Food is essential for life and understanding its impact on both physical and mental well-being is a crucial life skill. Our curriculum is designed to equip students with the knowledge and practical expertise needed to make informed dietary choices and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Through a carefully sequenced curriculum, students develop an understanding of nutrition, food safety, and the relationship between diet and well-being.

Practical learning is at the heart of our approach, ensuring that all students—regardless of their starting points—build confidence in essential cooking techniques, problem-solving, organisation, and time management. Hands-on experiences encourage independence, while a strong focus on kitchen safety ensures students can navigate food preparation environments responsibly, managing risks related to hygiene, heat, and cross-contamination.

Beyond developing essential life skills, our curriculum broadens students' cultural capital by exploring diverse cuisines and food traditions, fostering an appreciation for global food cultures. Additionally, students gain insight into the hospitality and catering industry, equipping them with the expertise and confidence to pursue further education or careers in this dynamic sector. With ambition at its core, our curriculum ensures students leave with the skills, knowledge, and resilience to thrive in both their personal and professional lives

Health and Nutrition	Students will use the NHS Eat Well Guide, which shows how much of what we eat overall should come from each food group to achieve a healthy, balanced diet, and the 8 tips for Eating Well Guide (PHE) to learn about what makes a healthy diet.
Practical Culinary Skills	Students will develop increasing competence in slicing, chopping, rubbing in, frying, grilling, blending, poaching, boiling, whisking, creaming, peeling, weighing, measuring, grating, melting, moulding, rolling, all of which are vital skills for food preparation.
Health and Safety	Students will earn how to prepare food safety in the kitchen. This will include; cross contamination, fire safety, cooking temperatures, safe use of equipment, clothing, management, personal hygiene, bacteria, emergency aid.

Year 7

In catering, students learn key cooking skills, kitchen safety, hygiene, and nutrition through practical dishes like pizza, pasta, bread, and cakes, while developing independence in using equipment safely and understanding healthy eating. Skills learned include chopping, frying, boiling, kneading and baking

Year 8

Students explore the role of key nutrients and vitamins in a healthy diet while building practical cooking skills through dishes like turkey burgers, curries, and pastries. Lessons focus on food safety, nutrition education, and hands-on preparation of balanced meals.  Skills learned include shaping, simmering, rolling out, roasting and dicing

Year 9

Students develop practical cookery and planning skills while learning about food safety, hygiene, and the nutritional value of ingredients. They apply this knowledge in making dishes like lasagne, jambalaya, and focaccia, with a focus on time management and healthy choices.  Skills learned include kneading and proving, roux sauce making, layering and accurate knife cuts.

Year 10

Students gain a thorough understanding of the hospitality and catering industry through practical cooking, nutrition education, legislation, and food safety. They explore both commercial and non-commercial sectors, menu planning, presentation, and workplace operations, while preparing for assessments with skills in HACCP, time planning, and evaluating practical work.  Skills learned include deboning chicken, filleting fish, making a choux pastry and pasta making.

Year 11

Students focus on preparing for and completing the Non-Exam Assessment (NEA) through time plans, evaluations, practicals, and final dish selection. Students demonstrate high-level cooking and presentation skills, applying nutritional knowledge and workflow strategies in realistic scenarios. The curriculum also supports Unit 1 exam readiness with structured revision, past paper practice, and theory sessions covering standards, contracts, EHO roles, environmental considerations, and customer requirements.  Skills learned include dovetailing, sauteeing and emulsification.