The curriculum is at the heart of what a school does. At Castle Donington College, we aim to give each pupil a balanced ‘entitlement’ covering the full range of mathematical, linguistic, technical, scientific and artistic areas.  Our curriculum is ambitious, broad, balanced and inclusive and our pupils find it exciting and challenging; one which stimulates, motives and ignites curiosity. Our curriculum reflects the National Curriculum. It is divided into key stages and is designed to be coherent, progressive, and challenging.

The curriculum at Castle Donington College is designed and sequenced to enable all individual pupils to achieve their full potential, regardless of their academic ability. What we teach has been carefully considered and planned to ensure all pupils are well-prepared for life in modern Britain and able to access and progress to aspirational Post 16 opportunities, whether that is at Sixth Form, a further education institution, an apprenticeship placement or employment.

People learn in different ways, so we use a variety of teaching styles to provide the right kind of learning to suit individual needs to best ensure all pupils can access the whole curriculum. These methods include a mix of whole class teaching, group work, intensive support and intervention and homework. We encourage our pupils to take responsibility for their own learning and gain the confidence to become independent, self-motivated learners and to ensure they can revise effectively for their public examinations.   

The Donington Way underpins all areas of the curriculum and all members of the college community adhere to its core values of work hard, take responsibility and be kind. The Donington Classroom sets out the framework for delivery of our curriculum. 

In years 7, 8 and 9 (Key Stage 3) pupils are taught in mixed ability groups for all subjects except maths and year 9 science, where they are grouped by prior attainment. All of our lessons are 1 hour long.

At Key Stage 4 (years 10 and 11), pupils follow a Core curriculum of English, Maths, Science, PE, Religious Education and PSHE. In addition, they choose to study four option subjects. You can read more about the options process and see the available courses here.

Number of lessons per fortnight (total 50)
KS3	KS4
English 8 Maths 8 Science 7 History 2 Geography 2 RE 2 Citizenship 1 Languages 6 Music 2 Art/Design 4 Computing 2 PE 4 PSHE 2	English 8 Maths 8 Science 9 PE 2 PSHE 2 Careers 1 Option choices (four) 5

We believe that all pupils have an equal right to a full and rounded education, which will enable them to achieve their full potential. We endeavour to secure special educational provision for pupils for whom this is required, that is ‘additional to and different from’ that provided within the curriculum. In doing so, we aim to better respond to the four areas of need identified in the Code of Practice (September 2014):

• Communication and interaction
• Cognition and learning
• Social, mental and emotional health
• Sensory/physical

We ensure that both pupils and parents are appropriately involved in all discussions and decisions about individual support and provision. The pupil’s needs are always at the heart of our provision and decision-making.

Beyond the normal school day, we offer a range of activities, including educational visits both in this country and abroad, sports, music, drama, community involvement, charity events - as well as many clubs. We have also built into our curriculum and extracurricular activities, enterprise-related opportunities that consist of personal, intellectual and physical development challenges. 

We believe that parents play a vital role in their child’s education. Our curriculum maps are published so that parents can see what is going to be taught and can support their child’s learning. 

If you require further information about the college's curriculum, please do not hesitate to contact us by telephone on 01332 810528 or via email at postroom@cdcollege.uk.

You can also read further information from the DfE on the Ebacc here.