Key Stage 3 Curriculum

Key Stage 3 is a time when our students are encouraged to become more proactive, resourceful learners. Our girls learn to reflect on their progress, as they grow in confidence and self-knowledge.

Learning in Key Stage 3

Our approach to learning is informed by our core values and philosophy of learning. Our committment to Mary Ward characteristics and High Performance Learning are key elements, which place a focus on:

  • endeavour and a love of learning
  • ourselves, each other and diversity
  • Christian charity

"By building thinking skills and encouraging attributes based on our Christian values, our girls gain a lifelong confidence in their identity as a young woman. Our students acquire flexible learning skills which equip them well beyond school, in preparation for a world which we don’t yet know." Director of Teaching and Learning

Key Stage 3 is a crucial stage of education, in which our girls develop:

1. Perseverance and a growth mind-set

Our students are proactive and encouraged to take risks, to manage distraction, to become fully absorbed, independent and committed in their learning.

Students learn to reflect on their progress, review their strengths and weaknesses and develop the confidence and self-knowledge to assess their skills and performance.

2. Friendship and open-mindedness

Interdependence, collaboration, listening, questioning and laughing – which other schools may consider pastoral attributes – are at the heart of learning at St Mary's.

3. Reaching out to others

We understand that skills of empathy, faithfulness and Christian understanding bind us together as a learning community.

In the classroom

For most subjects, students are taught in their form groups, which typically have around 20 students representing a mixture of backgrounds and ability levels.

Some practical subjects, such as Textiles, are taught in half-form groups. We also set by ability for Mathematics and some Modern Foreign Languages (from Year 7) and English, Latin and Religious Studies (from Year 8). This opens up opportunities for girls to mix and forge friendships across different forms.

More about our approach

Subjects

Our approach to the curriculum in Years 7, 8 and Year 9 is detailed below. Each year the precise details of topics taught and resources used may evolve. If you require further information, please contact our Heads of Department for further information.

Art

Timetable

  • Year 7 three lessons per fortnight
  • Year 8 two lessons per fortnight
  • Year 9 three lessons per fortnight (optional)

Resources

Students are provided with supporting A3 work journal/portfolio plus access to a variety of 2D and 3D art materials. Students develop work as part of a thematically based process, exploring a wide variety of media.

Topics

Year 7

  • The Formal Elements in Art
  • Masks and Facades

Year 8

  • Scenic and Panoramic
  • Ideas and Beliefs

Year 9 (developed as a per-GCSE course)

  • Natural and Artificial Forms

Skills

  • Painting and printmaking
  • Digital Art and photography
  • Sculpture and ceramics
  • Drawing and illustration

Extension activities and educational visits

  • Lunchtime and after-school art clubs
  • Local and national art competitions and exhibitions
  • An annual trip to a gallery or practical workshops

Biology

Timetable
  • Year 7 five Science lessons per fortnight
  • Year 8 three lessons per fortnight
  • Year 9 three lessons per fortnight (the IGCSE course is started in Year 9)
Resources
  • CGP Key Stage 3 Biology study and question workbook (Year 8)
  • CGP Edexcel Biology IGCSE Complete Revision and Practice (Year 9)
  • Science Education – Nuffield Foundation,
  • ABPI and www.skoool.lgfl.net – (Key Stage 3)
  • e-Chalk
Topics

Year 7

  • Brief introduction to Human reproduction

Year 8

  • Cells
  • Balanced diet and digestion, smoking
  • Lung structure, breathing, respiration, heart, blood and the circulatory system
  • Skeletal system, inheritance and selection

Year 9

  • The nature and variety of living organisms
  • Structures and functions in living organisms, including cell structure, biological molecules, enzymes and plant nutrition
Skills
  • Observation, following instructions to carry out an experiment, precision, measurement, analysing data obtained and drawing conclusions
  • Recall of information, mathematical skills, applying knowledge to novel situations
Extension activities and educational visits

  • Biology quizzes

  • Mini projects for Year 8, including one on the blood and circulatory system and variation in Year 8

  • Exploring Natural Science, an extra-curricular club for Year 8

Chemistry

Timetable

  • Year 7 five Science lessons per fortnight

  • Year 8 three lessons per fortnight

  • Year 9 three lessons per fortnight (the IGCSE course is started in Year 9

Resources

  • Lab equipment, e-Chalk, iPads, models, PowerPoints, worksheets

  • KS3 Study and Question book (Year 8)

