An excellent faculty, with high uptake of students studying Humanities subjects at GCSE and A Level. The progress of students, including SEND, BAME and Pupil Premium, in all qualifications is significantly above average.  All Humanities subjects are loved and valued by students and many aspire to continue in this field when they leave Arete. Students have high aspirations and achieve success at the highest level, studying at Oxbridge but also the faculty encourages students to be ambitious and aim for higher education, especially if there is no previous family history of going to university.

The curriculum is well-aligned to the ‘Curriculum @ St Bede’s.  The schemes of learning reflect careful planning, with knowledge and retrieval opportunities ordered and practised throughout KS3, 4 and 5. The resources of all departments within the faculty are well prepared with corresponding PowerPoints to facilitate meaningful learning. The teaching of Humanities Subjects encompasses Catholic Social Teaching and Anti-Racist themes in place where appropriate, guiding students along the St Bede’s Way and modelling the Gospel values.

Students are given enrichment opportunities to learn outside the classroom and participate in trips to Iceland, Berlin, Krakow and the First World War Battlefields of France and Belgium, which will broaden their horizons.

All Humanities staff fully understand the theory underpinning “Teaching and Learning @ StBede’s’’ and have a varied range of practical methods to implement these ideas. The faculty has a culture of constant improvement with the momentum for this coming from the faculty leadership, heads of subject within the faculty and the college CPD programme. Staff seek out opportunities for improvement and opportunities to progress their professional skills.

In Business, the highly successful Young Enterprise Company Programme has been embedded at St Bede’s for over 10 years, winning multiple awards including Best Company in the West of England, Best Managing Director and Best Centre Lead. Furthermore, GCSE and 6th Form classes benefit from tailored programmes and masterclasses, which include financial planning and C.V writing. It is hoped that as a result of the Business departments dedication to Enterprise and Entrepreneurship education, St Bede’s will be certified as a Young Enterprise Centre for Excellence in the future.

In Economics, the department has grown in strength and expertise as this subject became more integrated into the Faculty.

'The Geography team has built and will continue to improve a curriculum that inspires and engages students to be passionate about the World we live in. Through initiatives like Eco-Club and Climate Cafe, we will help students to understand our world and how they can affect change on environmental issues such as climate change or biodiversity loss.

The History schemes of learning will reflect the decolonising of the Curriculum and make students question the social, political, religious and economic inequalities and injustices of the past, whilst striving to make students aware of how to create a fairer future. It is hoped that the department will obtain the History Association Quality Mark for schools, to recognise excellence in the department’s history provision.

In Sociology, students are taught to see the world from different perspectives and therefore are given greater understanding of society and its people.  This encourages empathy and compassion for those who have unequal opportunities and enables students to realise that people have different experiences of the world. Work has been done to improve students’ ability to answer questions on Research Methods in their A Levels.