ACADEMIC OVERVIEW
OVERVIEW IN
THE SENIOR
SCHOOL
The Senior School operates on a two-week cycle
of lessons with each week being designated as
Week A or Week B. Pupils will have five lessons
on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; four lessons
on Tuesday; and six lessons on Thursday. Lessons
are followed by CCAs (shortened to one hour
on a Friday). The CCAs cover academic (prep,
pastoral, enrichment and support) alongside
physical and creative activities.
The Senior School curriculum comprises three
separate stages:
Key Stage 3 (year 9), during which the pupils
will continue to build on the solid foundation of
the Prep School with a wide-ranging curriculum
based on the English National Curriculum;
Key Stage 4 (years 10 and 11), pupils follow a
broad range of subjects which culminate in the
IGCSE examinations. Full details of the available
options are set out in a separate IGCSE booklet.
Sixth Form (years 12 and 13), pupils follow the
International Baccalaureate (IB) framework by
selecting six subjects which they study, in depth,
leading to the IB Diploma qualification. Full
details of the available options are set out in a
separate IB booklet.
During year 9, pupils will be encouraged to
develop a love of learning for its own sake,
the belief being that this will stand them in
good stead for the IGCSE and the sixth form.
In particular, intellectual curiosity, academic
risk-taking and creativity will be supported and
applauded by teachers at Wellington. Thus,
pupils will be thoroughly prepared for IGCSE,
both in the acquiring of appropriate skills for
their subject choices and through obtaining the
flexibility necessary to master new disciplines.
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Having made their choices for IGCSE, pupils will
embark on courses in a wide variety of subjects,
which will include the compulsory ones of
English language, English literature, mathematics
and chemistry plus one other science. In
addition, pupils are required to take at least one
humanities subject as well as a foreign language
and an enrichment subject. Most of our pupils
will study ten subjects at this level, with the
selection designed to keep many options open
to pupils for study in higher education. Options
are available within a structured framework.
The objective is to give pupils a degree of choice,
ensuring they maintain a broad selection of
subjects and do not become overly focused in
one area or close potential future paths of study.
The IB Diploma Programme, the world’s
foremost university entrance qualification,
requires pupils to study six subjects, through
a mixture of obligation and choice.
A pupil’s IB choices are strongly influenced by
their thinking about what their chosen university
degree or potential major might be. However,
the IB is more than an academic qualification, its
core components – CAS (Creativity, Action,
Service), TOK (Theory of Knowledge), and the
Extended Essay (EE) – encourage independence
of thought, communal responsibility, and the
development of research skills.
Ambition, suppleness and self-sufficiency
are qualities that are consistent in all three stages
of the Senior School’s academic programme.
In the twenty-first century, robotic attainment
is no longer a guarantee of success, and pupils
at Wellington will learn that schooling is at its
most effective when it is enjoyable, energetic,
inquiring, mutual, and rigorous – virtues
enshrined in the Wellington Identity.