  • IGCSE revision guide and workbook (Year 9)

Topics

Year 7 (Project based learning)

  • Matter: three states of matter and change of states
  • The Bunsen burner
  • Chemical and physical changes

Year 8

  • Laboratory equipment, hazards and safety
  • Elements, the periodic table and atomic structure
  • Chemical changes, compounds and equations
  • Acids, alkalis and indicators
  • Fuels, energy and heating

Year 9

  • States of matter
  • Elements, compounds and mixtures
  • Atomic structure
  • The periodic table
  • Ionic bonding
  • Gases in the atmosphere
  • Reactivity series
  • Group 7
Skills
  • Practical and enquiry skills: critical understanding of evidence
  • Communication including ICT and contribution to presentations and discussions
  • Using models to explain difficult concepts or science that can’t be seen by the naked eye
  • Applying knowledge from one context to another, graphing skills, team working skills
Extension activities and educational visits
  • Modify experiments: propose a different type of equipment to test the same hypothesis
  • Discuss ethical or environmental issues, such as the cost of rewiring a whole house using copper wire

Classical Civilisation

Timetable
  • Year 7 Classical Civilisation is not taught
  • Year 8 four lessons per fortnight (Classical Civilisation plays a part in the Latin curriculum)
  • Year 9 three lessons per fortnight (as an alternative to Latin, particularly for students joining who have not studied Latin before)
Resources
  • These were the Greeks
  • The Ancient Olympic Games, J. Swaddling
  • The Roman World: Pompeii, P. Connolly
  • Various online resources, games and videos
Topics
  • Greek gods and goddesses, their attributes, mythology, worship and role in Greek culture
  • The theatre
  • Festivals, the Olympic Games, the Delphic oracle
  • The myth of Dido and Aeneas
  • The Romans’ debt to the Greeks
  • Daily life in Ancient Rome: housing, entertainment, leisure
Skills
  • Interpretation of primary sources of various kinds, archaeological, literary, inscriptions
  • Understand the relevance of the Greek and Roman worlds to western civilisation
  • Group work
  • Oral presentation skillsICT skills such as iMovies
Extension activities and educational visits
  • Join Young Archaeologists’ Club, a national club for young people up to the age of 17
  • Read Iris and Omnibus magazines (in the LRC) and enter their competitions
  • From Year 9, join the after-school Greek class leading to an additional GCSE in Ancient Greek
  • Regular trips to Greece (open to Year 9 upwards) or the Bay of Naples (open to Year 8 upwards) to visit Classical sites
  • Trips to local exhibitions or plays when the opportunity arises

Computing

Timetable
  • Year 7 Computing: two lessons per fortnight
  • Year 8 Computing: one lesson per fortnight
  • Year 9 Computing: one lesson per fortnight
Resources
  • Scratch
  • Python
  • Microsoft Access
Topics

Year 7

  • Scratch programming
  • Databases
  • Hardware and software
  • Internet

Year 8

  • Scratch programming
  • Microbit programming
  • Internet
  • Image Processing
  • Databases

Year 9

  • Python programming
  • Systems architecture
  • Vector image processing

Skills

  • Writing programming instructions, communicating in ASCII code, programming to create images and games
  • Data Manipulation, Algorithms and Image processing

Extension activities and educational visits

  • All years - ICT club
  • Year 7 Coding Club
  • Year 8 Robotics Club

Drama

Timetable
  • Year 7 three lessons per fortnight
  • Year 8 two lessons per fortnight
  • Year 9 three lessons per fortnight (optional)
Resources
  • A range of Drama stimuli including photographs, news articles, short scripts, music
  • All lessons have accompanying PowerPoint slides with learning outcomes embedded
  • Two bespoke studios to allow students to experience drama with staging, lights, sound
Topics

Year 7

  • Serious Fun, Waxworks, Physical Theatre, Children of the Industrial Revolution, Melodrama
  • Ernie’s Incredible Illucinations

