Curriculum

Art is a much-loved subject at Portland Place. Our aim is to create a calm and safe space, which encourages each pupil to develop as individuals with the skills and confidence needed to visually articulate their unique thoughts and ideas.
‘Art as visual literacy’
We strive to promote art for all by teaching drawing, and other practical craft skills, as visual literacy: with sufficient time, effort and practice all of our pupils can learn to become at least competent in Art. We aim to teach these skills using tasks that promote creativity and imaginative freedom.
‘A holistic understanding of Art’
Art history is embedded in our curriculum to enable pupils to make connections between different time periods, cultures, individual artists and themselves. Pupils are taught to inform their own work through the study of other artists in order to build sound subject knowledge and understanding. We provide first-hand experiences for our students with gallery trips and visits, including; a Street Art walking tour of Shoreditch, Epping Forest field trip, and British Museum and Tate Modern.
‘The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.’
We have a practical approach to our subject, which aims to build sound subject knowledge in myriad techniques and media. Our staff have specialist knowledge and experience in a wide range of different subject areas including Drawing, Painting, Mixed Media, Sculpture, Print-Making and Photography.
This is reflected in the broad range of experiences and opportunities that we aim to provide for our pupils from Year 6 through to GCSE.

Our GCSE course starts with learning about entrepreneurs and their motives for setting up businesses; this allows us to explore the concepts of risks and rewards and creativity.

A GCSE in Business Studies allows students to understand more about the business world and motivates and challenges students, preparing them to make informed decisions about further study and career pathways.

GCSE Business Studies prepares you for AS/A2 Levels as well as BTEC and NVQ courses in many different subjects. You will become skilled in making decisions, being creative, solving problems, understanding finance, dealing with data, communicating and working as part of a team.

What is GCSE Business Studies?

Would you like to set up your own business and be a successful entrepreneur? Would you like to be a manager in a business? Have you got an interest in the news and how the government and their policies affect your everyday life? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then Business Studies is the GCSE for you.

You will learn about how the world of business works and its relevance to almost every aspect of modern society. Amongst other topics, you will learn about planning, finance, marketing and economics and discover some of the methods and techniques used to analyse an organisation’s performance.

What skills will I develop?

We want our students to develop as independent learners and encourage them to use an enquiring, critical approach to distinguish facts from opinions, form arguments and make informed judgements.

GCSE Business will also enable students to develop useful business skills and knowledge with Finance, Marketing and Human Resources.

What syllabus will I follow?

The Examination Board is Edexcel.

What will the course look like?

Students will learn about the purpose of business activity and the role of business enterprise and entrepreneurship, alongside the dynamic nature of business.

Students need to be aware of the impact that business has in the real world on the four functional areas of business:

• Business operations
• Human resources
• Marketing
• Finance

You will encounter a variety of teaching methods including case studies, role-plays and ICT alongside more traditional methods.  Students will be expected to immerse themselves in a business-like mindset and to pay attention to the world around them.  For example, students would be expected to take note of relevant news items, which may be used as a basis for discussion and class work.

What homework will I get?

Students will complete a regular piece of business homework. These will be interesting and meaningful tasks which include case study questions, independent research, exam questions and additional reading.

We have grown up in a world where technology is constantly evolving, creating new fields to explore and changing the way we work in every area, from engineering and medicine to economics, fashion or design. Whatever your career plans, Computer Science is vital to develop your grasp of these ideas and concepts that will shape our world.

At Portland Place School we offer OCR Computer Science, where students delve deeper into the theoretical side of these technologies, while developing skills in problem solving and programming. Computer Science explores the principles of digital technology and a way of working that is called “computational thinking”, coding being in the core of this course. To succeed, you have to be able to think logically, solve puzzles and be tenacious when the going gets tough. This course is really creative and we are sure you will get a real buzz out of creating something yourself, especially when programming on Python.

If you enjoyed Scratch, GameSalad, HTML or Python in previous years, then you will find Computer Science ideal for you.

Making a computer dance to your tune is very rewarding!

Studying GCSE economics will give you an awareness of how modern-day society works. … Studying GCSE Economics will allow you to develop key skills for the future. Taking your learning further by studying A Level Economics and going on to university could lead you to various fulfilling professions: Actuarial analyst.

You’ll be able to develop a wide range of exceptional transferable skills, from analysis and statistics to research and presentation – the kinds of skills that employers are searching for, and that you can apply to professional challenges anywhere in the world.

