Within a curriculum for Bedford High School, students might have to complete 25 credits ­ more than the state-required 20.

“The trend over the last 15 years, or at least the last 10, is to move away from the minimum,” Principal George Edwards said during the Oct. 10 school board meeting.

The state average, Edwards said, is between 22 and 26 credits.

Within the 25 credits, students would learn about personal finance and have a writing intensive course. They would also have to complete a senior project, work closely with their advisor for four years and create an out-of-class computer proficiency portfolio. The high school planning team also suggests up to one credit for interscholastic or community sports.

Also, students would spend time outside of class completing “extended learning possibilities.” These hours would accumulate during a student’s four years. Included would be 20 hours of career exploration, 20 hours of community service, 10 hours volunteering in the “democratic process,” 10 hours of cultural enrichment and 40 hours of school activities.

A few school board members said the out-of-class hours seemed like a lot of time for already-stressed students.

“That looks like a lot of hours to me,” board member Terry Wolf said. “How do you track that?”

The hours, Edwards said, should total about 100.

“A 100 hours over four years,” he said. “Basically, it’s less than the time of one class, which is about 135 hours.”

The high school planning team is also re-evaluating the way courses will be set up at the high school. Edwards introduced seven possibilities for basic curriculum, along with seven possibilities for added classroom structures. These curriculum choices focused on the levels of courses that will be available at the high school, and whether students should be grouped by ability.

A main focus for board members was the possibility of “embedded” honors students in core-level classes.

Board member Steven Beals said he liked the idea of a student having the option to switch so easily from core to honors-level classes.

“I like the idea of a student, when that light bulb goes on, being able to move on in the curriculum,” Beals said.

Board member Sue Thomas disagreed. Flexibility of curriculum is a positive idea, but embedding honors students in a core class would be a mistake, she said.

“We promised during the high school planning process that this flexibility would be present,” she said. “As a former teacher, I think that mixing honors and regular students in the same classes benefits no one.”

Another option the board will review is the ability for middle school students to take high-school level courses that would transfer to the high school. This option, Edwards said, would then enable seniors to easily transition into college-level courses.

“During senior year, maybe students will be working on some higher learning,” Edwards said, citing AP or University of New Hampshire courses. “That would be my hope, that there would be a more seamless transition.”