Secondary Department Curriculum
The Secondary Department has a broad based academic curriculum, catering for a range of abilities. We expect that every pupil is capable, with hard work, of obtaining a good set of Standard Grades and Intermediate 2 awards at the end of Fourth Year, Highers in Fifth Year and Advanced Highers in Sixth Year.
All girls in First and Second Year follow the same broad based academic course. Biology, Chemistry and Physics are taught as three separate subjects from First Year. At the end of the Second Year option choices are offered from the majority of subjects with English, French and Mathematics remaining compulsory until the Standard Grade and Intermediate 2 Examinations in Fourth Year. It is also possible for a pupil to study the three science subjects but it is not generally advisable as it narrows the pupil's options at a very early stage.
The curriculum comprises the following subjects for which pupils may be presented at Standard Grade, Intermediate 2, Higher and Advanced Higher:-
- Art & Design
- Biology
- Business (S6)
- Chemistry
- Computing
- English
- French
- Geography
- German
- History
- Latin
- Mathematics
- Music
- Physical Education
- Physics
- Psychology (S6)
- Spanish (S6)
Religious Education and Physical Education are also taught as core subjects at every stage throughout the school. In the Fourth Year most pupils are presented for seven or eight Standard Grade and Intermediate 2 Examinations.
Fifth Year pupils study four or five Highers, depending on their ability, with English being the only compulsory subject. In the Sixth Year, pupils study for further Highers or Advanced Highers or a combination of both.
