KS3 Curriculum Overview
Year 7 Curriculum Overview
| English Language | Writing Mastery: Creative Writing and Reading for Study. |
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| English Literature | Mastery Literary Heritage Autumn: Dickens' Oliver Twist Spring: Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream Summer 1: Poetry (Metaphor Anthology) Summer 2: The Daydreamer or Ancient Tales. |
| Mathematics | NUMBER: Sequences, 4 operations, Directed Numbers, Primes, Fractions, Fractions & Percentages. STATISTICS: Experimental Probability. ALGEBRA: Notation. GEOMETRY: Constructions and Geometric Reasoning |
| Geography | How does water shape the UK? How has climate influenced what flora and fauna thrive at a particular location? How has climate has influenced where people decide to settle? Reasons for UK settlement locations historic and present. Development rates and inequality — focussing on Grimsby, Hull and London. Problems caused by inequality in UK Settlements. |
| History | Were Medieval People really stupid and superstitious? Can Eleanor of Aquitaine be considered Britain's first female ruler? The development of Church, state and society in Medieval Britain 1066-1509, the Norman Conquest, the struggle between Church and crown, Magna Carta and the emergence of Parliament |
| ICT | Computing Fundamentals Understanding binary and denary and decoding tasks from binary and denary |
| Music | Understanding the building blocks of music with focus on theory. Applying the theoretical curriculum to create music from a variety of genres and cultures. |
| Science | Safety Skills, Cells, Body Systems and Reproduction, Particle model, Reactions, Forces, Space, Light and Sound. |
| Modern Foreign Language | Developing vocabulary in relation to family members, ages, pets and colours. Using these topics to develop understanding of present tense, possessive adjectives and adjective agreement. |
| Design & Technology | Textiles — Introduction to textiles Cultural Panel Project Understanding how to create decorative textiles techniques to explore how to generate a design idea. Food Technology — Introduction to food technology Developing core cooking skills, understanding speciality diets. Technology — Introduction to technology Cultural Picture Frame Project Understanding culture and generating a range of design ideas. |
| Art | Purposeful Product Design Learning, understanding and applying the elements of art to create purposeful images/products. Developing cultural understanding and design application. Developing traditional drawing techniques and developing an appreciation for different art forms. |
| Religious Education | Inspirational figures In-depth exploration of key figured throughout history who have made a considerable impact based upon their faith or worldview. |
Year 8 Curriculum Overview
| English Language | Autumn: War — War offers students an opportunity to explore a range of texts that explore multiple narrative voices through their experiences of war. Spring: Creative Writing — Creative writing is a vital component of the English curriculum that encourages students to explore their imagination, develop self-expression, and build confidence in their voice as writers. For Year 8 students, this unit serves as a foundation for crafting compelling narratives, descriptive pieces, and expressive works, while reinforcing their understanding of key writing conventions, such as: tone, structure and vocabulary. Summer: What the Dickens? — Students build upon their knowledge of Victorian England, characterisation etc. by exploring a range of Dickens' works. |
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| English Literature | Autumn: Study of a novel — ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’, Mark Haddon. This text is a classic modern British text. It contains a unique and authentic narrative perspective from the protagonist, who has Asperger's. Therefore, the main reason why this text has been chosen is due to the inclusivity it promotes, as well as developing students' knowledge and awareness of neurodiversity. Spring: Other Cultures — This scheme seamlessly connects term one and term two by building on the understanding of characters and challenges faced, and introducing greater opportunity to develop empathy and create evidence-informed opinions through the study of both fiction and non-fiction extracts from culturally diverse authors from across the globe. Summer: All the World's a Stage — Study of William Shakespeare's ‘Julius Caesar’. |
| Mathematics | NUMBER: Ratio, Multiplicative Reasoning, Fractions, Sequences, Indices, Standard From & Number Sense. STATISTICS: Data Handling Cycle, Representing Data and Measures of Location. ALGEBRA: Rules of Indices, Cartesian Plane, Brackets & Equations. GEOMETRY: Angle Facts, Area of Shapes and Reflections |
| Geography | How are the people of Europe ‘Prisoners of Geography’? Does sustainable tourism ever truly exist? Climate change and additional challenges for Spain, Iceland and the UK. |
| History | What was the Industrial revolution and how did it bring about social change in Britain? Ideas, political power, industry and empire: Britain, 1745–1901, Britain as the first industrial nation — the impact on society, party politics, extension of the franchise and social reform. |
| ICT | Introduction to Python Developing an understanding of Algorithms, Syntaxes and bug trouble shooting. |
| Music | Continuing to develop and refine our musical skills by applying theoretical knowledge into different areas of music. Students will have first-hand experience of playing instruments from all over the world, as well as creating music electronically using computer programmes. |
| Science | Ecosystems and processes, Adaptation and inheritance, Keeping healthy, Acids and alkalis, Separation techniques, The Periodic Table and Metals and acids, Electricity and magnetism, Motion and pressure and Energy. |
| Modern Foreign Language | FRENCH — Developing vocabulary in relation to location, home, chores and daily routine. Using these topics to develop understanding of present tense and reflexive verbs and use of opinions and the time. SPANISH — Developing vocabulary in relation to town and local area Using these topics to develop understanding of past, present and future tense and imperatives for directions. |