Year 8

  • Tension, Commedia dell’arte, Glitter Girl, (Voice), Our Day Out

Year 9

  • Conflict, Living with Lady Macbeth, Fame, Theatre of the Absurd
  • Too Much Punch for Judy, T.I.E. devised project
Skills
  • Learning explorative strategies: still image, thought-tracking, narrating, hot-seating, role-play, cross-cutting, marking the moment
  • Gaining insight into: action/plot/content, forms of theatre, rhythm/pace/tempo, contrasts, characterisation, symbols
  • Understanding: costume, masks/make-up, sound, music, lighting, space and levels, set and props, movement, mime and gesture, voice and spoken language
  • Developing skills of: communication, co-operation, concentration, team work, contribution, listening, imagination, creativity, analysis/evaluation
Extension activities and educational visits
  • Trips to see local plays when the opportunity arises
  • Extra-curricular performance/backstage opportunities through the year

Design Technology

Timetable

·      Year 7 three lessons per fortnight

·      Year 8 two lessons per fortnight

·      Year 9 three lessons per fortnight (optional)

Resources

·      Worksheets and exemplar material

·      Range of textiles and resistant materials

·      DT equipment

Topics

Year 7 

Students explore a variety of practical activities to develop core skills when using specialist equipment, tools and machinery.

In Textiles, students use small equipment and sewing machines to gain practical hand and machining skills. They learn about common materials such as cotton, wool, metals and pre-manufactured components. They solve mending problems by exploring appropriate mending skills, in connection with the 'Repair' element of the 6Rs of Sustainability (Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repair).

In Resistant Materials, students work autonomously to develop technical drawings and create practical pieces out of wood. They complete a project with a focus on ‘Reduce’ using spare materials to generate new, useful items such as a bug hotel.

Year 8 

Through creative, practical activities, students develop knowledge, understanding and skills to engage in the iterative process of designing and making.

In Textiles, students create a ‘creative solution for a greener world’, by placing sustainability and the environment at the centre of a fashion design project. This focuses on the concept of 'Re-use' and tie dye shorts are created by upcycling cotton sheeting.

In Resistant Material, students further develop skills with workshop machinery and tools. They consider the history of plastics and investigate thermoplastic polymers and their ability to be reused, as well as the impact thermosetting polymers on the environment. By focusing on ‘Rethink’ students develop design ideas to create a necklace out of perspex, incorporating thermoset plastics. 

Year 9

In Textiles, students explore the context of ‘from trash to treasure’ by considering the needs of a specific user when upcycling an old skirt. Core learning builds upon knowledge and skills from Year 7 and Year 8, and includes printing and embroidery, using digital technologies, and a study of cotton and polyester. They also study iconic fashion designers to aid identifying and understanding specific user needs. Finally, students consider the impact clothes have on our world and actions that can be taken to reduce this impact by ‘Refusing’ to throw away obsolete garments.

In Resistant Materials, students create a decorative mobile using plywood, handmade paper, and laminated card. Focusing on ‘Recycle’, students compose briefs, generate ideas, and make decisions about the final product to achieve their desired outcomes. Again we consider the environmental impact and students choose from the following themes: Sealife, Birds, Weather or Seasons. To extend the principle of recycling, students process scrap paper to make handmade paper and use upcycled wood.

Extension activities and educational visits
  • Additional making skills/worksheets
  • Textiles club and Woodwork club
  • Competitions e.g. design a ‘Product in a tin'
  • Opportunity to assist in organising the biannual fashion show (Year 9)

English

Timetable
  • Year 7 six lessons per fortnight
  • Year 8 six lessons per fortnight in ability sets
  • Year 9 six lessons per fortnight in ability sets
Resources
  • A wide range of texts (prose, poetry and drama) for each year group
  • A range of textbooks, including AQA Key Stage 3 English Workbooks
  • Learning Resource Centre and Junior Fiction Room
  • Supporting DVD/film for various texts/productions
  • Digital Theatre Plus online
  • A range of digital resources, including The Poetry Archive, iMovie, and interactive guides to literature, etc.
Topics

Our English curriculum aims to develop key skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening. The curriculum is designed to foster an appreciation of good literature through the study of a wide variety of texts and to develop language skills.

