Altrincham Grammar School for Boys Marlborough Road, Bowdon, Altrincham, Cheshire WA14 2RS

Tel: (0161) 928 0858

Email: agsbadmin@agsb.co.uk Website: www.agsb.co.uk

Head Master: Mr T J Gartside MA (Hons)

AGSB Curriculum Years 7-9

A brief guide for parents

We are often asked:

What will my son be learning this year?

How will he be assessed?

What can I do as a parent to help him?

Inside are some brief answers to these questions.

We hope that you find it useful.

2

CONTENTS INFORMATION REGARDING SUBJECTS:

SUBJECT PAGE NO

Art

3

Chinese 4

Classical Studies and Latin 5

Computer Science 6

English 7

French 8

Geography 9

German 10

History 11

Library 12

Mathematics 13

Music 15

P.E. 16

PSHE 17

Religion and Philosophy 18

Science Year 7 and Year 8 19

Science Year 9 20

Spanish 21

Technology 22

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Exams, Reports, Progress Sheets, Assessment 24 - 25

GCSEs and Options 26

Rewards and Sanctions 27

Independent Learning Tasks 28

Referencing/Plagiarism and Proofreading Addendum

DEPARTMENT: ART

3

Year 7 8 9

Term 1 Sweets

Pupils will begin to explore

the basics of formal

elements. Using sweets as

colourful resource to record

from. Main areas covered

include, drawing simple

forms using one point

perspective, mixing paint

using the primary colours

and analyzing the work of an

artist.

Tools

Pupils will look at the work

of both Jim Dine and

Michael Craig-Martin. You

will look at how you can

use the formal elements of

tone, texture, line and

colour to create very

different outcomes of the

same object.

Self-Portrait

Pupils will begin the project by

understanding the proportions

of the face in order to develop

their own drawing and

painting skills. Pupils will then

explore their own identity and

this can be visualised. It will

conclude by students

combining their face study

with collage.

Term 2 Honeycomb

Inspired by the intelligent

mathematic home of a bee

colony. Pupils will respond by

individually creating 3D

honeycomb pieces. Pupils

will experiment with a range

of mixed media techniques,

whilst still developing the

skills. The project will be

underpinned by a variety of

artists and observational

drawing.

Architecture

Pupils will look at a variety

of architecture and explore

both structure and details.

Pupils will then make

informed choices when

drawing their designs in

two point perspective.

These will then be adapted

into Three-dimensional

structures.

Space Landscapes

Pupils will explore space

landscape this will be an

opportunity for pupils to

interpret space and create an

abstract landscape outcome.

Students will develop their

skills within observational

drawing, painting, etching and

printing. Space landscape is

an opportunity to investigate

aesthetic of space and

produce an outcome that

represents its form.

Term 3 Washed ashore

Pupils will research the

impact of plastic waste on

sea-life. Pupils will respond

using a range of materials

including clay and plastics to

produce 3D sea-life. The

project will be underpinned

by a variety of artists and

observational drawing.

Mechanical Bugs

Pupils will investigate the

key features of a range of

bugs. They will explore a

range of printing processes

using mechanical objects

for inspiration. The project

will culminate in students

designing and producing

their own 'mechanical bug'

Birds

Pupils will explore the shapes,

textures and colours of birds.

Looking at a range of artists

pupils will experiment with a

range of different media in

order to develop a three

dimensional final piece

inspired by birds

Please note: Pupils occasionally need an apron or overall of some sort to wear during

their Art lessons, usually a technology apron is fine to use. What can parents do to support their sons?

Our Art teachers may will vary the projects slightly from class to class whilst giving your son a variety of experiences to help him develop his art.

They ask you to help your son develop the ability to concentrate for an extended period of time on a drawing, etc, and to encourage him to be creative and have the tenacity to

modify and refine his work in order to improve it.

If possible, it would be helpful if you could visit a wide range of stimulating places such as art galleries and museums.

DEPARTMENT: CHINESE

4

Year 7 8 9

You don’t study Chinese,

but will have

the opportunity to

apply for a place to learn

Chinese in Y8. Limited places.

