Staff & Student Email Copia e-Learning Go4Schools Parent pay About us Attending our school Specialisms News & events Contact us Curriculum Extra-curricular School Structure Exams Houses Assessment Curriculum "The curriculum will provide uncompromising academic challenge alongside a rich cultural experience." Alice Hudson, Executive Headteacher Twyford CofE High School places a high premium on academic success and therefore takes an intelligent approach to achievement. Core subjects (English, Maths, Science, Languages, History, Geography and RE) are all taught formally as separate subject specialisms. Students are taught in sets for these subjects according to their ability and to the progress they make. Students who do particularly well in languages will have a chance to take a second language from Year 8. Students will begin their GCSE studies in Year 9 and will have the option of studying iGCSEs in the core subjects as these are more challenging courses that offer better preparation for A-Level. Here are some of the topics students currently cover during their first two years in their core subjects: English: Private Peaceful, Shakespeare Plays, Poetry, Greek Myths, Gothic literature, Chaucer. Maths: Sequences, Shapes and Measurement, Linear Equations, Probability, Algebra, Graphs, Transformations. Science: Organs, Healthy Living, Matter, Energy and Forces, Ecology, Acids and Bases, Genetics, Organic Chemistry, Light and Sound, Mechanics, Reproduction. Languages: French, Latin (from Year 7) and German (from Year 8) vocabulary and grammar topics. History: Medieval Kings, the Tudors, the Stuarts, Empire, Industrial Revolution. Geography: How water shapes our world, World population, Settlements, Britain, Weather, Tourism, Brazil, Ecosystems. RE: Judaism, Life and Works of Jesus, Islam, Inspirational People, Interfaith Issues, Young Philosophers, The Passion, Social Concern. Our enrichment curriculum allows students to develop their creative skills and follow their particular aptitudes in Music, Art, Drama and Sport. For information on individual subjects please read our curriculum booklet here. A list of GCSEs and other qualifications available at Key Stage 4 here. Further information on Sixth Form curriculum can be found in our Course Guide for 2021 entry. You can find out more about our approach to the curriculum in the Twyford Trust's Curriculum Policy. Parents can find out more about the school's curriculum on COPIA. Our SEN Policy (Special Education Needs) gives details about how the curriculum is made accessible for those with disabilities or SEN. Back to the top Extra-curricular The School rejoices in an exhilarating range of extra-curricular activities. Additional enrichment activities take place in a programme of after-school classes for students who are gifted and talented in particular areas. This year these will include an Ecology group, Chess, Latin, Photography and Dance classes and accelerated groups taking GCSE Music, Dance and Media Studies from Year 8 in “Twilight” classes. There is a very wide range of curriculum clubs for students to do further work in particular subject areas. Music The School has been a Specialist Music College since 2005 and the programme for individual Music tuition is very well developed. Students may have paired or group lessons in piano, vocals, guitar, percussion, brass and woodwind instruments. We have an active Orchestra, training Orchestra, a Jazz Orchestra, choirs and instrumental ensembles. The music department has extensive use of two music rooms and a Music Technology Suite complete with Recording Studio and Performance Centre. The School places a high premium of high quality performance and has a large number of concerts and events as well as competing in national competitions. Sports The School’s sports team (in Netball, Hockey, Tennis, Football, Cricket and Basketball) have an established record of success at Ealing Borough and regional levels and a programme of Rugby for boys and girls squads, coaching in currently taking place with professionals from London Wasps and tutors from Ealing Rugby Club. Full programmes of team matches and training sessions take place after school on every day of the week and on some weekends. Work Experience For older students, extra-curricular activities may take a more vocational angle. GCSE Technology students have worked with professional Graphic Artists at the London Design Centre. All students take part in a work experience programme. Placements range from working with chefs at the Ritz to experiencing the work in a busy Kensington law firm. There is an ongoing careers programme for students in all year groups and a good liaison exists with Connexions and outside providers such as Ealing Business Partnership. Some students in Year 10 and 11 attend college courses in Hairdressing, Childcare, Motor Vehicle Mechanics or Carpentry. School Trips There is tremendous scope for residential visits at Twyford and they are a great deal of fun! Year 7 enjoy adventure activities at Kingswood, Kent. Year 8 are offered curriculum visits to France, Germany or Spain and Year 9 are given the opportunity to go outward bound in Devon—where water skiing, climbing and canoeing are the order of the day and Belgium. Year 11 have an established trip to New York and there are a number of language exchanges. However, it is the 6th Form who enjoy the widest range of travel opportunities. In recent years they have been on Photography trips to Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam and Slovenia, studied the Russian Revolution in St Petersburg, experienced skiing in Austria and walks in the Swiss Alps. Other recent trips have included India and diving in the Red Sea. More information on Language Trips & Exchanges can be found here. Activities Week The school year ends with “Activities Week” when many of the residential trips take place. However, for students who stay at home there are challenges also. School based groups have renovated a pond area within Twyford’s grounds, designed and made stained glass, constructed Egyptian mummies and gone on local trips to play golf. Twyford Speaker Programme 2018-19 The Twyford Speaker Programme aims to provide sixth form students, especially those in Year 12, with additional wider learning opportunities in support of their curriculum studies and eventual UCAS application. Wider Community Responsible behaviour within the school community shapes our relationship with the wider community. Our understanding of our relationship with the wider community