  • Class reader (including 19th century novel with Year 9), poetry, Shakespeare, non-fiction
  • Writing for different purposes, creative writing
  • Spelling, punctuation and grammar
Skills
  • An interest in literature, language and the surrounding world
  • An ability to articulate ideas through discussion and debate
  • An appreciation of literature and development of awareness of a writer’s craft
  • Close textual analysis, contextual understanding, analysis of non-fiction texts
  • An ability to adapt writing for different purposes
  • Spelling, punctuation and grammar
Extension activities and educational visits
  • Carnegie Shadowing – read and discuss the books shortlisted for the Carnegie Award
  • School competitions, including the Morag Chapman Creative Writing Prize and the Poetry Cup, national competitions
  • Creative Writing club
  • Debating Club
  • Visiting speakers, writers and poets
  • Various theatre trips
  • Trips to the Arts Picturehouse Cinema to view relays of National Theatre productions

English as an Additional Language (EAL)

Timetable
  • Year 7 six lessons per fortnight
  • Year 8 six lessons per fortnight
  • Year 9 six lessons per fortnight
Resources
  • Textbooks according to the level of the students, such as Activate A2 (Year 8) and Activate B1 and Cambridge Active Grammar Level 2 (Year 9)
  • Articles from the national press and from BBC Online
  • Excerpts from television and feature films
  • iPad learning apps
  • Online learning resources such as the Macmillan, Oxford and Cambridge Dictionaries and the Oxford Collocations Dictionary
  • A wide range of materials produced by the teachers in line with the particular interests of the students
Topics

In all three years a decision is made whether it is in the best interests of the student to be taught with native speakers of English in English language and literature classes or to work on a course in contemporary English which focuses on aspects of the language that present particular difficulties for non-native speakers. In Year 7 and Year 8, if a student is an able linguist but lacks the experience to do well in mainstream English without support, she may be supported by an EAL specialist working with her English teacher in her English class. Students who are only spending a year in the UK may prepare for the Cambridge English: Preliminary for Schools or Cambridge English: First for Schools examinations if desired.

Skills
  • The ability to read, listen to, write and speak English at a level that will enable students to fulfil their potential in their other subjects
  • The ability to proof-read what they write to eliminate as many errors as possible before these come to the reader’s attention
  • An understanding of register and the ability to choose an appropriate level of English in both speech and writing
  • A knowledge of and ability to use appropriate reference materials, especially online
  • Vocabulary learning techniques
Extension activities and educational visits

  • EAL students share some excursions with native speaker English students

More about our EAL support

Food and Nutrition

Timetable

This is an enrichment subject which alternates with tutor time and students have six to seven lessons per year

  • Year 7 one lesson per month
  • Year 8 one lesson per month
  • Year 9 one lesson per month
Resources
  • Workbook and recipe sheets
Topics

Year 7

Safe use of the hob, the oven and small electrical equipment. A focus on fruit and vegetables (five a day), pastry, bread dough and raising agents.

Year 8

Cake making methods - creaming and whisking methods, shaping bread dough, pastry skills and setting a mixture.

Year 9

Improving skills with electrical equipment and machinery, creating composite dishes and working with different types of pastry.

Skills
  • Planning and organisation
  • Personal hygiene and safe handling of food
  • Using kitchen equipment safely
  • Using hob/oven/grill safely
  • Wide variety of food preparation skills
Extension activities and educational visits

 

  • School and national competitions
  • Monday lunchtime cooking club for Year 7 to Year 9
  • Seasonal extra-curricular lunchtime activities

French

Timetable
  • Year 7 five lessons per fortnight (optional)
  • Year 8 three lessons per fortnight (optional)
  • Year 9 three lessons per fortnight (optional)
Resources
Topics
  • Themes: introductory conversations, family, pets, where you live, sports and hobbies, likes and dislikes, Facebook, school and classroom objects, dates and events, time, places in a town, going out, transport, shops, clothes, food and drink, weather, holidays, health and fitness, jobs and future plans
  • Grammar: genders, articles, adjectives, direct object pronouns, the present, future, perfect, imperfect and conditional tenses of regular and irregular verbs, prepositions, asking questions, negatives
Skills
  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Listening
  • Speaking
  • Understanding grammatical patterns
Extension activities and educational visits
  • Biennial French Study Trip to Burgundy (Y8 and Y9)
  • Biennial visit from the French Flying Theatre Company for Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9
  • Additional material booklets are available for support and extension work in each year group
  • Language competitions are available, for example for European Day of Languages

Games and PE

Timetable
  • Year 7 six lessons per fortnight comprising of four Games lessons and two PE lessons
  • Year 8 six lessons per fortnight comprising of four Games lessons and two PE lessons
  • Year 9 six lessons per fortnight comprising of four Games lessons and two PE lessons
Resources

On-site facilities: gym, netball/tennis courts, outdoor fitness equipment

Off-site facilities: Long Road Sports Ground (In planning process): hockey astro pitch/tennis courts, 12 tennis courts, football astro pitch, 3 netball courts, 200m athletics track, high jump area, long jump area and new pavilion.