Economics is important for many areas of society. It can help improve living standards and make society a better place. Economics is like science in that it can be used to improve living standards and also to make things worse. It partly depends on the priorities of society and what we consider most important.

What syllabus will I follow?

The Examination Board is OCR

What will the course look like?

Component 1: Introduction to economics

Students are introduced to fundamental economic terms and concepts and apply them to explain how markets work in contemporary and historical economic contexts. They study the roles of the main economic agents, how they interact, and the importance of financial markets.

There are two topics:

• Introduction to economics
• The role of markets and money

National and international economics

Students develop their understanding of how governments aim to achieve economic objectives and the effects of economic policies on markets, as well as the importance and impact of international trade.

There are two topics:

• Economic objectives and the role of government
• International trade and the global economy

In both components students are encouraged to evaluate the moral, ethical and sustainability issues that arise from economic activity.

English at Portland Place is a subject which is constantly changing and developing to adapt to the world around us. We cover all sorts of texts, from Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea to a collection of Dystopian Fiction, and these are regularly updated. We favour anthologies at KS3, as we believe that exposure to as many different texts and ideas as possible gives young minds a chance to work out what they enjoy. Shakespeare is taught throughout KS3, culminating in a complete reading of Romeo and Juliet in Year 9. Poetry is approached through both analytical and creative lenses. All of our Literature and Language teaching prepares students for the rigours of the AQA courses, whilst still keeping topics fresh and exciting. Our extra-curricular activities include a book club which shadows the annual CILIP Carnegie Awards every January, and a creative writing club throughout the year.

Spelling and grammar are exercised weekly through Century Tech, an e-Learning platform which utilises AI to understand students’ areas of strength and where support is needed. However, as a dyslexic friendly school, we recognise that students’ abilities stretch far beyond their spelling, and this is never the main focus of our teaching. Rather, we aim to foster a love of English right from the start.

Key Stage Three

KS3 students have four English lessons per week, including one which takes place in the library. During this time, they work with our designated librarian, engage with online platforms like Fiction Express, and borrow books either virtually or physically. Some of the authors and poets KS3 students will read during their time with us include:

• Reni Eddo-Lodge
• Simon Armitage
• Stella Young
• Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche
• Earnest Hemingway
• Kurt Vonnegut
• Beatrice Garland
• John Agard
• Charles Dickens
• George Orwell
• William Shakespeare
• Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
• Lewis Carol
• Sally Gardner

Key Stage Four

At KS4, students have three English Language lessons per week, one of which focuses solely on vocabulary building and discussion rather than exam skills. Extracts are wide ranging and include 19^th, 20^th and 21^st century fiction and non-fiction.

Students are also able to select English Literature as an option subject, and will study Dickens, Shakespeare, Priestly and a collection of poetry, both set by the exam board (AQA) and unseen.

At Portland Place we have the privilege of having small classes, which means that every member of the English Faculty has usually taught each child at some point throughout their time here – we have the privilege of knowing our students and their needs very well.

As a department we speak multiple languages and bring many different life experiences to our teaching. We are passionate about our subject and hope that our students leave us with a deeper understanding and love for Literature and the English language, as well as the role it plays in shaping the world around us. Many of our students go on to choose English or English Literature as one of their A Level choices and our department guides these students through that transition by providing many enriching and stimulating opportunities.

The Design department aims to plan, develop, and deliver schemes of learning that allow students to use their creativity and imagination, to come up with innovative design concepts. Students are presented with design contexts that requires analysis and solving of design problems which lead to the production of high-quality solutions. This is achieved through imaginative teaching, thinking, and learning that embraces new technologies such as computer aided design and manufacture, whilst retaining the best of traditional practices.

From year 7 onwards pupils are given the opportunity to experience a broad range of Design specialisms such as Product Design, Textiles, Graphic Communication, Computer aided design & manufacture, as well as ceramics. Students will be taught the theory behind projects through completing preliminary experiments or a mini practical to enhance their understanding. The Design departments core desire is to deliver a curriculum which has creativity at its core. There is a strong emphasis on developing cross-curricular links by developing STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, & Maths) based projects. Students are encouraged to use their knowledge from other subjects to further their work.

With sustainability becoming an ever-growing issue this is embedded into the curriculum to encourage pupils to be proactive in reducing their environmental impact when developing design concepts. Students will also be encouraged to implement the use of iterative design approach within their projects to make continuous improvements to their work by coming up with several versions.

