St John's School and Community College in Marlborough has been revolutionising its KS3 curriculum since 2001. From the early days of piloting the RSA's 'Opening Minds' curriculum, to developing its own tailor-made, modular approach built around core skills and competences, the school has worked with teachers and students to explore better ways of learning and of teaching. Headteacher Dr Patrick Hazlewood and Director of Curriculum Innovation Kathryn Pollard tell the story of how and why they took these initial steps and how the innovations have benefited the school in many ways, including improved standards of student attainment and behaviour. We see a Year 7 class engaged in a cross-curricular project inventing its own country. We hear from a group of Year 13s who were involved in the initial project about how their minds were opened by it and about the impact these curriculum changes have had on them.

Video Series: KS3 New Visions
Release Date 2007