As well as using school facilities we make good use of others available in the city: University of Cambridge hockey AstroTurf, athletics track and sports hall; the Leys AstroTurf and swimming pool; and Parkside and Abbey swimming pools

Sports

Year 7

Athletics, badminton, dance, fitness, gymnastics, hockey, problem-solving, netball, swimming, tennis, kwik cricket

Year 8

Athletics, badminton, dance, fitness, gymnastics, hockey, netball, rounders, swimming, tennis, kwik cricket

Year 9

Athletics, badminton, dance, football, gymnastics, handball, hockey, kwik cricket, problem-solving, netball, rounders, swimming, tennis

Skills
  • Learning the rules, tactics and improving spatial awareness
  • Mastering a wide variety of skills and applying them in game play
  • Developing movement vocabulary in gymnastics and dance
  • Creating original performances
Extension activities and educational visits
  • Extra-curricular clubs and matches
  • Inter-house competitions
  • Gymnastics display
  • Holland hockey trip

Geography

Timetable
  • Year 7 three lessons per fortnight
  • Year 8 three lessons per fortnight
  • Year 9 three lessons per fortnight
Resources
  • Foundations, D. Waugh (Year 7)
  • Connections, D. Waugh, Geog .360 Book 2 (Year 8)
  • Interactions, D. Waugh, Geog .360 Book 3 (Year 9)
  • OS Maps, symbol cards, mini white boards, multi-choice cards, wide range card sorting and group role play resources including laptops, iPads and playdough
Topics

Year 7

  • Maps, OS mapwork
  • Weather and climate
  • Geology, rivers and river flooding

Year 8

  • Indicators of development, development and trade,
  • Fair Trade, industry
  • Plate tectonics

Year 9

  • Latitude and longitude
  • World biomes including tropical rainforests, coral reefs and deserts
  • Coastal geography including sand dune ecology and coastal defences
Skills
  • Map interpretation
  • Field sketching
  • Understanding of processes
  • Comparisons and deductions, description of distributions, data presentation and interpretation and evaluation
  • Simple graphical presentation and interpretation
Extension activities and educational visits
  • Year 7 trip to Epping Forest to study a river basin and carry out a river survey
  • Year 8 day at Cadbury World to understand secondary industry and Fair Trade
  • Year 9 day trip to the coast to develop fieldwork skills
  • Further reading, puzzles, crosswords and quizzes

German

Timetable
  • Year 7 five lessons per fortnight (optional)
  • Year 8 three lessons per fortnight (optional)
  • Year 9 three lessons per fortnight (optional)
Resources
  • Zoom Deutsch 1 and 2 and Echo Express 1 and 2
  • Complementary resources include: Languages online, Linguascope, Goethe Institut online
  • German Assistant
Topics
  • Themes: self, family and friends, hobbies, home, daily routine, school life and future plans, food, local area, clothes and shopping, holidays and day trips, festivals and celebrations, the media, health and fitness, environmental matters
  • Grammar: cases, genders and articles, possessive adjectives, adjective agreement, present, present perfect and future tenses, imperatives, modal verbs, separable verbs, reflexive verbs, auxiliary verbs, clauses, time expressions and inversion
Skills
  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Listening
  • Speaking
  • Understanding grammatical patterns
Extension activities and educational visits
  • Trips to the Arts Picturehouse Cinema are offered when German films are shown
  • Biennial Y8 and 9 German Study Trip at Easter

History

Timetable
  • Year 7 three lessons per fortnight
  • Year 8 three lessons per fortnight
  • Year 9 three lessons per fortnight
Resources
  • Digital textbooks and teaching resources’
  • ClickView
Topics

Year 7: Conquest, Devotion and Turmoil

  • Conquest: 1066 and all that How did William of Normandy conquer England and maintain control?
  • Devotion: The medieval Church: What did people believe? How important was the Church?
  • Turmoil: Kings, landlords, peasants and plagues. How did different groups of people live? What effects did the Black Death have on everyone?

