Faculty Overview

English at Birchwood is a creative, illuminating subject delivered by teachers who aim to cultivate and nurture a life-long love of literature, writing and language in all students. Our curriculum is centred around the study of a diverse, rich and complex range of novels, short stories, poetry, drama and non-fiction texts from a range of genres, eras and cultures. We firmly believe in the validity of students’ personal responses; therefore, we teach our students not only to become assured, critical readers but also imaginative, compelling writers and orators. Students are challenged to enjoy and interrogate the perspectives of others, and supported to become confident in developing their own thoughtful and convincing arguments.

Faculty Members

Faculty Overview

Birchwood Mathematicians are inquisitive. We encourage independent thought and a logical approach to problem-solving, equipping students for the challenges of life beyond Birchwood.

Faculty Members

Faculty Overview

At Birchwood, we believe that our students should enjoy Science — finding it rewarding, gaining knowledge and understanding by investigating things for themselves and using their newly acquired scientific knowledge & skills to be able to question, analyse and challenge.

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Faculty Overview

At Birchwood High School, the Expressive Performing Arts Faculty (EPA) includes: Art, Dance, Drama and Music.

Birchwood Artists are creative, enthusiastic, and inspired by the world around them. They create ambitious and exciting outcomes.

Birchwood Dance & Drama Creatives speak, listen, collaborate and perform. They are brave. They are risk-takers. They are empathetic in equal measure.

Birchwood Musicians study music through listening and appraising, composing and performing, allowing all students to become confident, creative, multi-skilled and culturally enriched. We encourage a lifelong passion for music.

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Faculty Overview

The Humanities Faculty is made up of three departments: Geography, History, and Religious Studies.

Geography at Birchwood seeks to understand the interconnectedness of humans and the environment and equips our students with the skills to tackle the world’s future problems.

“Those who fail to learn from History are condemned to repeat it”. Birchwood Historians understand the past, so they can better create their own futures.

Birchwood Religious Studies students understand religious and non-religious world views and how they impact on the lives of believers and non-believers. They challenge the stereotypes and misconceptions often portrayed in the media, and they are able to evaluate arguments in order to reach a justified conclusion.

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Birchwood Linguists are enthusiastic communicators who are culturally aware and understand the importance of being a good global citizen. At Birchwood, students study French, German and Spanish.

Faculty Overview

The Birchwood PE faculty aims to provide a safe environment where students can enjoy developing their sporting character.

• Empowering all to have a lifelong future of health, fitness and well-being
• Enabling all to have the confidence to access sport and leisure opportunities
• Engaging all in an appreciation and understanding of the importance of global sport in our culture

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First, the obvious question: What does PSHCE stand for? PSHE stands for Personal, Social, Health, Citizenship and Economic Education.

Birchwood High School is committed to the provision of relationships and sex education for all students at the school. In line with current recommendations from the DfE (Department for Education) the content will deal with physical, emotional and moral issues. The teaching offered to students is intended to be supportive and complementary to that provided by their families.

Parents are able to withdraw their children from any part of the sex education programme other than the elements of the National Curriculum for Science. Parents who wish to do so should make contact with the school in writing.

Health and sex education is taught by the Science Faculty. Sex education starts in Year 7 concentrating on biological understanding. From Year 8 upwards, Personal Development sessions progressively consider relationships and the social, moral and ethical aspects. This approach is supported by representatives from the local Health Authority, external agencies such as Relate, theatre groups and the school's first-aiders.

At Birchwood High school we work with the PSHE Association and follow a thematic scheme of work.

The three core elements of PSHCE are:

• Relationships
• Health and Wellbeing
• Living in the Wider World

Schools are free to determine how to deliver their PSHCE content. Teaching on the PSHCE curriculum includes a range of activities from role-play, debates and discussions to quizzes, labelling diagrams and designing posters.

The PSHCE school curriculum covers sensitive subjects. These are taught using distancing techniques to allow children to safely explore topics and ask questions, without needing to discuss personal experiences or provide personal responses. Children might talk about fictional characters in certain scenarios and think about what these characters could do. At Birchwood, students have the option of using question boxes to anonymously or confidentially ask questions about topics they have covered in their PSHCE lessons.

For a list of our policies please click the following link to the Policies Page.

Faculty Overview

In Social Sciences subjects, students develop enquiring minds, the passion to enrich the communities of which they are a part and the skills to achieve beyond their expected progress, regardless of background.

Faculty Members

Faculty Overview

Technology at Birchwood High School is structured to include the subject areas of Design & Technology, Food, Computing, Film and Media allowing our students to link logical thinking with creativity to solve problems in our ever changing technological world

At KS3, technology is taught through a carousel system. The subjects taught include Food, Branding, Resistant Materials, Textiles and ICT.

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