Curriculum

Year 7 students follow a course which allows them to observe, experiment and produce a variety of final outcomes. Firstly, students study a project on the formal elements in Art, such as line, tone and texture. They then go onto studying colour through a painting and sculpture-based project focusing on sea-life and the contemporary, self-taught artist Vincent Scarpace. Lastly, they undertake an abstract experimental project based on plant and animal cells, working in a range of different media, such as watercolour and printmaking. Students acquire knowledge and understanding of Art in its broadest context.

The Year 7 computing course is designed to develop skills in digital literacy, information technology and computing. The learning activities undertaken are chosen with the whole school curriculum in mind, aiming to develop transferable skills which will aid progress in all subjects. Topics include e-safety, programming and problem solving.

Students start to explore key skills in Exploration, Performance and Evaluation through theme-based units. From the fundamentals of acting to improvisation and then to a detailed character study, we aim to equip students with essential communication skills needed in all subjects. Throughout the year, students are formally assessed in either a performance or written evaluation in each topic.

Students study a variety of modern and classic literature texts, including prose, poetry and drama. In addition, material from the everyday world such as media texts, biography and autobiography, articles, reports, blogs and speeches, will also be explored and analysed. These texts are used as a springboard for discussion and writing tasks relating to linguistics, contemporary issues and wider cultural awareness.

Students study the following units: Becoming a Geographer - a topic designed to equip students with the essential skills they will need during Key Stage 3; Geography, Coasts & Islands; Exploring Britain; Extreme Weather and Tourism and will be assessed through a series of short answer, timed tests. During the Summer Term, students will have the opportunity to visit Kew Gardens in preparation for their Year 8 studies about the biosphere.

Students study the evolution of three themes across a thousand-year period: The relationship between rulers and the people, crime, punishment and persecution and war and society.

Students consolidate their mathematical capability from Key Stage 2 and extend their understanding, developing fluency, mathematical reasoning, and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. Topics fall into four broad categories of Number, Algebra, Geometry and Statistics, and students move between these interconnected representations of mathematical ideas. The application of mathematics to other subjects and the real world is taught, whilst fostering a sense of enjoyment and curiosity.

French is taught throughout Key Stage 3 for 3 lessons a fortnight. In addition, all students in Clare, Burleigh, Clement and Dane will study German for 3 hours and those in Essex, Exeter, Lincoln and Temple will study Spanish for 3 hours. Students continue with these two languages to the end of Year 9. Students are asked to complete a holiday homework during July and August which will help prepare them for their study of MFL. The most adventurous responses to the task set are awarded prizes on European Languages Day in September. Please take an instruction sheet which will be available on the New Intake Evening.

Students have two lessons of PE and two lessons of Games per fortnight. Students have the opportunity to develop their skills in a wide variety of sports. The girls participate in netball, football, hockey, basketball, athletics, gymnastics, dance, tennis, and rounders and learn about Health Related Exercise (HRE).

The boys also study HRE as well as participating in football, rugby, handball, table tennis, athletics, basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, cricket and tennis. Both boys and girls will develop skills such as leadership, creativity and communication. Games lessons also involve a number of inter-house competitions throughout the school year.

Students are taught Personal Development by their Form Tutors and they study three topics: health education, sex and relationship education and the topic Living in the Wider World which explores careers, finance and citizenship issues.

Students study eight topics. In the Autumn term they cover ‘Musical Elements’ ‘Composers’ and ‘Commemoration’. In the Spring term they study ‘Instruments of the Orchestra’ and ‘Moods in Music’ – in the latter topic they are taught to understand the effects of major and minor keys. In the Summer term they cover ‘Composition’ and ‘World Music’.

Students work in a different focus area in each of the three terms, so that by the end of the year they have experienced a breadth of different design and technology activities. In food, the emphasis is on developing skills and understanding the concept of healthy eating. In textiles, practical work culminates in the production of a cushion. In product design, students develop their knowledge by making an art deco pencil holder and a CAD based robot project. There is a product design club.

Students follow the Activate course from Oxford University Press. In Year 7 they study Biology, Chemistry and Physics through thirteen topics. They also have 6 key assessments through the year taking place at the end of each half term and term. Each one of these will assess the content of three to four topics. The topics are: Cells; Reproduction; Body systems; Working Scientifically; Acids and alkalis; Particles; Elements and Compounds; The Earth; Chemical Reactions; Sound; Forces; Space and Light. Students will have access to the course textbooks through the Kerboodle website. We aim to have the students complete practicals whenever possible in order to gain a better understanding of a working lab. This will help students to develop particular areas of scientific learning such as; ‘Practical and enquiry skills’, ‘Critical understanding of evidence’ and ‘Communication’.

The curriculum for Religious, Ethical and Philosophical studies (REPS) for KS3 is planned across three years and covers a variety of content. Students study three units in Year 7: ‘ultimate questions’ in which students will develop an understanding of arguments both for and against the existence of God and study different world-views; ‘Christianity through parables’ in which students explore different Christian beliefs through looking at Jesus’ stories and ‘Hinduism’ where students study the origins, beliefs and practices of the Hindu faith.