discussion and debate are central to
Forensic Reading).

Each child will be given a high-quality anthology in which all of the Forensic Reading texts
can be found. They contain other visual stimuli including pictures, photos, advertisements,
timelines, as well as blank boxes in which students can undertake writing activities. The content
is unapologetically hard-hitting and thought-provoking, intended to spark discussion, interest
and opinions in young people.