At GCSE level Portland Place offer AQA Art, Craft, and Design as this allows students to experience and incorporate the use of a broad range of designs specialisms within their portfolio. Students also get to research and set their own sustained project on a topic of their choice which allows them to express their creativity and independent learning. The department have also put an emphasis on making students aware of the many different career avenues Design can offer by offering a range of trips that vary from Architectural workshops through to Jewellery making experiences.

Drama at Portland Place School is a powerful, challenging, and rewarding subject; we feel it is the heartbeat of our school. Through our exciting and enlightening schemes of work, which can be accessed by all learners, we set the foundations of confidence building, performance, and expression, that can be transferred to all other subjects at Portland Place.

Year 7 students have two Drama lessons a week which allows us to begin work on building their confidence. Within the first six weeks of joining us, the students prepare for their first performance. In previous years this has involved turning our beautiful building into a haunted house. This is the location for the student-led piece of promenade theatre around the building that welcomes new parents to Portland Place School. This excitement and energy acts as the perfect springboard for the rest of the academic year. We spend the rest of the year refining performance skills, ending with a Year 7 Creative Arts showcase. Students also have the opportunity to create their own silent movies inspired by the great Charlie Chaplin.

In Year 8 and 9 students are taught a variety of styles and genres, from Greek theatre to Shakespeare, to contemporary writing that allows the students to create their own issue-based dramas. This is perfect preparation for those students who wish to study Drama at GCSE.

Our GCSE students have three lessons a week, but many of them choose to refine their skills with rehearsals before and after school. Rehearsals and lessons take place in our new Drama Studio, it is a busy space that is a hub of creativity. We follow the AQA Drama GCSE specification where we stretch and challenge our students with exciting and emotive play texts, as well as inspirations and sometimes controversial theatre practitioners. At this point in their education, we know our students very well and texts are chosen to help them shine in performance, whilst ensuring they are always improving their skill set.

LAMDA tuition is delivered at Portland Place School by our visiting LAMDA teacher. Students can work one-to-one with their teacher to work towards LAMDA exams that take place in the Summer term. Some students have LAMDA lessons to build confidence without the pressure of sitting exams. LAMDA is used to support the students whatever their goal may be.

Where the Drama department really showcase the talents of our students is through our extra-curricular activities and competitions. We enter the ISA monologue competition and ISA Drama competition, with students previously winning commendations for their work. We also enter the Shakespeare School Festival each year, with students showcasing their love of Shakespeare. This compliments all the fantastic work the students do in their English lessons.

The highlight of our year is the whole school musical. These performances take place at a venue around the capital, in recent years the students have performed at RADA Studios, JW3 and the Shaw Theatre. Our students perform three performances to up to 200 audience members. Previous shows include Anything Goes, Pyjama Game, Oliver, Bugsy Malone and The Wizard of Oz. Students can perform on stage or help out as part of our stage crew.

With the West End right on our doorstep, we have a theatre trip each term. This provides our students with exhilarating and life changing theatrical experiences. We go to see productions that bring to life their set texts, watch brand new writing, as well as our annual trip to the pantomime in the build-up to Christmas. A memorable trip for some students was the Drama & Music Tour to New York. It may be time to jet off to the Big Apple again very soon!

Geography is a contemporary and engaging subject. Throughout the curriculum there are opportunities to use map skills (traditional and digital) alongside extending literacy, numeracy and ICT skills. Our students are global citizens. We celebrate our ethnic diversity, learning reasons for inequality in the world whilst considering the type of actions to be taken to make the world a better place.

At GCSE we deliver the AQA syllabus. Within this we cover three units:

1. Living with the Physical Environment: The challenge of natural hazards, Physical landscapes in the UK and The living world. This has a 90 minute examination worth 35% of the total grade.
2. Challenges in the Human Environment: Urban issues and challenges, The changing economic world and The challenge of resource management. This has a 90 minute examination worth 35% of the total grade
3. Geographical Applications: Issue evaluation (decision making questions using a pre-released source booklet) and Fieldwork (questions based on a fieldwork enquiry and the use of fieldwork materials in an unfamiliar context). This has a 75 minute examination worth 30% of the total grade.

Fieldwork is a really important part of geography. Day trips and a UK residential take place at GCSE in order to build on the topics taught in class and prepare for the Geographical Applications paper. A European trip is also organised as well as a bi-annual trip to Tanzania.

History at Portland Place seeks to show students that History is all around us, it is not only in the past but in the present and can affect the future. History can help us to evaluate and understand our own lives and the lives of others, so we can see that there is more that unites than divides, and that definitive judgements and absolutes in the way we explain the world are often inaccurate. Students learn to be measured, inquiring, questioning, tolerant and nuanced, so that they leave our school understanding why the world has come to be how it is today, with an eye to understanding their place in the present and in the future.

