In lessons students will continue to develop an understanding of God’s relationship with his people through the promise of salvation.

Topics

The Truth:

• Judaism
• Covenant in The Old Testament
• The Mystery of the Eucharist
• The Paschal Mystery
• The Mission of the Church

Extra-Curricular

• Young Lasallians
• Lasallian Camp at St Cassian’s, Kintbury

Home Learning

An onus on personal achievement to complete home learning to a good standard every time. Home learning is set weekly and is varied in its content.

Assessment

Half termly assessments comprising end of module class tests and key terms.

Key Stage 3 Art lessons set out to promote Art & Design as a powerful tool for creative development, experimentation and self-expression. All lessons aim to develop practical skills alongside visual literacy, contextual understanding and critical thinking.

Topics

New themes are developed each year, in response to a range of inspirations such as artists’ work, gallery visits, news events, and personal, practical explorations. Across the year students will have the opportunity to experiment within key themes of:

• Drawing
• Mark making
• Colour
• Structure & form.

Extra-Curricular

A key stage 3 art club is available one day a week during lunchtime.

Home Learning

Home learning tasks promote independent creative study and provide opportunities for students to prepare for, and reflect upon, key classwork themes. Home learning is set each week alternating between practical tasks and materials preparation or research activities.

Assessment

Creative development and practical activities are assessed regularly to inform planning. This is done through a range of assessment strategies, including one to one discussions and sketchbook looks, also peer and monitored group assessments. Formal tracking grades are recorded across the school year in line with school policy.

Students will continue to develop safe online practices and extend their experiences into formal computer programming.

Topics

• Security & Staying Safe
• Computer Aided Design
• Introduction to Javascript
• Introduction to Python Programming

Home Learning

There is an expectation that students use the knowledge and skills they acquire to support and supplement their studies in other areas of the curriculum.

Assessment

Each mini project is assessed (approximately every 7 weeks)

In Year 8 students will continue to develop practical skills and knowledge of different materials and processes including programming microbits and buggies. Incorporating electronics into all material areas.

Topics

• Developing skills using a range of tools and equipment safely and confidently

• Iterative design
• Programming microbits
• Using electronics within all material areas
• Using woods, polymers, metals and textiles

Extra-Curricular

• Textiles lunchtime club
• Rotary club challenge

Home Learning

An onus on personal achievement to complete home learning to a good standard every time. Home learning is set every other week and is in preparation for the next lesson.

Assessment

At least two assessments will be undertaken in each rotation, every term.

Lessons are an exploration of key skills in Drama to understand the world in which we inhabit. To develop imagination, creativity, confidence and sensitivity. To implement key learning areas of the GCSE at a Year 8 level.

Topics

• Guernica (key skills through a real life event)
• Commedia (exploring design)
• Anne Frank (script work and duologues)
• Stage Combat (live theatre assessment)
• Fairytale (directing)
• Devise

Extra-Curricular

• School Production

Home Learning

An onus on personal achievement to complete home learning to a good standard every time. Home learning is set twice termly and is varied in its content.

Assessment

Half termly assessments comprising end of module class tests and key terms.

Year 8 will build on the skills covered in Year 7 and develop self-expression in reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Topics

• Short story study/writing stories
• Exploration of 19^th Century literature (Great Expectations)
• World War 1 poetry study/essay writing skills/can be combined with novel study (Private Peaceful)
• Essay writing skills
• Media study — newspapers and reviews
• Shakespeare study: A Midsummer Night’s Dream/The Tempest/Much Ado About Nothing
• Novel study: Stone Cold/The Tulip Touch/Trash

Weekly literacy lessons devoted to personal reading and grammar

Extra-Curricular

• Debates
• Writing competitions

Home Learning

Home learning is set weekly from modular home-learning booklets and is varied in its content.

Assessment

Half termly in-house assessments comprising end-of-module class assessments, combined with peer, self and additional teacher assessments.

Students will continue to develop practical skills and knowledge to be able to make main meals. Each student follows a rotation including all Technology material areas and Food.

Topics

• Developing skills through main meals using a range of tools and equipment safely and confidently
• Following a recipe to make a successful product
• An introduction to food nutrition

Home Learning

An onus on personal achievement to complete home learning to a good standard every time. Home learning is every other week and is linked to the work taught in lessons. Students who study Food Technology will be expected to bring in ingredients on a regular basis.

Assessment

Two assessments will be undertaken in each rotation, every term.

In Year 8 students will develop an understanding of key concepts in human & physical geography.

Topics

• Development
• Violent earth
• Ecosystems
• Coasts
• Fieldwork to Durdle Door

Extra-Curricular

• Geography in the news group
• Geographical Association competitions as appropriate

Home Learning

A range of home learning including research, learning and written tasks set once a week

Assessment

End of unit assessments on each unit and internal annual exams.

