The Hidden Curriculum

Over the last few months, we have shared more about the history of Griggs, our programmes, curriculum, and teaching methodology. We’ve spoken about CLIL, student-centred learning, differentiation, and the importance of developing both knowledge and skills.

What is rarely discussed in schools, however, is something called The Hidden Curriculum.

The term curriculum comes from the Latin word for “course of a race” or “racecourse.” Over time, educators adopted the term to describe a plan for education or a course of study. Today, curriculum can broadly be viewed in three ways: the Formal Curriculum, the Informal Curriculum, and the Hidden Curriculum.

The Formal Curriculum is what teachers explicitly teach in each subject area. In Griggs schools, teachers follow course Standards and adapt course syllabi to local contexts to ensure learning is relevant, rigorous, and meaningful for students. Learning objectives, textbooks and resources, subject toolkits, teaching methodologies, and assessment practices all form part of this formal curriculum.

Alongside this is the Informal Curriculum, the learning that takes place through extracurricular clubs, leadership opportunities, student councils, camps, Community Service projects, and student experiences beyond the classroom. These opportunities help students develop teamwork, confidence, resilience, leadership, and communication skills in authentic settings.

But perhaps the most powerful curriculum in any school is the one that is never formally written down: the Hidden Curriculum.

The Hidden Curriculum is made up of the messages students receive every day through the culture of the school. It is found in how teachers interact with students, how adults speak to one another, the expectations placed on learners, the routines within classrooms, and the values consistently modelled across the whole school community.

Students learn from what we do just as much as from what we say.

They notice whether teachers listen carefully. They recognise integrity and respect. They observe how conflict is handled, whether mistakes are treated as opportunities for growth, and whether classrooms feel inclusive and supportive. They learn from the language we use, the time we give them, and the relationships we build with them.

In many ways, the Hidden Curriculum shapes the culture of a school more powerfully than any policy document.

At Griggs, we believe education should not only prepare students academically, but also develop character, values, and global understanding. Our curriculum objectives therefore go beyond subject knowledge alone. We aim to provide students with opportunities to develop leadership, critical thinking, teamwork, cultural awareness, and community engagement.

We want students to become:

This can only happen when the formal, informal, and hidden aspects of curriculum work together.

A student-centred classroom is not simply about methodology; it is about relationships. A school culture is not created through posters on walls, but through daily interactions and shared experiences. Students remember how adults made them feel long after they forget individual lessons.

The Hidden Curriculum reminds us that every interaction matters.

The way we welcome students in the morning, the respect shown during conversations, the opportunities we create for student voice and leadership, and the standards we model ourselves all contribute to the kind of people our students become.

Ultimately, the strongest schools are not only places where students achieve academically, but places where students feel known, valued, challenged, and inspired. That is the real curriculum students carry with them long after they leave school.