... it provides pupils with the essential aspects to make them effective citizens ...
Ofsted, March 2020
Art, Craft & Design
Art, craft and design embodies some of the highest forms of human creativity.
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A high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design.
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As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art, craft and design. They should also know how art, craft and design reflects and shapes our history and contributes to culture and creativity in the world around us.
Business Studies
Business Studies is an exciting new addition to The Trafalgar School's curriculum with students due to sit their first examinations in June 2025. It has quickly established itself in the Key Stage 4 curriculum with 100+ students studying the Edexcel GCSE.
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Business Studies focuses on building the next generation of entrepeneurs. Study focuses on building small businesses, understanding the lengths businesses go to when attracting new customers, and the way in which businesses are structured.
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Students progress well onto Business Studies at local sixth forms and colleges where Business is popular at A Level and BTEC.
Computer Science
Computer Science focusses on developing student confidence and resilience when tackling problems using technology.
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Computational Thinking is the fundamental stages of creativity. It is the bedrock of the CS curriculum at The Trafalgar School because it develops confidence through a rigid and accessible framework.
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The Computer Science department will be successful when students can recognise a problem and have the skills and competencies to solve it, using their knowledge of technology such that this confidence then develops resilience when facing new and potentially difficult challenges throughout life.
Design & Technology
Design & Technology is about making things better. The ability to do it yourself is both highly practical and liberating. Problem-solving and practical skills are essential life skills as we strive to become independent and resourceful homeowners and homemakers. From the capability of assembling an item of flat pack furniture to home decorating, from solving simple leaks to managing building contractors in our homes, our practical and problem-solving skills will be tested throughout our lives. Design and manufacturing industries are essential to our economy.
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Design and manufacturing capability allow us to innovate products that both enhance our lives and make life better. Designers and engineers are entrepreneurs; they create jobs and employment through creativity and innovation. Engineers service our everyday needs from repairing our cars and washing machines to building our infrastructure. Designers and technologists will provide practical and problem-solving capabilities in reducing environmental impact.
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The Design Technology curriculum at The Trafalgar Schol will develop students technical knowledge and practical competencies. Our main priority is for students to work as problem solvers and effective communicators not being afraid of making mistakes. Through the teaching of responsible design, students will become informed consumers who will make a positive contribution to society. Students will experiment and take risks with their ideas, in a safe and positive learning environment Teaching will introduce students to new technologies and embrace new ideas and approaches. Manufacturing will resemble modern industrial processes, whilst retaining the best of traditional practices. By understanding materials and manufacturing processes, students will be able to design realistic, high-quality prototypes and outcomes.
Drama
The Drama curriculum at The Trafalgar Scool will engage students on an emotional, physical, spiritual and intellectual level. This whole-person ethos inculcates the active desire to be creative and responsible interpreters and communications of meaning, through the disciplines of theatre art.
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A rich and culturally diverse curriculum will equip students with the skills an character to communicate a variety of meanings coherently and artistically. Lessons will make use of a wealth of human and artistic possibilities so that students extend their moral, spiritual and cultural responsibilities. These help shape, order and challenge students into fruitful and purposeful ways of knowing and living.
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The course of study is a sure basis for any continued academic and professional study in theatre arts.
Food & Catering
Learning to prepare and cook healthy, nutritious food is a skill that promotes a lifelong healthy body and mind.
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The Food & Catering curriculum at The Trafalgar School will provide a wide range of opportunities for students to explore flavours, cooking processes and nutritious ingredients in increasingly elaborate ways. Students will leave with the confidence to prepare themselves and their families a repertoire of both affordable and nutritious dishes. A continuing curiosity about creative food experimentation and an awareness of the impact of food production on our planet's precious resources will be a lingering consideration in young minds as they become the next generation of sdults.
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English Language & Literature
English has a pre-eminent place in education and in society. The English curriculum at The Trafalgar School will teach students to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them.
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Through reading, in particular, students will have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development. Reading will enable students both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know.
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All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society. Students, therefore, sho do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised. In order for or students to become fully functional, inclusive members of our diverse society, our curriculum and extended reading program (in Tutor Time) do not reinforce white middle-class literature. We aim to decolonise the world of literature so that our students are global citizens whoa re fully informed regarding multi-cultural history, issues and situations of oppression.