Year 8 History builds on the key skills introduced in the previous year whilst focusing on a range of interesting and complimentary British and world History topics.

Topics

• Aztec History
• English colonisation of Americas
• British Empire
• Slavery
• Industrial Revolution
• WWI
• China

Home Learning

Home learning will be set by the class teacher to support learning, usually once a week with a range of tasks being set.

Assessment

End of unit assessments to test the key skills and knowledge.

Lessons build on the work covered in Year 7 to develop further understanding. Delving into the second year for the White Rose 5 Year Scheme of Work we aim to embed and develop the knowledge, skills and concepts that are essential for starting the GCSE (9-1) Edexcel Mathematics (MA1) course in Year 9.     

Topics

• Exploring Calculations
• Further Algebra
• Area
• Ratio
• Further Angles
• Powers and Standard Form
• Sequences
• Fractions
• Graphs and data
• Percentages

(more detailed information can be found here

Extra-Curricular

• Junior Mathematics Challenge

Home Learning

Set by the teacher once a week using the SPARX home learning system. This system learns the correct level of work for your child and allocates questions to encourage them in their learning whilst also challenging them. This should to take approximately 1 hour to complete. Weekly emails are sent directly to parents/carers giving home learning updates. Check out www.sparxmaths.com for further information.

A written homework in their Green book will also need to be completed after each topic test (roughly every 2 weeks dependent on the length of the topic), using videos covering areas for improvement as highlighted by their teacher. During these weeks half-length tasks will be set on SPARX.

Assessment

Termly exams, both calculator and non-calculator, will take place through the year. In addition, “Topic Tests” provide further information regarding your child’s progress.

A copy of the Scheme of work and the small steps for each topic is in the student’s green book, this provides a guide to aid their revision for these assessments.

In Year 8 students will develop a confidence in speaking a foreign language and to develop a further interest in communication. Confidently using the past and present tenses.

Topics

French

• TV, Cinema and the Internet
• Paris
• My identity
• My Home and Meals
• Talents and ambitions
• Pocket Money/Gadgets and The French Revolution

Spanish

• People and Routines
• Making Arrangements Using the Future Tense
• Holidays
• Eating Out
• Fashion
• Discovering Barcelona

Extra-Curricular

French & Spanish Club

Home Learning

Home learning is set weekly and will vary between learning vocabulary, reading and writing activities and practising conversations.

Assessment

One module assessment every half term.

At Key Stage 3, Musical history and aural skills are taught practically and through composition using music ICT, preparing students to be confident musicians with strong language for learning.

Topics

• Rama and Sita/Jai Ho — Indian Music
• Moondance — Jazz
• 4 Chord Challenge
• One Love — Equality and Protest music
• Theme and Variations — Paganini’s Caprice
• Film Soundtracks

Extra-Curricular

• Concert Band
• Choir
• Music Theory
• Cubase Club
• Practice Rooms are open every lunchtime, and are available on a first come, first served basis.

Home Learning

Home learning will be set twice a half term, usually relating to the learning of key vocabulary to help students access aural and written aspects of music lessons.

Assessment

Half termly practical assessment with short keyword tests.

Through the development of employability skills and the medium of physical activity we aim to enthuse the desire to be active for life, encourage the drive for achievement, celebrate the success of others, allow freedom of thought and accept the differences of the individual.

Topics

A number of activities will be on offer encouraging a wide variety of active and competitive opportunities with the intention of developing the students core values of:

• Empathy
• Community
• Persistence
• Aspiration
• Collaboration
• Imagination
• Morals and ethics.

Extra-Curricular

A full programme of extra-curricular activities is on offer ranging from boxing to badminton in excellent facilities with a combination of paid coaches and PE staff. Opportunities involving coaches from outside of school may have a termly charge.

Home Learning

Home learning is not methodically set, although there is an expectation that students and their families should take a positive and responsible approach to regular weekly exercise and a healthy food regime. This may include park run, visits to the gym, cycling and running or some form of daily outdoor activity.

Assessment

Students will be assessed throughout the year on the PE core values: Empathy, Community, Persistence, Aspiration, Collaboration, Imagination, Morals and ethics.

Students will look in more detail at the concepts introduced in Year 7, which provide the platform on which GCSE studies are built.

Topics

• Organisms
• Matter
• Forces
• Ecosystems
• Reactions
• Electromagnets
• Genes
• Earth
• Waves
• Energy

Extra-Curricular

• Soroptimist challenge
• Usually one guest speaker per year group, topic varying each year
• Evening Science lectures open to all

Home Learning

Home learning is set weekly in the form of learning key words and concepts from set pages. This is checked by a 10-mark quiz once a week. A detailed letter explaining the expectations and rational for these tasks will be sent to all parents at the start of September.

Assessment

Personal Assessment Tasks (PATs) for diagnostic (formative) use. End-of-topic tests for summative assessment purposes and an end-of-year test.