Citizenship Recent developments in the National Curriculum have made Citizenship part of the statutory curriculum. We are fortunate that at Fortismere we have a well established Department and a teaching team that is responsible for delivering this curriculum entitlement to all students. Students from Year Seven to Year Eleven follow a five year programme, the Citizenship course. Though the course builds on the subject's specific curriculum offer it also involves and focuses on areas not specifically covered elsewhere, including Health and Relationships Education. Students in years 8, 10 and 11 are provided with once weekly Citizenship lessons. Students in years 7 and 9 have once fortnightly lessons. These lessons offer the opportunity for the understanding of, and reflection upon, knowledge, skills and values of personal and social issues that can sometimes pull in different directions. The purpose of these lessons is to: Help pupils to develop a full understanding of their roles and responsibilities as citizens in a modern democracy. Help pupils to deal with challenging personal, ethical and social questions. Ethos and Delivery The Citizenship ethos is one that embodies the values of Democratic Citizenship whilst also incorporating the elements as expressed by Every Child Matters. The department teaches the programmes of study through a four strand matrix, that incorporates within it the key strands of the subject's rationale.     Alongside these four strands the curriculum delivery is sharpened through giving students a focus by using lenses that view the topics covered, in the programmes of study, through three broad categories. These categories, though interrelated, can for the purpose of clarity, be seen as distinct.     The matrix and lenses allow the topics studied to have: ·         Assessable outcomes and objectives. ·         And better facilitate teaching and learning activities and opportunities. Programme of Study The programme of study at Key Stages 3 and 4 enables pupils to study, reflect upon, discuss and participate in the following areas of knowledge and understanding:   ·         Legal and human rights and responsibilities ·         Diversity ·         Democracy ·         Central and local government ·         The media ·         Charities ·         Economic and distributive justice ·         Conflict resolutions ·         International relations and global issues   All students have the optional opportunity to sit for the short course GCSE (OCR) at the end of year 11.