The Studio Liverpool

The year-long Ignite accelerator programme, which takes place during Year 9, is a broad and balanced curriculum. It introduces you to some of the specialist option subjects that you’ll be able to choose from in Year 10.  Read more here.

As a specialist school, we don’t limit the options that you can choose to study in Year 10 – in fact, we provide all the national curriculum subjects, plus a whole lot more. Click here to find out more.

At the CUC, literacy is a daily, holistic focus across our curriculum, with strategies to ensure students achieve their potential.

Upon entering, all students are tested for reading capabilities, and various interventions are implemented based on the results. These include:

• Lexia: An online platform that enhances vocabulary through interactive activities, helping students access exam materials and thrive academically.
• Personalised Reading Programme: This focusses on phonics and comprehension, improving understanding of English sounds and pronunciations.

We recognise that reading requires effort and skill. Our approach encourages students to view reading as a life skill, not just an academic one.

Professional and academic language is essential in our classrooms to foster specialised discussion and debate, preparing students for further education.

Building vocabulary is central to our literacy program. We use strategies like pronunciation, etymology, synonyms, and a "word of the week" scheme to help students confidently use new words.

Feedback is crucial in developing literacy skills. Identifying errors, enhancing vocabulary, and improving oratory skills are part of all subjects. Student feedback helps us tailor our strategies to individual needs.

Employer projects are a cornerstone of The Studio curriculum. Our students have the unique opportunity to take the theory they learn and apply it to ‘real’ projects designed and delivered by our employer partners.

PBL page

Our culture programme actively engages students both locally and nationally, through a series of sessions designed to build upon aspects of culture, faith, finance, Latin and the local community, and our students’ role in it.

Our wellbeing curriculum incorporates a varied programme of physical education to develop students' skills and inspire a deep-rooted knowledge in a wide range of activities, while fostering the character of a polite, respectable citizen. The goal is to equip students with the ability, awareness, and motivation to engage in lifelong physical activity.

The wellbeing curriculum is divided into four focusses:

1. Health and Well-Being: Focusses on teaching students how to exercise for fitness and health. It introduces various exercise opportunities they can pursue outside the PE curriculum and post-16, such as weight training, circuit training, running, HIIT, Zumba, CrossFit, and yoga.
2. Performance: Aims to advance skills, competency, and tactical awareness in a competitive environment, building on KS3 learning. Activities include field games and invasion games. This pathway also supports practical sport development for GCSE PE and Sports Studies.
3. Recreation: Encourages active play for enjoyment and broadens the curriculum with emerging sports to inspire lifelong participation. Activities include ultimate frisbee, bench ball, handball, dance and badminton.
4. Leadership: Develops leadership skills in coaching, officiating, and competition organisation. It aims to prepare students for roles in coaching and officiating, and to develop transferable skills useful in all careers. Activities involve officiating games, organising competitions, and coaching peers in sports like football, badminton, basketball, table tennis, and dodgeball.

The PSHE agenda is central to the ethos of The Studio. The programme brings together the personal health social education (PHSE), Relationships Sex Education (RSE), spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC), social and emotional aspects of learning (SEAL) and supports careers information and guidance (CIAG). These are delivered through multiple channels including assemblies, form time, enrichment , and trips.

The programme allows our students to experience positive and exciting opportunities that build confidence. The intent being to prepare young independent people who are able to manage their personal and social lives in a positive and safe way both within the community and as employees and entrepreneurs. It allows students the opportunities to build their emotional intelligence, acquire a portfolio of skills and of experiences to motivate them to aspire and to achieve their ambitions for the future.

The UTC invests in Jigsaw – a whole-school approach to PSHE / Health & Well-being, which includes statutory RSHE (England DfE 2019). Every year group studies the same learning theme at the same time, really spiralling the learning up through the age groups.

• Read more about PSHE here
• Year 9 Learning Map
• Year 10 Learning Map
• Year 11 Learning Map
• Religious Education

We place a strong emphasis on ensuring our students are not only qualified for the jobs of tomorrow but are equipped for life.

Our curriculum and our ethos ‘Every Day is an Interview,’ encourages students to accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative, and to understand how they can contribute positively to the schools, local community and to the wider society. The development of students’ self-knowledge and self-confidence enables them to acquire an appreciation of, and respect for, their own and other cultures. It encourages them to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of England. This prepares them for life in modern Britain and all that this entails; for example, an acceptance that other people having different faiths and beliefs and an appreciation that living under the rule of law protects individual citizens and is essential for their wellbeing and safety.

The four British Values are:

• The Rule of Law
• Democracy
• Mutual Respect and Tolerance of Those with Different Faiths and Those without Faith
• Individual Liberty

The booklets contain details of the coverage of these values across the curriculum at The Studio. British Values are embedded within the curriculum and also taught explicitly through the Jigsaw PSHE programme.

In some subject areas, the concepts may be taught explicitly, whereas in others they may be referred to, or be part of the broader way in which the subject is delivered. Details of this are given below…

Each year, when the curriculum is reviewed, this booklet is updated to reflect any changes.

• Ignite British Values
• Year 10 British Values
• Year 11 British Values

Enrichment activities are key to building our students’ experience of the world outside the classroom. Designed to enhance applications for future study, apprenticeship and job applications, our enrichment activities are fun, compelling and diverse, allowing students to build their knowledge whilst building their confidence.

Read more about our Enrichment activities here.

The primary purpose of The Studio is to prepare young people for the jobs of tomorrow. We develop work-ready young people with the academic, technical, personal and employability skills required to move onto successful careers. To this end the development of personal and employability skills underpins everything we do.

We focus on the following six key personal and employability skills which have been prioritised by our Employer Partners:

1. Team Work
2. Leadership
3. Communication
4. Independence
5. Resilience
6. Entrepreneurship

Personal and Employability skills are developed through the following strategies:

• Our longer school day
• Our professional dress codes
• Our Every Day is an Interview ethos
• Our approach to independent study
• Our Employer Projects
• Our Work Experience opportunities
• Our University Awareness programme
• Our Careers Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG) programme
• Our mentoring projects

We promise our students either a job, apprenticeship or university place, once you’ve successfully completed your studies here.

In order for that to happen, exceptional careers advice, guidance and information for all students is essential. We do that both in-house, and by pointing you in the direction of independent advice and guidance, so you have the broadest range of information possible.

For more information on careers, please contact our Careers Information, Advice and Guidance Lead, Michael Saint-Cricq [email protected]

Tel: 0151 230 1330

We would love to know what you think about our careers programme. Please send any feedback to [email protected]

Key Information

• Read our Careers programme rationale

• To access our Careers Scheme of Work click here

• To read our Provider Access Policy, please click here

Careers Themes by Year Group

Year 9 – Making Informed Choices – Discover how your interests link to option choices and future career paths. Make your own personal development plan using Labour Market Information and the National Careers Service website.

Year 10 – Preparing for your Next Steps – Learn how to research career paths, write a CV and how to revise and prepare for exams.

Year 11 – Successful Destinations – You will experience a range of post 16 options, attend a Career and Skills Show and get support with applications and your preparation for your next steps.