Year 8: Divine Right, Democracy and Discovery

  • Divine Right: Kings and Queens. How did the Tudor and Stuart monarchs understand and execute their power?
  • Democracy: People power. How did Britain shift from powerful monarchs to power to the people?
  • Discovery: Explorers and Traders. How did exploration of New Worlds beyond Europe change our world forever?

Year 9: Protest, Conflict and Change

  • Protest: The Suffragettes. How did women achieve the right to vote?
  • Conflict: World War One. Why did this conflict occur, how was it fought and how should we remember it?
  • Change: to what extent did Britain and Europe change and develop between 1918 and 1945?
Skills
  • Understanding chronology, change and continuity, cause and consequence, significance
  • Undertaking historical enquiries and developing critical reflection and understanding of historical interpretation
  • Confident use of historical evidence – identifying, selecting and using sources; evaluating them and reaching conclusions

  • Developing communication skills – selecting, organising and creating written work that evaluates and synthesises historical knowledge

Extension activities and educational visits
  • Year 7 visit to St Albans Cathedral
  • Year 9 visit to WW1 battlefields at Ypres
  • Year 10 and Year 11 biennial visit to Berlin

Latin

Timetable
  • Year 7 Latin is not taught
  • Year 8 four lessons per fortnight in ability sets
  • Year 9 three lessons per fortnight in ability sets
Resources
  • The Cambridge Latin course books 1, 2 and half of book 3 (the higher sets will cover more ground than the lower sets)
  • The Cambridge Latin Course online: www.cambridgescp.com
  • The eCLC is available on the school system in-house readers and e-books
Topics
  • Grammar: the present, perfect, imperfect, pluperfect tenses of regular and irregular verbs, infinitives, present and perfect participles, the first three declensions of nouns, the principles of adjective agreement, the relative pronoun
  • Culture: daily life, government and entertainment in Pompeii (Year 8), Roman Britain and Alexandria (Year 9), mythology, including the Trojan War and Jason and the Argonauts
Skills
  • Vocabulary building, with awareness of the Latin roots of English and modern romance languages
  • Translation from Latin into English, requiring rigour and attention to detail
  • Appreciation of literature in a foreign language and in a different cultural setting
  • Interpreting the ancient world from primary sources
Extension activities and educational visits
  • Regular trips to Greece (open to Year 9 upwards) or the Bay of Naples (open to Year 8 upwards) to visit Classical sites
  • Trips to local exhibitions or plays when the opportunity arises
  • Opportunity to take part in the Classical Association Latin and Greek reading competition and Ludi Scaenici, the Latin play competition
  • Read Iris and Omnibus magazines (in the LRC) and enter their competitions
  • From Year 9 join the after-school Greek class leading to an extra GCSE in Ancient Greek

Mandarin Chinese

Timetable
  • Year 7 five lessons per fortnight (optional)
  • Year 8 three lessons per fortnight (optional)
  • Year 9 three lessons per fortnight (optional)
Resources
  • Better YCT (e-course)
  • Jin Bu books 1 and 2, Heinemann
  • Quizlet e-flashcards
  • Chinese Made Easy books 1 and 2, Joint Publishing (H.K.) Co., Ltd.
  • Easy Steps to Chinese, Beijing Language and Culture University Press
Topics
  • Themes: all about me, family and home, hobbies, school, food and health, holidays, daily life, leisure activities, sports, shopping, occupation and career, travel and transportation
  • Grammar: nouns, verbs, adjectives, measure words, collocations, word order, conjunctions,
  • questions
  • Character writing: basic strokes, stroke order, radicals, character writing
  • Culture: daily life, education in China, Chinese holidays, Chinese food, landmarks in China
Skills
  • Reading, writing, listening, speaking
  • Vocabulary building, with awareness of the formation of Chinese characters
  • Translation between Chinese and English
Extension activities and educational visits
  • Attendance at Chinese cultural events held at school (e.g. Chinese New Year Dinner, Mid-Autumn Festival Evening)
  • Opportunity to learn Chinese cooking (e.g. making Chinese dumplings and moon cakes)
  • Opportunity to learn Chinese calligraphy
  • Trips to China and local exhibitions or plays when the opportunity arises