Our lessons are dynamic, absorbing, diverse, and compelling; we capture young enthusiastic minds every day. At Key Stage 3 students learn and enquire into topics ranging from the Great Fire of London or the Magna Carta to the contribution of British Black people in the Tudor era to the present day. Later, important and essential knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust is developed using specialist resources from the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education. The content students learn is continually updated, reviewed and taught to ensure that History is relevant and important to our students. At Key Stage 4 we follow the OCR Modern World History (A) specification and consider historical debate such as ‘How far can the policy of appeasement be justified?’, ‘How has total warfare affected society throughout time?’ or ‘What were Hitler’s policies towards minorities in Germany?’. At Portland Place we have the privilege of having small classes, which means that the teacher has usually taught each child at some point throughout their time at the school; we know our students’ strengths and areas for progress and can support them individually.

Analytical, evaluative, essay and source skills needed for the study of History are embedded and encouraged from an early age in lessons and many of our students choose to study History at A-Level and at university. The department encourages and promotes wider independent learning and interest in History; a particularly popular expression of this is through the Horrible Histories Enrichment option run alongside the English Department. Students write, perform and record their own Horrible Histories clip about any historical event or period which interests them, working together in groups and further developing their ICT skills as well as having a great time!

The department utilises our school e-learning and resources platform, Firefly, so that students, parents and teachers are continually connected. Lessons, homework, revision and all extra information is readily available and easily accessible for all. One particularly valuable tool we are currently developing is the ‘Log your Learning’ page for each GCSE student to individually record their knowledge and understanding to create an ongoing digital record for progress checks and revision. As a dyslexic friendly school, we recognise that students’ abilities need support and extension and the use of varied techniques across the classroom and at home when revising are taught and embedded into all of our lessons to help students fulfil their potential. History at Portland Place is fun, fulfilling, and for everyone, not only do the students enjoy it and learn readily, we love teaching it and enjoy developing the minds of young historians every day.

Mathematics is not only an intellectual discipline in its own right, but it also has essential applications across science, engineering, telecommunication, information technology and many more areas. Students are sometimes surprised to see how much mathematics is needed in other GCSE subjects. At Portland Place, we work actively with other departments to help staff and students see the applications of mathematics and help them to become more able with this.

In a world of instant access to most things, we are working to build students’ resilience and independence and equip them with the tools needed to tackle difficult problems. We praise accuracy ahead of pace and work to develop their written and oral communication skills, to help them become successful in their future work place and able to play an active part as citizens.

We work collaboratively as a department to ensure students have the key skills needed to progress well. It is in the centre of our ethos to start the learning from where the students are, and we check prior knowledge before starting a topic so we can make differentiation and our teaching more effective. We have a number of students completing their Maths GCSEs early and we are keen to work with students and parents to ensure we set up a plan for those students to further their knowledge and maintain their enthusiasm.

At PPS, we teach French and Spanish as our main curriculum languages – students get to choose one and have two hours per week. We love using technology in the classroom and try to make it fun for students. Our students learn Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking skills via the use of some teaching and learning apps such as Flipgrid, Showbie and Activelearn for Studio and Viva Edexcel.

We also value the importance of learning outside the classroom. In the past, we ran trips to Paris (Disneyland), Valencia and had exchanges with schools in Bordeaux and Salamanca. We have many workshops such as flamenco classes, plays in French or Spanish, visit to the French cheese shop and also art workshops, to name a few. We often go to the French Institute and watch films in French or Spanish on days out to a cinema.

We also aim to provide a more supportive, stimulating environment in which EAL children are enabled and encouraged to attain the highest standard of achievement of which they are capable of.

Recognising that our children have a variety of needs means that we also ensure that this will be reflected appropriately in our teaching, and in turn provide long term provision for Russian, Arabic, Mandarin and Japanese, as part of our after-school classes; for both advanced and beginner students. Providing these languages reflects the richness of our multicultural society and the wide range of international students that we have at PPS.

One of our main yearly events is Languages Day, where we celebrate cultural diversity and international languages as a whole school. We usually all dress up for the day, take part in languages games and raise money for a charity supporting children in need.

Music at Portland Place is a thriving area of the curriculum and in the extra-curricular life of the school.  Students have opportunities to study, perform, compose and appraise music from a diverse range of styles, genres and traditions, as well as becoming involved in the many ensembles, trips and visits that are on offer across the whole school.

