The TCS Curriculum Offer

At Teignmouth Community School, our curriculum is designed to be ambitious, inclusive, and knowledge-rich, with the overarching aim of enabling students to become the best version of themselves. Every young person is given access to a carefully sequenced curriculum that meets the requirements of the National Curriculum while also broadening horizons, developing skills, and nurturing values that will serve them beyond school. Learning is structured so that students can build on prior knowledge, make connections across subjects, and progress confidently through their education.

We believe that all students can achieve when they are provided with clear pathways tailored to their needs and ambitions. These pathways ensure that students can pursue their strengths, address gaps in understanding, and access the qualifications and experiences that prepare them for further study, employment, and adult life. Careers guidance is embedded within our curriculum so that students can see the relevance of their learning, make informed choices, and understand how knowledge and skills connect to future opportunities.

Our approach is informed by research and evidence on effective curriculum design. Mary Myatt (2018) highlights that “high challenge, low threat” environments enable students to take risks, engage deeply with knowledge, and learn from mistakes. Cognitive science reinforces the importance of sequencing and retrieval practice: presenting knowledge in a coherent order and revisiting it over time builds durable understanding (Willingham, 2009; Bruner, 1960) while The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) stresses that a well-sequenced, knowledge-rich curriculum that explicitly teaches key concepts and vocabulary benefits all learners, supporting understanding, retention, and skill development. In practice, this means that students encounter key ideas multiple times throughout their journey from Year 7 to Year 13. Each revisit builds on prior understanding, introduces new perspectives, and challenges students to extend their skills.

In short, our curriculum offer is:

Ambitious: Students engage with challenging, substantive knowledge that stretches their thinking.
Inclusive: Every learner is supported to access and succeed, regardless of starting point.
Coherent and connected: Learning is carefully sequenced so knowledge accumulates and skills develop progressively.
Purposeful: Clear pathways link learning to careers and future opportunities.
Evidence-informed: Teaching and curriculum design draw on research in cognitive science, pedagogy, and subject expertise.

To find out more about our curriculum, please email enquiries@teignmouthschool.co.uk

Curriculum Updates 23/24

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TCS Teaching Sequence

Curriculum Structure:

Our curriculum is carefully designed to provide coherence, progression and opportunity from Year 7 through to Year 13. New knowledge and skills build on what students have learned before, while important concepts are revisited and developed at increasing levels of complexity. This helps students make connections, deepen their understanding and develop the knowledge and skills they need for future study, careers and life beyond school.

Our lessons are taught in one-hour periods, giving students time to engage deeply with new learning, practise key skills, ask questions and apply their knowledge. Lessons are designed to support strong learning while maintaining students’ focus and avoiding unnecessary cognitive overload.

We have high aspirations for every student. We believe that all young people should have access to a broad and ambitious curriculum, including students with SEND. We work to remove barriers to learning and provide the support students need to succeed. We do not believe in narrowing the curriculum; instead, we want to keep as many doors open as possible for every young person.

Students experience different groupings throughout their time at school, helping them develop resilience, adaptability, collaboration and communication skills. In Key Stage 3, and in most Key Stage 4 classes, students learn in mixed-ability groups. This provides opportunities for students to learn from one another, encounter different perspectives and develop the skills needed to work effectively with others.

Curriculum Diet:

All students follow a three-year Key Stage 3 programme and a two-year Key Stage 4 GCSE programme. We operate a two-week timetable comprising:

Each week there are 25 one-hour lessons for KS3 and KS4 students.
These are 5 x one-hour lessons per day.
Students have opportunities to work with a wide range of their peers within different grouping structures across the timetable.
All students in Year 7–10 are part of a tutor group and take part in daily reading with their tutors.
Students in Year 11 are part of a study group and take part in additional daily retrieval practice for English, Maths, and Science.
Students in KS5 are part of a tutor group and take part in an organised programme of study.
Students identify their preferences for KS4 study in Year 9 supported by a programme of careers guidance, assembly, parental and staff support.

Key Stage 5

Students study personalised combinations of A Level and BTEC courses
Some students will be able to follow Level 2 courses with work experience in preparation for Level 3 courses or apprenticeships
Students follow an enrichment programme that is designed to enhance and compliment their programmes of study
All students study PSHE

Subjects

Each faculty is led by a subject expert who ensures that the curriculum in their area is coherent, ambitious, and tailored to the needs of our students. Research consistently highlights the value of subject expertise in curriculum design: Michael Young (2014) argues that “powerful knowledge” arises from engagement with the disciplinary content itself, not simply from generic skills. Subject leaders therefore design learning experiences that reflect the best scholarship in their field while making it accessible and meaningful for every student.

A successful curriculum does not happen by chance; it is the product of deep subject knowledge, careful sequencing, and collaborative planning. As Dylan Wiliam has argued, “every teacher needs to improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be even better.” As such, we review our curriculum regularly drawing on the latest educational research, exam board guidance and membership to a number of professional associations.