is informed by the parable of the ‘sheep and the goats’ within its message of social responsibility. Each House identifies its own charity, which may be national or local, and will undertake fundraising for this. Twyford is committed to being a community school. Enterprise The Twyford ethic is to be enterprising. We give students the opportunity, within class and through extra-curricular programmes, to take the initiative. The story which we utilise to exemplify our attitude to enterprise is the Parable of the Stewards. Each house has its own annual ‘enterprise day’ and the students are expected to work together in a business-like way on projects to promote the work of its charity and to fundraise. All staff are attached to a house and support the students in leading these activities. A spirit of enterprise is very important to our students as they move into upper school and think about their own future pathways. Programmes of speakers from industry and Higher Education will encourage students to think about the direction they would like to take and the initiatives they may want to develop to ensure they are well positioned for future success. All students will undertake work experience in Year 10 and will be expected to consider work placements after GCSE. Engagement and Celebration The Twyford Trust ethic is one of high engagement. Our Trust motto is ‘I have come that you should have life and life in all its fullness’ (John 10:10). Our school day is a very full one and also includes after-school clubs and activities to further challenge our students. Successful students will learn to make productive use of their time and seize every opportunity to develop themselves fully. The house system promotes healthy competition – with inter-house sports and music competitions after the end of the school day. From Year 7, students will learn that to be fully engaged is to get more out of life. Heads of Year will take the lead in ensuring that all students engage with the wider life of the school as well as making very good progress academically. Each term ends with a celebration assembly – but achievements are also given a high profile through weekly Head of Year Assemblies. Termly Celebration of Learning events take place for parents to engage with student successes. Back to the top School Structure Twyford is organised into year groups each containing seven tutor groups, which are also members of the school's seven houses Truro, Wells, York, Fountains, Ripon, Durham and Canterbury. Each Year Group has a Head of Year and an Assistant Head of Year. The Head of Year 7 liaises with the Primary Schools that our students have come from, and for this reason remains Head of Year 7 each year. Once students move into Year 8, they will then remain with their new year Head of Year until the end of Year 11. Years 7 to 9 cover the National Curriculum's Key Stage 3 level of work. Years 10 and 11 cover the National Curriculum's Key Stage 4 level of work Year 7 and 8 are overseen by the Head of Lower school. While, year 9 to 11 are over seen by the Head of Upper school. In the Sixth form, there is a Head of Year 12, a Head of Year 13, as well as an overall Head of Key Stage 5. Back to the top Exams Our aim, within this section, is to provide you with information relating to sitting exams at Twyford CE High School. Public examinations take place in January and May/June each year and timetables will be published here. Should you not be able to find the answer to your question or if you need to contact the Examinations Officer, Mr Stanton, you can email him on pstanton@twyford.ealing.sch.uk Year 10 Assessment Week Useful links to exam board websites and other helpful resources can also be found below. AQA Edexcel (Pearson) OCR WJEC UCAS JCP Back to the top Houses Twyford is organised into year groups each containing seven tutor groups, which are also members of the school's seven houses Truro, Wells, York, Fountains, Ripon, Durham & Canterbury. Back to the top Assessment Individual Knowledge of Your Child At Twyford, each child is known as an academic individual through careful diagnostic testing. Using this information, challenging targets are set that are effectively communicated and then evaluated at key points during the year. A well-constructed whole school assessment system allows our students to take control of their learning and make personal assessments of their progress. There are two formal exam weeks in December and June, assessing all completed work to date in the core subjects (English, Maths, Science, Languages and Humanities). In addition to this, there are regular Standardised Assessments with grades made accessible to parents. More detailed information relating to these Standardised Assessments can be found on the VLE. Effective Communication with Parents This is integral to the success of any school. Parents will receive Termly Reports that provide information on effort and achievement in all subjects and at the end of the year, a full report will be produced. Parents will be expected to attend all Information Evenings and Parent Consultation Evenings. In addition to these formal reporting systems, parents can access information relating to conduct points, attendance and punctuality data via the VLE. Each week, parents will review and sign their child's diary which will contain key information relating to that week. Personal communication with your child's Tutor and Head of Year will be vital in supporting your child. To support this process there will be a Target Setting Meeting in September between student, parent and tutor. Independent Learning Independent learning is critical to the success of your child at GCSE and A-Level. It is our philosophy to develop the required skills within each subject as soon as students join the school. From day one of Year 7, there will be a 15 minute lesson preparation task set in each lesson – that means 5 tasks set per day. Longer pieces of assessed homework in the form of essays, projects, assessments and presentations will also be set fortnightly. The combination of lesson preparation tasks, to be completed each evening, and longer more developed pieces of work will ensure your child develops the independent learning habits required to succeed as they develop academically. Each core subject will outline a series of tasks to be completed independently of school. These will be called Level 4 Tasks and are designed to stretch students and encourage curiosity within each subject. 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