Teaching & Learning Cycles
The school year is divided into four teaching and learning cycles; each nine weeks in length. This enables departments to plan defined schemes of work to ensure students make good progress. All students in a year group cover the content of the topic(s) in a cycle at a pace that is appropriate for them.
| Week of the Cycle | Description |
| Weeks 1 - 7 | Students learn new subject content. Within these seven weeks, mid-cycle assessments will be undertaken by the students for teachers to see how students are doing. |
| Week 8 | Assessment Week. During this week, students sit an assessment in their subjects. These assessments are generally multiple-choice and enable teachers to identify what students have learned, and what areas students have been less confident with. |
| Week 9 | ‘Super Teaching Week’. During this week, teachers re-teach areas that students struggled with in the assessment, and provide extension work for students who achieved a good level of knowledge. |
Assessment Week Dates 2024-25
You will receive an individual timetable showing the dates and times of your child’s assessments for each cycle. The following weeks are the assessment weeks in 2024/25:
| Cycle | Assessment Week |
| Cycle 1 | 11th - 15th November |
| Cycle 2 | 27th - 31st January |
| Cycle 3 | 21st - 25th April |
| Cycle 4 | 30th June - 4th July |