Topics Numbers,

greetings and

personal information

Family and pets

Hobbies School life

Food and drink

Grammar Measure words

Word order Question words

Commonly used structures

Writing Write key

characters Understand

radicals Stroke order

Write short paragraphs

(80-100 characters)

Topics Holidays:

countries,

weather and transport

Describe people and

objects Talk about

places, directions and

jobs Shopping

Travel in China

Grammar Tense

Word order

Question words Commonly

used structures

Writing Write key

characters Understand

radicals Stroke order

Write paragraphs

(100-15 characters).

Assessment Tests after

each chapter

End of year exam

Tests after each chapter

End of year exam

Option to do GCSE in Y10

and 11

5

CLASSICAL STUDIES AND LATIN

________________________

DEPARTMENT:

:

Year 7 8 9 Greek Mythology

Minoan Crete and Mycenae, Trojan

War, Homer,

Ancient Olympics,

Sparta, Persian

War, Alexander,

Historical Linguistics, Rise

of the Romans

We follow the Imperium Course Book 1 and Cambridge Latin Course Book 1

We follow the Imperium Course Book 2 with some support from the

Cambridge Latin

Course Books 1 and 2

What can parents do to support their sons?

Mr Ellis writes:

Please encourage your son to talk about and take an interest in the

classical stories of Greek and Roman culture. There is much to learn from them.

If your son chooses to study Latin in year 8 and 9, encourage him to learn his grammar well and help him revise vocabulary, especially before a test.

DEPARTMENT: COMPUTER SCIENCE

6

What can parents do to support their sons? Mr Timmins, Head of Computer Science and ICT, asks you to encourage your son to use the School’s ICT facilities. ICT suites S9 and S10 are open every day at lunchtime

from 12:20 – 1.00pm and from after school from 3.30pm – 4.15pm.

However, when they do need to do school work at home, documents can be accessed

and uploaded via Office 365.

Please remember that RAM/memory sticks are not allowed in School.

Year 7 8 9 Becoming digitally

literate and

Computer Science

basics

1. Network basics – network access and Office 365

2. Digital literacy - use of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Notebook

3. Health and safety 4. Internet searching and

e-safety 5. History of Computing 6. Hardware and

software – processor, primary memory, secondary storage, inputs and outputs

7. Number systems – binary, bits/bytes/kilobytes/megabytes/gigabytes/terabytes

8. Fetch-execute cycle – program counter, memory registers, accumulator

9. Computational thinking

10. Flowcharts – sequence, selection and iteration

11. Programming – BBC Microbit and Python

Understanding

computers, control

systems, modelling,

programming and

impacts of computing 1. Control systems –

flowcharts and control

systems using Flowol

2. Spreadsheets –

basics, advanced functions, modelling

3. Web design –

planning, basics,

advanced HTML

4. Programming –

algorithm design, basics, intermediate,

using Python

5. Computer hardware –

processor, memory,

storage and

peripherals 6. Impacts of computing

and ICT – online

safety, RDF tags,

online videos, social

media

Computer number

systems, practical

programming through

web design and

Python programming

1. Image editing –

impact of, basics,

advanced, using

Photoshop

2. Binary and hexadecimal –

denary and binary

conversion,

binary addition,

representing text

in binary,

representing images in binary,

hexadecimal

3. Web design –

CSS and

JavaScript

4. Programming –

computational thinking,

intermediate,

advanced, using

Python

5. Impacts of

computing and

ICT – Microsoft, Google and Apple

6. Video editing –

editing skills

DEPARTMENT: ENGLISH_

7

Reading and Understanding

Pupils will read a wide range of fiction and non-fiction

texts from different genres, eras and cultures. The five key skill areas are:

Synthesizing, selecting, summarising information

Analysing language choices Analysing structural choices

Comparing texts Evaluating the success of a text

Writing and

Technical Accuracy

Pupils will plan and produce a wide range of texts, with a variety of purposes, to meet the needs of various

audiences. The five key skill areas are:

Planning interesting and appropriate content Organising a text into logical and effective sections Selecting increasingly mature vocabulary

Using a full range of punctuation effectively Spelling correctly

Speaking and Listening

Pupils will develop their confidence and fluency in speaking

in a range of contexts including ‘real world’ scenarios. The five key skill areas are:

Using Standard English confidently and accurately Giving an individual presentation Discussing and debating in groups

Using language creatively in role-play situations Listening actively and sensitively to others

What can parents do to support their sons?