| Design & Technology | Textiles — Monster Doll project Construction of patterns and developing complex techniques to fulfil a design brief. Food Technology — Developing a range of skills linked to healthy eating and the Eatwell Guide. Understanding foods from a range of cultures and continue to develop food safety and hygiene practices. Technology — Phone holder project Understanding how to take a flat form and develop into a 3d shape to fulfil a design brief successfully. |
| Art | Develop grid technique through the landscape project whilst developing a clear cultural appreciation for different art forms. Developing social, historical and cultural context of graffiti whilst appreciating that art can have meaning and power and developing contextualised outcomes. Revisiting the Visual elements of line, form, tone, texture and colour to create a personalised portrait based upon artists styles. Investigating different types of portraits to different effects and the self within this |
| Religious Education | Judaism — Beliefs and Practices Unpicking the core beliefs linked to Judaism and how these have impacted history and continue to impact the lives of Jewish believers and British society. |
Year 9 Curriculum Overview
| English Language | Autumn: Crime Scene — ‘Crime Scene’ is a unique topic looking at a variety of crimes and their depictions within both fiction and non-fiction texts. This module aims to broaden students' understanding of the rule of law; types of crimes; morality; actions and consequences and more. Student will continue to develop their analysis skills whilst becoming more aware of text formats, such as speeches and articles. Spring: Seminal World Literature — Seminal World Literature is a field that brings the world together, allowing people to share common human experiences through written language. In this unit pupils will engage in extracts taken from a variety of texts written throughout recent history and explore what makes them significant to the literary canon and evaluate their impact on the reader. Summer: Issues & Opinions — A key unit that strives to consolidate and enhance students' oracy skills through exploring a range of non-fiction texts that communicate opinions and challenge students to a range of thought-provoking social, political and economic issues in the wider world. |
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| English Literature | Autumn: Words in Motion — Journey's End is a significant British play, charting the realistic and brutal reality of life in the trenches. The study of this text will enable students to gain an understanding into this reality. Students will continue to embed their understanding of key dramatic features and develop their appreciation of why we study plays. This allows students to embed previous Key Stage 3 knowledge regarding play scripts. The play also serves as a very effective vehicle for the study of characters and their development, with the consideration of how people are shaped by their environment, such as Dennis Stanhope, who has been changed by his experiences in warfare. Spring: What's the Message? — Poetry captures life; it teaches us about past events, how society has changed, how people's attitudes and values have changed, but more importantly, it teaches us about ourselves. Through the exploration of a range of poems within the literary cannon, “What's the Message?” encourages our learners to think about their own place within society, what ideologies they hold and how and why others might have differing opinions to our own. Summer: A Kestrel for a Knave, Barry Hines — The novel portrays the life of Billy Casper, a troubled teen in a Yorkshire mining town. &ldquo'A Kestrel for a Knave’ is much more than a mere coming-of-age story to engage our students in the struggles of navigating their teenage years and experiences. It portrays the raw humanity within the confines of poverty and emotional neglect. Barry Hines's poignant writing has ensured that Billy Casper's struggles resonate deeply. The story continues to evoke emotions, challenging students to empathise with those overlooked by society. |
| Mathematics | NUMBER: Testing Conjectures, Numbers, Percentages, Money, Ratio & Proportion. STATISTICS: Probability. ALGEBRA: Straight Line Graphs, Solving Equations and Algebraic Notation. GEOMETRY:3D Shapes, Constructions, Rotation & Translation, Pythagoras and Enlargements |
| Geography | Why do nations respond differently to the violence of our planet? Can natural disasters only be effectively managed by HICs? A comparison of the response to natural hazards by different countries. |
| History | Were people in Germany victims of coercion or did they Consent to Nazi rule? Challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day, the inter-war years, the Great Depression and the rise of dictators in the lead up to WWII. |
| ICT | Computing To further develop understanding of wired and wireless networks continuing to expand on knowledge of network hardware, binary, denary and sorting algorithms. |
| Music | Students will explore other employment options that music can facilitate, such as, music in the media, film music and more. |
| Science | Cells and Microscopes, DNA and Inheritance, Pathogens and disease, Keeping healthy, Waves, and Sustainability of Energy. |
| Modern Foreign Language | Developing vocabulary in relation to jobs, careers choices and future intentions. Using these topics to develop understanding of the future and conditional tenses, justified opinions, modifiers and adjective agreements. |
| Design & Technology | Textiles — Wind Sock Project Further developing skills associated with the design cycle, higher level techniques and cultural appreciation. Food Technology — Use of dough and shaping whilst progressing higher level skills and flavour pairing. Technology — Pencil Box Project. Understanding materials and origins. Begin to develop accuracy and tolerance creating a range of wood joints. |
| Art | Perspective and graphic communications. Using the visual elements developed to accurately create work in perspective and apply graphic communication skills by creating a travel poster outcomes. Develop historical and social understanding of Dadaism and Surrealism whilst challenging the formal elements to produce creative and unique outcomes. |
| Religious Education | Religion, Peace and Conflict Understanding the various religious and non-religious attitudes towards peace and conflict with use of real life examples such as the war in Ukraine. |