Students in Year 7 typically receive two single lessons per week which focuses upon a practical approach to developing musical understanding.  Students study the basics of music theory and work towards achieving a Grade 1 standard of understanding giving them a strong foundation as they work through Key Stage 3 and onto GCSE level.  Year 7 benefit from the Symphonfree Scheme – a programme where all students learn an instrument for the whole year, including the loan of a school.  This not only gives them the opportunity to study something they may not have been able to previously, but also supports and strengthens the curriculum as they actively use the theory skills taught in lessons.  By the time we reach the end of the year, the Year 7 Symphonfree Orchestra performs in our summer concert, showcasing both their ability and musical journey.

Throughout Year 8 and 9, students have a single lesson of Music and continue to explore a variety of musical styles in a practical way, including Samba Drumming, West African Music, Reggae, Dub, Drum and Bass and Film Music, to name a few.

All students use the hands-on instruments such as the Samba drums, African djembe and keyboards, but also work on technical skills of sequencing and using notation-based software in our Music Suite, comprising 9 iMacs running Cubase, Sibelius, Logic Pro and Ableton.

GCSE students receive three lessons per week following the Edexcel specification and receive a 50% reduction on fees for individual music lessons.

All students across the school have access to the individual music tuition programme, delivered by our team of specialist Visiting Music Staff.  These run over the course of the week and encourage and enthuse students, many of whom study for ABRSM, Guildhall or Rock School examinations, but others who simply prefer to learn their own selections of repertoire.  We offer lessons in the following disciplines:

• Piano (Classical, Popular and Jazz)
• Voice
• Violin
• Viola
• Cello
• Double Bass & Bass Guitar
• Trumpet
• Trombone
• French Horn
• Flute
• Clarinet
• Saxophone
• Guitar (Acoustic, Electric and Classical)
• Music Theory
• Music Technology
• DJing

Our extra-curricular provision caters for the needs of the students and can be fluid from one year to the next as student interest and abilities demand.  Standard ensembles available for students to join and rehearse in during the school day are:

• PPS Choir (open to the whole school)
• Chamber Choir (auditioned choir)
• Year 6 & 7 Choir
• Boys Choir
• String Ensemble
• Woodwind Ensemble
• Percussion Ensemble
• Rock Band
• Brass Ensemble
• Jazz Band
• Soul Band
• plus many student-led groups

These ensembles work towards the many performance opportunities there are during the school year, with the most prominent being the Christmas and Summer Concerts at external venues such as RADA Studios and Regent Hall, our Carol Service at All Souls Church, but also our smaller chamber concerts, whole school, and year group assemblies.  We also regularly enter students for national competitions and have had success in the ISA Young Musician of the Year.  The annual school production gets a good majority of the school involved and is always one of the highlights of the year, performing in a central London theatre with the full technical specifications of sound, staging, scenery and lights, accompanied by a band of professional musicians as well as our own students.  Previous productions have included Anything Goes, Pyjama Game, Oliver, Bugsy Malone and The Wizard of Oz.

With central London venues on our doorstep, we arrange trips throughout the year for all students to concerts, musicals and museums as well as going further afield.  Students from across the school experienced our Music and Drama trip to New York, and every other year we take our music ensembles on Music Tour to a European city to include performances as well as sight-seeing.

The Music Department comprises of two full-time dedicated Music teachers, a Music Administrator and the team of 12 Visiting Music Staff.  The aim of the department is to promote creativity, develop a good musical understanding and appreciation amongst the young people at Portland Place, but mostly to have fun and make the most of as many experiences as they can.

Physical education and sport have a key role at Portland Place with inclusivity and enjoyment through competition at the heart of its ethos. This is achieved through providing a diverse curriculum and a wide range of sporting opportunities for our pupils.
‘Portland Place does remarkably well at sport… Regent’s Park is on the doorstep. ‘It’s like out back garden’ ‘ Good School Guide

Lower school students receive three double lessons a week, comprising nearly six hours of PE and sport. In the upper school, years 10 and 11 have two hours per week and the option to study GCSE PE, for which they would receive three weekly lessons.

