Curriculum Intent

At Chessington School, our curriculum is designed to ensure that every child, every day, fulfils their potential. We believe that all of our students, regardless of background, starting point or need, are entitled to a rich, ambitious and inclusive education that equips them with the knowledge, skills and cultural understanding required to thrive from their first day with us, through to their future careers.

Our curriculum has been carefully constructed to provide our students with the critical knowledge, disciplinary understanding and personal development needed to become successful learners, responsible citizens and confident individuals. We are committed to ensuring that every student experiences success through a curriculum that is coherent, challenging and responsive to the needs of our learners.

We believe our students should experience a broad and balanced education for as long as possible, and we are exceptionally proud of our subject offer at all key stages. At both Key Stage 3 and 4, our students access a wide range of academic, creative, practical and performing subjects to secure a broad foundation of knowledge and discover their strengths and interests. 

At Chessington School, the National Curriculum provides an important foundation for curriculum planning; however, we do not see it as the limit of our ambition for our students. By extending beyond statutory requirements, we ensure that all of our students, particularly disadvantaged learners and those who may face barriers to opportunity, can access a curriculum that broadens their horizons, raises their aspirations and enables them to have sustained success.

A knowledge-rich curriculum

The Chessington School curriculum sets out the essential knowledge, understanding and skills that our students need to learn at each stage of their education. We believe that secure knowledge is the foundation of future learning and that our students are empowered when they know more, remember more and can apply their learning confidently across contexts.

Our curriculum is carefully designed by our subject specialists within the school and across our Multi Academy Trust to ensure our curriculum offer is exceptional. Across all subject areas, curriculum plans clearly identify the key knowledge and disciplinary concepts that our students must master. Subject leaders have carefully considered what our students need to know, when they need to know it, and how learning is revisited to ensure long-term retention. 

A well-sequenced curriculum that builds learning over time

Our curriculum is intentionally and carefully sequenced to build knowledge cumulatively over time. Learning is planned so that our students revisit and strengthen prior understanding while developing knowledge and skills.

At every key stage, our students encounter curriculum content in a logical progression, enabling them to make connections between ideas, deepen understanding and achieve mastery. Retrieval, repetition and deliberate practice support our students in remembering more and applying learning successfully.

Curriculum sequencing ensures that our students are well-prepared for the next stage of education, employment and adult life. We place significant emphasis on developing strong foundations in Key Stage 3 to ensure all of our learners are fully prepared for future academic pathways.

Ambition for every learner, every day

At Chessington School, we are unwavering in our ambition for all of our students. We reject the notion that background, disadvantage or additional need should limit achievement. Our curriculum is therefore designed to be ambitious and aspirational for every one of our learners, including students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), disadvantaged pupils and those with lower prior attainment.

Teachers adapt teaching thoughtfully so that all of our learners can access ambitious content while maintaining high expectations. SEND provision is integrated into curriculum planning, ensuring our students receive the support, scaffolding and challenge required to succeed.

High expectations are central to our curriculum design. We provide appropriate scaffolds, adaptations and targeted support without reducing academic challenge or entitlement. Our students access a shared curriculum because we believe inclusion means ensuring every learner has access to high-quality knowledge and meaningful success.

Curriculum through the lens of disadvantage

Chessington School serves a community with a significant proportion of disadvantaged students. This context is central to our curriculum thinking and informs our commitment to equity and inclusion.

We recognise that disadvantage can create barriers to academic success, cultural opportunity and educational confidence. As a result, our curriculum is intentionally designed to reduce these barriers and provide our students with the knowledge, experiences and cultural capital needed to succeed.

We ensure that all of our students have access to a broad, enriching curriculum that develops vocabulary, reading, cultural understanding and wider experiences. Curriculum leaders carefully consider what knowledge disadvantaged students may be less likely to encounter beyond school and explicitly teach this through planned curriculum, pastoral and enrichment opportunities.

Our curriculum commitment

At Chessington School, our curriculum is underpinned by a simple but powerful belief: every child, every day should have the opportunity to succeed. Through a carefully sequenced, knowledge-rich and highly inclusive curriculum, we ensure our students develop the knowledge, skills, character and aspirations needed to succeed academically and personally, now and in the future.

SEE OUR CURRICULUM ROADMAP BOOKLET HERE