Mathematics

Timetable
  • Year 7 six lessons per fortnight in ability sets
  • Year 8 six lessons per fortnight in ability sets
  • Year 9 (now part of Key Stage 4) start GCSE lessons
Resources
Topics
  • Numeracy skills including multiplication and division methods, addition and subtraction of integers, fractions and decimals
  • Algebra: simplification of algebraic expressions, solving linear and non-linear equations, simultaneous equations, Pythagoras and basic trigonometry
  • Shape, space and measure: properties of polygons, 2D and 3D shapes, transformations of graphs and conversions
  • Use of Mathematics: problem-solving in real life situations
Skills
  • Numeracy and analytical skills
  • Problem-solving skills can be transformed to real life problems
  • Interpreting data and statistics
Extension activities and educational visits
  • The ‘Maths Inspiration Show’ – experts in the field give exciting lectures on how Mathematics is used in the real world
  • Enigma Project – a thought-provoking lecture showing how Mathematics was used to solve a complex problem during World War Two
  • International Pi Day – a celebration of the Mathematical pi. Students take part in an investigation to find the ratio of the circumference and diameter. A fun quiz starts this activity followed by practical ways to discover this constant pi
  • UKMT Maths challenges for all able students
  • Mathematics enrichment clubs

Music

Timetable
  • Year 7 three lessons per fortnight
  • Year 8 two lessons per fortnight
  • Year 9 three lessons per fortnight (optional)
Resources
  • Keynotes workbooks (produced in-house)
  • IWB resources
  • Music textbooks including ‘Opus’ (1, 2 and 3), ‘Music Matters’ (1, 2 and 3) and ‘Singing Matters’
  • A range of classroom percussion (pitched and unpitched), samba kit, electronic keyboards/pianos, practice rooms, computers in M2 (in Year 9), acoustic guitars
Topics

Year 7

  • Musical elements: rhythm, pitch, dynamics and tempo
  • Musical structures: binary, ternary, rondo
  • Instruments of the orchestra and other instruments
  • Keyboard skills
  • Gamelan music from Indonesia, Medieval music, Renaissance music

Year 8

  • Latin American music
  • Folk music
  • Developing keyboard skills: chords & the 12 bar blues
  • Minimalism

Year 9

  • Ground bass and the Baroque period
  • An introduction to Sibelius
  • Song-writing
  • Programme music and an introduction to the Romantic period
  • Film music
  • Chamber music
Skills
  • Performing (solo and ensemble), improvisation, composing, active listening
  • Developing an awareness and appreciation of a diverse range of music from various countries/cultures/historical periods/traditions
  • Developing skills of communication, co-operation, concentration, team work, contribution, listening, imagination, creativity, analysis
  • Developing ICT skills through use of Sibelius
Extension activities and educational visits
  • Music clubs catering for all skill levels
  • Opportunities to perform at the University of Cambridge Concert Hall, the annual chamber music concert, vocal masterclasses, tea-time singers’ concerts, Young Pianist and Musician of the Year competitions, assemblies, Masses, services
  • Outreach projects for the school community
  • Choir tours in the UK and overseas
  • Differentiated tasks/resources used within curriculum lessons
  • Trips to musical theatre productions, concerts etc. when the opportunity arises

Physics

Timetable
  • Year 7 five Science lessons per fortnight (Physics taught in discrete topics)
  • Year 8 three lessons per fortnight
  • Year 9 three lessons per fortnight (the IGCSE course is started in Year 9)
Resources

 

  • Laboratory equipment, e-Chalk, iPads, PowerPoints, worksheets, Phet simulations, Absorb Learning, KS3 Physics Study and Question book (Year 7 and Year 8)
  • Spectrum Physics (Year 8)
  • Physics For You (Year 9)
  • Edexcel IGCSE Physics (Year 9)
Topics

Year 7 (Project based learning)

  • Safety in the lab, lab equipment names, measurements
  • Forces: types of force, measurement of force, friction, gravity, magnetism and density

Year 8

  • Electricity
  • Speed
  • Temperature and heat transfer, energy transfer and energy resources
  • Astronomy
  • Sound and hearing

Year 9

  • Light
  • Practical skills topic
  • Density and pressure
  • Properties of waves, using waves
  • Energy resources and electricity generation
Skills
  • Experimental skills – accuracy, predicting, observing, evaluation, making relevant conclusions based on the data, practical dexterity
  • Use of models to explain difficult concepts or science that cannot be seen by the naked eye
  • Applying knowledge from one context to another, graphing skills, team work skills
Extension activities and educational visits
  • ‘Bang goes the Theory’ (extra-curricular club in Year 7)
  • Hacksaw Club (Year 7), Young Engineers (Year 8 to Upper Sixth)
  • Let’s Build (all years)
  • Technology Tournament (Year 9 – two teams compete against other schools)

PSHE

Timetable

PSHE is largely taught within allocated RE curriculum time. Depending on the topic and timing this may be a standalone session, a series of lessons or a short course.

