St George's Signature Curriculum

The pace of change - driven by rapid advances in technology, globalisation, and shifting social and economic conditions - is fundamentally reshaping what students need to learn and how they need to learn it, to be prepared for future workplaces.

Today, education is about even more than the classroom and academic results. It is about skills and personal attributes as well as deep knowledge. Adaptability and interdisciplinary thinking. Digital and data literacy. Critical thinking and creativity. Collaboration and self-awareness. Problem solving and personal resilience. Skills that blend both technical and emotional intelligence. Learning how to learn and understand our own learning processes (metacognition) as well as learning who we are.

Whilst we don’t expect every student to become an Olympic athlete or Nobel prize winner, we are passionate about achievement for every individual. A major new review in Science Daily*, led by Prof Arne Gullich, analysed the developmental histories of 35,000 world-class performers, including Nobel Prize Winners, Olympic medallists, leading musicians and others. Findings suggested that what matters most in developing excellence is gradual improvement combined with breadth. Exploration in a wide range of subjects and disciplines, while building transferable skills is key. Therefore, breadth of curriculum is not a distraction from excellence but a critical part of how excellence develops. 

We share this philosophy in our curriculum design. We leave room for students to explore and reflect. We caution against specialising too early, and allow for change of direction if necessary, to really focus on a student’s long-term potential. We reinforce the value of curiosity and risk-taking to create conditions for girls to feel empowered and confident to find their strength and motivation throughout their entire learning experience, from age 2-18.

At St George's we have long been committed to personalised pathways. Our whole school curated curriculum and co-curriculum pathways offers individuals real flexibility to explore their interests across a wide range of subject areas and disciplines, while supporting development as a learner, alongside developing the knowledge and skills needed for the future.

Crucially our curriculum is designed in the context of building successful futures – we aim to keep pace with accelerating change and actively refine when appropriate. Each year we proactively review the pathways on offer to ensure they are meeting the needs of the students, reflecting the demands of universities and the workplace.

This forward-thinking approach, where learning is designed with the world beyond school in mind, means our students are ready for life beyond the school gates - whatever their chosen path. They are connected to purpose, impact, social and global relevance. They are independent, confident young women ready to meet life challenges head on because every experience in school prepared them to do so, with the specific needs of girls in mind.

The St George's Red Threads

We don’t just prepare our students to enter university, college, their own business or the future workforce - we are preparing them to shape tomorrow’s world. The ‘red threads’ that run through every individualised pathway here are those critical future capabilities; meta skills, digital fluency, creative thinking, project skills (IPQ/HPQ/EPQ), outdoor adventure, business acumen, leadership and entrepreneurship, and a global outlook through travel, study and exchanges.

These Red Threads run through every single stage of school, in an age-appropriate way, which means by the time our students leave us, they are self-starting, fearless and adaptable- ready for any challenge.

The St George’s Signature curriculum is quite unique and can be best represented by these four consistent characteristics:

Best of British Academic Approach - Breadth, variety and choice

High ambition underpins our choice of the very best courses, encouraging girls to explore diverse subjects - an approach valued by top universities, industry employers and our students.

We actively choose the best courses - whether GCSE, Nat 5, Highers/Advanced Higher or A Level - based on content, feedback, results and student experience to provide flexible and individual pathways to fulfil student aspirations.

Personal pathways - Unique and personalised

Encouragement, opportunity and choice, within an environment that nurtures hearts and minds, develops lifelong learners who expand and deepen their individual interests through a rich co-curriculum, to build a strong sense of personal identity.

Future ready - Multi-faceted learning

Our diverse, carefully curated curriculum, woven throughout with metaskills and enriched by a vibrant co-curriculum, prepares students with the skills, confidence and resilience to thrive in tomorrow’s world.

Empowering young women - “You can’t be what you can’t see”

Designed for girls; we make role models, mentors and equitable pathways visible and achievable, in a high challenge, low threat environment where our girls grow without limits.

If you would like to find out more about our curriculum please contact our Deputy Head Academic, and for more information on the article referenced above, you can find it here: *Science says we’ve been nurturing “gifted” kids all wrong | ScienceDaily