The activities our pupils participate in varies term to term and include:
Football
Netball
Basketball
Health related fitness training
Gymnastics
Dance
Table tennis
Tennis
Badminton
Tag/touch rugby & rugby union
Swimming
Cross country & athletics
Rounders
Cricket & kwik cricket
Softball
Ultimate frisbee

The vast majority of lessons are off-site, making use of the excellent sporting facilities in the locality. Pupils are transported to our venues in dedicated buses, with Regent’s Park’s football, rugby and cricket pitches and the netball facilities at the tennis club being our most frequent venues. Indoor facilities include the Seymour, Oasis, Moberly and Westway sports centres as well as the University of Westminster. In school, pupils are able to access our dance studio, fitness room and table tennis facilities.

All pupils take part in competitive sport through our programme of House sports competitions and inter-school fixtures. Inter-house fixtures take part each term, with all students representing our four houses and accumulating points towards the House Cup, with our whole school Sports Day providing the climax to the year’s events.

Inter-school fixtures are played across all year groups in our key sports of football, netball, rugby, rounders, cricket, cross country and athletics. We also take part in swimming, basketball and table tennis events. Pupils are selected on ability and their commitment and willingness to take part, with most of our year groups fielding A and B sides. The school regularly enters ISA regional events as well as Westminster Borough and London Youth Games competition.

Many of our teams and pupils have enjoyed success at local, regional and even national standard. Recent pupil achievements include National ESSA and ISA titles in athletics, a current Premiership footballer, and several individuals who have achieved regional honours for the South-East, London North ISA and Westminster Borough. School teams have triumphed in swimming, cross country and indoor cricket regional events.

Lunchtime, after-school clubs and whole school enrichment provide a wide array of extra-curricular opportunities that are open to all our pupils. These vary termly and include activities such as cricket club at Lord’s Indoor Academy, making use of the Middlesex coaches and dance club in our studio. A full breakdown of our clubs throughout the year include:

Fencing
Horse riding
Table tennis
Dance
Running club
Weight training & fitness training (HIIT)
Football
Tag/touch rugby &rugby union
Boxing
Badminton
Basketball
Ultimate frisbee
Tennis

Sports tours are organised each year for boys and girls. Our most recent trip was a football tour to Madrid in 2019. Other tours have included netball tours in Barbados, Malta and PGL trips in the UK. Football tours have included short breaks at St George’s Park as well as longer trips to Barcelona, Malta and Barbados. Yearly ski trips also go out to various European destinations each winter.

Our PE staff are a four-person team of full-time, dedicated PE teachers. All have sports-related degrees, QTS status and boast a wealth of experience in many sports. Our department members have competed and performed at professional and semi-professional level and have achieved regional, national and international honours. Our overriding aim is that our pupils will gain as much enjoyment and have as many great experiences through sport and dance, as we have!

Our school library, with its large windows, antique fireplace and Doric columns, provides a serene and environment where students can read and research while at school. Whether working on their Strive projects, choosing books during weekly library lesson or spending a study period in the library, our students have many opportunities to benefit from the resources and facilities in this inspiring space. The library is open daily from 8am until 5pm in the evening.

The physical library boasts a collection of over two thousand fiction and non-fiction books that have been especially chosen by the Librarian with the aim of supporting subject learning and nurturing a love of literature. Our library lesson programme promotes reading for pleasure and well-being. Author visits are arranged termly to engage our students and bring books to life.

Technology also plays an important role in our library. Our students use ipads to access to our  e-book library and a number of online resources via our school VLE, Firefly.

Have a browse of our collection HERE

At Portland Place School we are keenly aware that we are educating the researchers, engineers, and scientists of the future. It is vitally important that our co-curricular programme is rich in opportunities for students to discover their passions in STEM and explore ideas widely and in depth. We offer a range of clubs and activities designed to nurture all the students’ potential and encourage engagement beyond the syllabus, whether their interests lie in dissection, improving the environmental impacts of our everyday life or astronomy. Open to all students, years 6 to 11, these co-curricular activities encourage the PPS pupils to develop their wider science knowledge and discover the world in a wider capacity than just the classroom.

Key Stage 3

Key Stage 3 comprises a compulsory curriculum based around the AQA specification. In Years 6, 7, 8, pupils take part in opportunity to learn all sciences two to three times per week. Compromising of chemical reactions, human anatomy, and forces. During Year 9, pupils are guided in their choice of GCSE Options for Years 10 and 11 by having a taster of all three of the science GCSE courses.

Key Stage 4

The students have the freedom to study either a double award science GCSE or individual triple science GCSE’s under the AQA specification. Allowing the students to enjoy the curriculum and develop in the areas of science where they will excel and reach their full potential. The students will also have the opportunity to be a part of then Biology, Chemistry or Physics club, developing their passion within the subject whilst providing support throughout their science GCSE’s.