Resources
  • A variety of in-house printed resources
  • Video and online resources
  • Visiting speakers
Topics
  • Bullying
  • Relationships, Sex and Health education (using Ten Ten Resources a programme which covers this statutory curriculum topic within the context of a Christian understanding of human sexuality).
  • National and religious identity
  • Rules and fairness in the community, law and morality
  • Puberty and menstrual hygiene
  • Conflict resolution and anger management
  • Body image and self-esteem (introducing eating disorders)
  • Drugs, alcohol and smoking, risk-taking behaviour, avoiding pregnancy and STIs
  • Money and personal finance
  • Internet safety
Skills
  • Reflection on social questions and life experiences
  • Listening and responding constructively to the comments and opinions of others
  • Organising, sequencing and linking together what they say so listeners can follow
  • Evaluation of social attitudes and personal approaches and stand points
Extension activities and educational visits
  • Occasional visitors or speakers to discuss some issues

Religious Education

Timetable
  • Year 7 four lessons per fortnight
  • Year 8 five lessons per fortnight in sets broadly grouped by ability
  • Year 9 five lessons per fortnight in sets broadly grouped by ability
Resources
  • The Hindu Experience
  • Islam for Today
  • The Christian Story
  • Judaism for Today
  • The Old Testament Story
  • In-house printed resources, iBooks, video and online resources, e.g. www.bbc.co.uk/religion
Topics

Year 7

  • Christianity - Life in a Catholic Christian community, the origin of the Gospels
  • The Eucharist, Jesus’ calling as Messiah, Christian baptism, Jesus’ death and resurrection
  • Signs of the Kingdom: healing miracles, attitude to sinners, parables
  • Hinduism – its origins, concept of God, worship, family life, death and re-incarnation, scriptures and festivals

Year 8

  • Islam – The five Pillars of Islam, The Qur’an, family life and contemporary issues
  • Christianity - The Early Church, Sacrament of Confirmation
  • Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount and parables, prayer, refugees, persecution
  • Vocation – the role of the Church today

Year 9

  • Background to Old Testament literature – creation myths, Genesis 1, 2, & 3
  • Judaism - Shabbat (Sabbath), marriage, saga, The Patriarchs and the Covenant, One God, Moses, The Exodus, Pesach (Passover), The Law, Kashrut (food laws),Torah and Bar Mitzvah
  • Introduction to philosophical ideas concerning the Problem of Evil, Free Will, Science and Religion
Skills
  • Understanding, use and correct spelling of the vocabulary of the world religions
  • Reflection on the experience of religion, sacred space, expressions of belief and worship
  • Listening and responding constructivelyto the comments and opinions of others
  • Organising, sequencing and linking together what they say so listeners can follow
  • Skimming, scanning and note taking
  • Understanding and evaluation of sacred texts in preparation for GCSE study
  • Developing language and style appropriate to different types of writing
Extension activities and edcational visits
  • An annual Day of Reflection allows deeper and more extended thinking
  • Guided tour of the Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs
  • Day at BAPS Shri Swaminaryan Mandir, Neasden

Spanish

Timetable
  • Year 7 five lessons per fortnight (optional)
  • Year 8 three lessons per fortnight (optional)
  • Year 9 three lessons per fortnight (optional)
Resources
Topics
  • Themes: introductory conversations, family, pets, where you live, sports and hobbies, likes and dislikes, Facebook, school, classroom objects, dates and events, time, places in a town, going out, transport, shops, clothes, food and drink, weather, holidays, health and fitness, jobs and future plans
  • Grammar: genders, articles, adjectives, adverbs, comparatives and superlatives; the present, immediate future, preterite and imperfect tenses of regular and irregular verbs, modal verbs; prepositions, asking questions, negatives
Skills
  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Listening
  • Speaking
  • Understanding grammatical patterns
Extension activities and educational visits
  • Additional extension material is available
  • Open-ended writing tasks encourage girls to extend themselves
  • Language competitions are available, e.g. for European Day of Languages