Film
Studies
(final examination June 2025)
Film is an important part of many people's lives. Those who choose to study it tend to bring with them a huge enthusiasm and excitement for film which constantly motivates them their studies. Film, as a media product, has a significant influence on the way people think and feel - film can also help people to make sense of their work.
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Geography
The Geography curriculum at The Trafalgar School will instil in students a curiosity and fascination about the worlds and its people. In doing so, it will develop a lasting and contextualised awareness of the world in which they live.
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Teaching will equip students with knowledge and understanding about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the earth's key physical and human processes.
The majority of our students are from rural areas including the New Forest, or the urban fringe of Salisbury with good access to the countryside. We therefore need to be aware of their personal geography and look to broaden their horizons. As a student progresses, their growing knowledge about the world will help them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments.
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Geographycial knowledge, understanding and skills will provide the frameworks and approaches that explain how the earth's features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time.
History
The History curriculum at The Trafalgar School will fire students curiosity and imagination, moving and inspiring them with the dilemmas, choices and beliefs of people in the past. It will enable students to develop their own identities through an understanding of History at personal, local national and international levels. It will enable students to ask and answer questions of the present by engaging with the past.
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History will provide students with a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain's past and that of the wilder worked. It will inspire students curiosity to know more about the past. Teaching will equip students to ask perceptive questions think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments and develop perspective and judgement.
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History will enable students to understand the complexity of people's lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.
Languages
French or
Spanish
Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures and global citizenship.
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The MFL curriculum at The Trafalgar School will foster students curiosity in and deepen their understanding of, the world around us. The curriculum will enable students to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. It will also provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purpose, learn new ways of thinking and read great literature in the original language.
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Language teaching will provide the foundation for learning further languages, equipping students to study and work in other countries.
Mathematics
Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. The Mathematics curriculum at The Trafalgar School at Downton will provide a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.
Physical Education
The Physical Education curriculum at The Trafalgar School at Downton will inspire all students to succeed and excel in competitive sport and other physically demanding activities. It will provide opportunities for students to become physically confident in a way that supports their health and fitness. Opportunities to compete in sport and other activities will build character and help to embed values such as fairness and respect.
PSHCE
The PSHCE department works alongside students and the school pastoral team to support students in becoming strong spirited, giving, determined, compassionate, enthusiastic, trustworthy, respectful and open-minded individuals. It is our goal to enhance the learning that takes place throughout Trafalgar and deepen the understanding and knowledge from a variety of subjects and environments across the curriculum. We are here to develop the resilience and perseverance of our students so that they can have a life fulfilled. Students will gain knowledge that will enable them to make informed decisions about their wellbeing, health, relationships, citizenship and finances. Students will put this knowledge into practice as they develop the capacity to make sound decisions when facing risks, challenges and life choices within and outside of the school environment now and in the future. Through the topics covered within PSHCE, we will support young people to know how and when to ask for help, and to know where to access support. We are a stepping-stone on their journey into adulthood and it is our responsibility to give them the tools and knowledge to succeed.
Music
The Music curriculum at The Trafalgar School will develop in students a passion for life long musical appreciation.
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Through musical studies students will develop an understanding of its purpose, language, styles, origins, social diversity and global links. Students will discover the importance of the role of music and its impact on documenting global social diversity and the role music plays in recording and communicating world events and human emotion for future generations.
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Students will become 'real' musicians, enjoying the practical elements of the subject and building the confidence to perform inside and outside the classroom, whilst understanding musical traditions and discovering how music impacts life on a global scale.
Science
Science education provides the foundations for understanding the world, through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world's future prosperity.
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At The Trafalgar School students will be taught essential aspects of scientific knowledge, methodology and process. Through the building up of a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, students will be encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. They will be encouraged to understand how science can be used to explain observations, predict how things will behave and analyse causes.
Beliefs, Values & Traditions
The Religious Studies curriculum at The Trafalgar School will develop students' British Values by promoting an atmosphere of respect, empathy and tolerance of difference while exploring peoples' lives around the world ultimately with the aim of developing mature citizens of a multi-cultural world. This will encompass learning about peoples' religious beliefs, traditions and cultures that in turn will foster both an understanding of, and curiosity in, the world around us.
Relationships & Sex Education
Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) is about the emotional, social and cultural development of students and involves learning about relationships, sexual health, sexuality, healthy lifestyles, diversity and personal identity. RSE involves a combination of sharing information and exploring issues and values. RSE is not about the promotion of sexual activity.
