The Emanuel Academic Curriculum

Timetabled subjects

English, Mathematics, Science, Geography, History, Religious Studies, Music, Art and Design, Computing, Design and Robotics (CDR), Drama and PE. In modern foreign language lessons, pupils have taster courses in French, German and Spanish. There is a double period PE lesson, a Games afternoon and a Life Education lesson each week (see the ‘Life Education’ section here for more information on this subject). Pupils also have a weekly lesson called ‘Ethos’; this is an introduction to critical thinking, informed discussion and debating, aiming to develop independence and resilience in our younger pupils.

Homework

Pupils are not set homework for the first two weeks of the academic year. After this, set homework takes approximately 30 minutes per night from Monday to Thursday, with 45 minutes of homework (30 minutes, plus 15 minutes of spellings to learn) set for the weekend.

Timetabled subjects

English, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (as separate sciences), Geography, History, Religious Studies, Computing, Design and Robotics (CDR), Music, Art and Design, Drama and (from 2022-3) three languages: French, Latin and German, with the opportunity to substitute one of these for Spanish in Year 8 when they will go forward with two languages from these four. There is a double period PE lesson, a Games afternoon and a Life Education lesson each week (see the ‘Life Education’ section here for more information on this subject). Pupils also have a weekly lesson called ‘Ethos’; this is an introduction to critical thinking, informed discussion and debating, aiming to develop independence and resilience in our younger pupils.

Homework

Pupils are not set homework for the first two weeks of the academic year. For the first half of the Autumn term, pupils can expect 30 minutes of homework each night from Monday to Thursday, and 1 hour and 15 minutes of homework to cover Friday and the weekend.  After half term, homework increases to 1 hour per night (two lots of 30 minutes), and 1 hour and 30 minutes to cover Friday and the weekend (three lots of 30 minutes).

Ethos (/ˈiːθɒs/ or US: /ˈiːθoʊs/) is a Greek word meaning “character” that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology.

‘Showing strong moral character’ is what we want to enable our pupils to do. We provide all pupils in Years 6 to 7 with dedicated weekly Ethos lessons, which provide:

• an introduction to ethical and critical thinking;
• an education in how politics works;
• opportunities for informed discussion;
• training in the skills of debating.

We aspire to develop independence and resilience in our younger pupils, and to enhance their capacity to formulate opinions and ideas cogently. Some of the questions pupils have enjoyed exploring include:

• If you had a box with a button on it that, when pressed, meant that someone somewhere in the world would experience serious pain, but no-one would ever know it was you, would you press it?
• Do animals have rights?
• Does the education system ruin childhood?
• Should all the money in the world be redistributed equally each year?
• Should prisons punish or rehabilitate?
• What can we do to end racial inequality?

Here’s what pupils have to say about their Ethos lessons:

“Ethos is one of the new subjects which has been introduced recently. However, it has become one of my favourite subjects easily. In Ethos, we learn about debating, decision making, people’s beliefs about how we see the world, politics, and people’s opinions on different matters.” (Manasseh)

“Ethos is a great way of expressing yourself to others.” (Sarah)

“A chance to learn about the world.” (Thomas)

“Ethos is about learning how to face a problem and solve it ethically.” (Jessica)

“A useful and engaging topic that requires thinking and being able to speak openly without being biased.” (Miles)

“I would describe it as a way to express your feelings and learn how to be a better person.” (Max Kemp)

“I would say that it teaches you all about making the right decision, and not always letting what you think is right take over.” (Ava)

This strong foundation is built upon in the Middle School with a programme of Ethos assemblies in which staff and pupils share their interests and passions. From the origins of feminism to sixteenth-century Netherlandish art and the beauty of soil, we share and celebrate the range of expertise within our community, and provide opportunities for pupils to practise their own public speaking skills, too.

In the Sixth Form, we continue to focus on developing character with a core reading list for students containing seminal texts of philosophical and cultural importance which are then discussed by staff and students in the weekly Life Education sessions.  Texts have included The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain De Botton, and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.

Timetabled subjects

English, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics, Art, Computing, Design & Technology, Geography, History, Music, PE, Religious Studies and the two languages studied by the pupil in Year 7 (Spanish/French and Latin/German).

There is a double period PE lesson, a Games afternoon and a Life Education lesson each week (see the ‘Life Education’ section here for more information on this subject). All pupils in Year 8 have one lesson a week called “social entrepreneurship”. This is an approach taken by groups to develop non-profit solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues.

Throughout the year pupils learn by hearing from a selection of guest speakers and, in collaboration with a variety of departments, develop, plan, and organise a marketing campaign for a business idea. The course begins with students learning about personal finance, including topics such as budgeting, in order to improve their financial literacy.

Homework

Year 8 pupils can expect 1 hour of homework each night (two lots of 30 minutes), and 1 hour and 30 minutes to cover Friday and the weekend (three lots of 30 minutes).

All pupils in Year 8 have one lesson a week called “social entrepreneurship”.

This is an approach taken by groups to develop non-profit solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues.

Throughout the year pupils learn by hearing from a selection of guest speakers and, in collaboration with a variety of departments, develop, plan, and organise a marketing campaign for a business idea.

The course begins with students learning about personal finance, including topics such as budgeting, in order to improve their financial literacy.

Timetabled subjects

English, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geography, History, PE, Religious Studies and Life Education. Art, Design & Technology, Drama and Music are studied on a rotational arrangement. Pupils will be studying two languages until the end of Year 9. (Spanish/French and Latin/German). Skilled linguists may be able to take on an additional language as an accelerated independent course.

New pupils in Year 9 are expected to continue with the foreign languages they have been studying in their previous school, and for which they sat papers in the entrance exam.

Computing is taught on a rotational arrangement within Mathematics lessons.

Pupils in Year 9 are introduced to the concepts of social entrepreneurship through the Life Education programme and are given opportunities to practise these skills through our enterprise competitions. See the ‘Life Education’ section here for more information on this subject.

Homework

Year 9 pupils can expect 1 hour and 30 minutes of homework each night (three lots of 30 minutes).

Compulsory subjects

English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

The majority of pupils currently study the three separate sciences to IGCSE, resulting in three qualifications, but a minority of pupils follow a Double Science Award which leads to two IGCSE qualifications.

Additional subjects

Pupils choose one humanity subject, selecting from Classical Civilisation, Economics, Geography, History or Religious Studies, and a further three subjects from: the languages (French, German, Spanish or Latin), humanities (Classical Civilisation, Economics, Geography, History or Religious Studies), Art, Computer Science, Design Technology, Drama and Theatre Studies, Music or Physical Education.

Pupils have timetabled lessons in Life Education and Games. Part of the programme involves pupils considering their choices after they finish Year 11. See the ‘Life Education’ section here for more information on this subject.

2025-27 GCSE CURRICULUM

Timetabled subjects

Most pupils elect to pursue three subjects to A Level alongside an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) with some following a four A Level pathway.

Students choose A level subjects from: Art, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Classical Civilisation, Computing, Design Technology, Drama and Theatre Studies, Economics, English Literature, Film Studies, French, Further Maths, Geography, German, Government and Politics, History, Latin, Mathematics, Music, Photography, Physical Education, Physics, Psychology, Religion, Philosophy and Ethics and Spanish.

Each subject is taught for eight periods per week for both years of the Sixth Form. Students in both years also have timetabled lessons in Life Education (see the ‘Life Education’ section here for more information on this subject) and Games.

Click here to find out more about the Sixth Form curriculum at Emanuel or take a look at the A level curriculum booklet below.

A LEVELS 2025-27