Our teaching philosophy:

• There is no one way to teach good and outstanding lessons, as long as students are engaged, challenged and know how to improve.
• Good teachers live our character values in the classroom, put students first and are passionate about their subject and that every student in the class succeeds.
• Happy children learn best.
• Staff are teachers of children rather than subjects.
• All teaching should develop in students the requisite knowledge, skills, attributes and behaviours for them to achieve well across any discipline
• There are no shortcuts and hard work is the key ingredient in success

We are proud of our long association with the Prince's Teaching Institute, an organisation dedicated to promoting coherence and challenge within the curriculum; extending and enthusing students through subject based activities that are beyond the curriculum; supporting teachers to develop, explore and share their own specialist subject knowledge; and forging subject-based links between schools.

Prince's Teaching Institute

In 2024, Gordon's was the only school in the country to be awarded all of the possible 9 PTI Subject Leadership Marks, recognising outstanding teaching in each of the following subjects: Art, D&T, English, Geography, History, Maths, MFL, Music and Science.

PE is also an active member of the Prince's Teaching Institute,  a subject-based peer network for subject leaders keen to engage their love of teaching, develop a strong department and improve results.

Detailed below are each subject's current focus:

• HISTORY: To explore and develop the use of vocabulary, literacy and writing techniques within the History Department.
• ENGLISH: To develop students’ awareness of ‘the bigger picture’ with the subject of English – the transferable, lifelong skills that students are acquiring; the career links with the subject; the cultural capital being learnt; and the importance of the creative industries to the UK economy.
• MATHEMATICS: Adapting schemes of work at KS3 and KS4 to reflect changing requirements of our cohort and the return to normal teaching routines post Covid-19 pandemic.
• SCIENCE: The Science department is working to collaboratively develop a leading KS3 physics curriculum based on best practice over the next three years. The department will be focused on creating a complete, diverse, and ambitious curriculum that incorporates current Institute of Physics best practice and effectively deploys retrieval practice, Rosenshine's principles and cognitive load theory to develop outstanding teaching. Alongside this, the department will be working to develop all teachers of KS3 physics to ensure the highest level of expert teaching, consistency of language, high levels of challenge and to facilitate a seamless transition to KS4 physics.
• GEOGRAPHY: To embed the use of geographical skills in lessons across KS3, KS4 and KS5 with the aim of creating more well-rounded geographers.
• MUSIC: Researching and developing meaningful homework and academic enrichment tasks which allow the students to develop their musical knowledge more fully and prepare them better for KS4 and 5.
• ART: Exploring different methods for stretch and challenge within schemes of work, promoting problem solving and experimentation with ideas.
• MFL: Improving challenge through use is Extensive Processing Instruction, entering students into national competitions, improving subject knowledge through delivery of whole school CPD and improving cross-curricular links.
• DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY: Help to develop the new Design and Technology stream at the PTI through participation in the 'Evaluation Group' and leading training as part of the PTI's CPD programme.

CURRICULUM maps