About the national curriculum

Finding out the subjects that your child will study at school and the tests your child will take to measure how well they are doing in each subject.


Schools use the National Curriculum to make sure that teaching standards are the same in every school. The National Curriculum sets out the knowledge and skills a child should be gaining in a particular subject at every level up to GCSE.

The aim of the National Curriculum is to give a flexible framework to teachers so that all school children are taught in a way that is balanced and manageable, but stretching enough to challenge them and meet their diverse needs.

The National Curriculum defines your child’s progress in broad 'Key Stages'. At the ages of 7, 11 and 14, your child will take tests to measure how well they are doing in each key stage. These tests also help teachers learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of your child in relation to a subject and this allows your child’s teacher to plan how to help your child do even better.

At 16, your child will take GCSEs or other equivalent qualifications such as GNVQs.