What is the Super Curriculum?

Pupils’ personal development is central to the school’s ethos. King’s Academy Ringmer’s Super Curriculum (The KAR Experience) is an exciting opportunity for our students to engage in a diverse range of activities beyond the curriculum. Embedded in our Key Stage 3 curriculum every Wednesday for 70 minutes, the Super Curriculum supports students to have increased enrichment opportunities built into their timetable, so every student in this school has access to a wider range of activities. We believe that these changes will significantly benefit student learning and lead to a better school experience for all pupils. The super curriculum has been designed in conjunction with Student Voice as well as a consideration as to our context's needs. This has ensured a range of exciting activities that students will be able to select based on their interests. The super curriculum is run by a mixture of staff at the school and external providers. It also offers the opportunity to consult with parents as to any support or activity they may be able to offer.

The core purpose of our Super Curriculum is:

• To create a greater sense of belonging, identity and community within our school.
• To build further opportunities in alignment with our school vision, to promote cultural capital and develop well rounded, confident students who are world ready.
• To ensure students at KAR are afforded the same opportunities as they would have at a larger school, or within private education.

There are 6 ways we aim to develop well roundedness:

• Express - Using media to express ourselves, including traditional spoken and written language as well as modern digital media.
• Solve - Using logic to solves problems in the natural world. This includes STEM based projects and problem solving games.
• Change - Enacting change to improve the world around us. This includes charity work, social justice and ecological work.
• Move - Moving our bodies to improve our mental and physical wellbeing. This includes sport in addition to other forms of movement like resistance, endurance and flexibility. 
• Create - Using creative artforms to express ourselves. This includes: painting, crafts, theatre and music. 
• Think - Activities that improve our mental and social wellbeing so we are prepared for the challenges in life.

Students choose from two pathways:

• Pathway 1 - Students complete one project that lasts for the three terms. These larger projects include: KAR: Digital, KAR: Production and KAR: STEM
• Pathway 2 - Students complete three projects that each last for one term. There is a larger number of these smaller projects to choose from.

Students select their options and the curriculum is developed from this information. 

The Super Curriculum projects are sequenced and progressive. Staff developing these projects have used AI to help consider how best to structure the sessions, so they develop week to week. For example, students signing up to running club work towards an end goal of competing in a ParkRun after 1 term and build up physically and mentally through the 12 weeks.

Our Super Curriculum catalogue can be found below.