Pupils aged 5 to 16 in local authority maintained schools must follow the national curriculum. This is organised into 4 key stages and 12 subjects.
Schools are free to choose how they organise their school day, as long as all pupils are taught the national curriculum. Pupils in Key Stage 4 choose their own 'options' to study for GCSE or other examinations.
Key Stages 1 and 2
Compulsory national curriculum subjects at primary school are:
- English
- maths
- science
- design and technology
- history
- geography
- art and design
- music
- physical education (PE), including swimming
- computing
- ancient and modern foreign languages (at Key Stage 2)
Schools must provide religious education (RE) but parents can ask for their children to be taken out of the whole lesson or part of it.
Schools often also teach:
- personal, social and health education (PSHE)
- citizenship
- modern foreign languages (at Key Stage 1)
Key Stage 3
Compulsory national curriculum subjects are:
- English
- maths
- science
- history
- geography
- modern foreign languages
- design and technology
- art and design
- music
- physical education
- citizenship
- computing
Schools must provide religious education (RE) and sex education from key stage 3 but parents can ask for their children to be taken out of the whole lesson or part of it.
Key Stage 4
In Key Stage 4 most pupils work towards national qualifications - usually GCSEs.
The compulsory national curriculum subjects are the 'core' and 'foundation' subjects.
Core subjects are:
Foundation subjects are:
- computing
- physical education
- citizenship
Schools must also offer at least one subject from each of these areas:
- arts
- design and technology
- humanities
- modern foreign languages
They must also provide RE and sex education at Key Stage 4.
You can ask the school not to include your child in Religious Education lessons nor in collective worship.
Academies and free schools do not have to teach the National Curriculum. However, they must teach a broad and balanced curriculum including English, maths, science, and religious education.