GEMS Founders School (GFS) are proud to offer a range of International A Level and BTEC subjects accredited by OxfordAQA International Examinations, AQA and Pearson. All qualifications GFS offers are recognised by schools, colleges and universities internationally, thus enabling all of the students to gain access to the best academic institutions in the world. Please view our curriculum options document above for further information. 

Within Key Stage 5, students experience a range of different strategies to develop their content knowledge. Teachers design research tasks to provide students the opportunity to explore the content independently before applying it in lessons. These include presentations, debates or constructing responses to exam style questions. Students are encouraged to collaborate with their peers and evaluate the work of others to deepen their understanding of marking instructions and exam expectations. 

Within Key Stage 5, we prepare students with the strategies to help them succeed in their final examinations. These include time management, revision techniques and general organisation. In conjunction with resources provided by teachers, students have the opportunity to use their devices throughout lessons to research, access support and challenge materials in a range of formats including webpages, journal articles and videos. A-Level teachers ensure many opportunities for independent work are embedded within their courses to prepare students for their next phase of learning at university or for application into the world of work.

Our Learning Journeys provide a clear and accessible overview of what pupils will learn in each subject throughout the academic year. They show the sequence of learning, the key knowledge, skills and concepts pupils will encounter, and how each stage of the curriculum builds upon what has been learned before.

The Learning Journeys are designed to help pupils, parents and teachers see the curriculum as a connected journey rather than a series of individual topics or lessons. Learning is carefully sequenced so that pupils can develop secure knowledge and understanding over time, revisit important concepts, make meaningful connections and apply previous learning in increasingly challenging contexts.

Each Learning Journey provides a visual representation of where pupils are starting, the units and areas of learning they will experience during the year, and how this prepares them for the next stage of their education. Opportunities to revisit and retrieve important prior knowledge are also deliberately built into the curriculum, helping pupils to remember more and strengthen their understanding over time.

By making our curriculum journey visible, we aim to provide greater clarity for our whole school community and demonstrate how every area of learning contributes to pupils’ long-term academic development, progression and success.