Encourage your son to read on a daily basis from a range of sources such as novels, magazines, websites, biographies and newspapers. Media texts such as

documentaries, podcasts, audio books and radio shows are also useful ways of engaging with language and ideas. Ask your son to read out loud from time to time and encourage him to be a confident,

clear reader. Encourage him to enjoy new texts and learn more adventurous vocabulary.

Encourage conversation and debate about current affairs by raising interesting questions from the worlds of politics, society, sport, culture and the arts. Encourage your son to write on a regular basis: diaries, on-line reviews, short

stories, poetry and lyrics are all useful ways of encouraging the habit of writing. Share experiences of performance with your son. Theatre trips, cinema visits, and

cultural events are all positive ways of broadening his cultural and creative development.

Encourage your son to join the many English extra-curricular activities on offer at school. A fuller list of recommended books and activities is available on the school website.

DEPARTMENT: FRENCH

8

Year 7 8 9 Studied for half the

year.

Topics Introducing

yourself Numbers

Alphabet

Dates

Colours

Countries

Family Animals

Descriptions

School subjects

Sports Other hobbies

Where you live

Short

poems/songs

Grammar Nouns and Gender

Verbs in Present

Tense

Faire + de

Negation

Adjectives

Topics Talking about films,

reading and the

internet.

What you did

yesterday and describing a visit to

Paris.

Personality,

relationships, music. Describing where you

live,

Talking about food.

Talent contests and

ambition

Short detective

stories.

Film / literature Le petit prince

Grammar

The present, perfect

and future tense Adjective agreement Reflexive verbs

Comparisons prepositions

vouloir + infinitive

Pupils begin GCSE

course.

Topics Relationships with

family and friends.

Marriage and

partnerships. Social media

Mobile

technology Music/ cinema /TV Food and eating out. Sport.

Grammar

Reflexive verbs

Direct/indirect

object

pronouns

The future

tenses

Present tense

revision

Perfect tense

revision

Verb+infinitive

Demonstrative

pronouns

The work is regularly assessed. Assessment is of reading, writing, listening and

speaking.

What can parents do to support their sons?

Mrs Brennan is Head of French. She asks you to be aware of when your son has French independent learning tasks and ensure that he understands the task in hand. Encourage and ensure that your

son can recall the core vocabulary and grammar covered.

Mrs Brennan adds that, a most powerful source of motivation is seeing the language being used for real purposes in an authentic environment, any opportunity to be

in a French speaking country is always indispensable. Additionally, if you are able to practise speaking French with your son, this could be a real confidence booster for him.

DEPARTMENT: GEOGRAPHY

9

Year 7 8 9 Unit 1 – This is

Geography! Pupils

begin to explore the

UK and the rest of

the world, learning

how it works. Key

skills of geographers

are set.

Unit 2 –

Shipwrecked

Island. Pupils

develop new map

skills whilst learning

how to survive on a

remote tropical

island.

Unit 3 – Risky

World. Pupils learn

why earth can be a

hazardous place to

live. An in depth

study of volcanoes,

earthquakes, tropical

cyclones and

tsunamis.

Unit 4 – China

You’ll explore this

world superpower

and learn why this

country is so

important to the rest

of the world

Unit 1 - Brilliant

Biomes!

With a focus on Africa,

pupils study the tropical rainforest, Savanna and

desert. Includes

weather and climate

Unit 2 – Russia

A study of this

fascinating country, including physical and

human aspects.

Unit 3 – Crumbling

Coasts

A focus on Britain’s

dynamic coastline coastlines including

environmental

geography looking at

the management

issues.

Unit 4 – Incredible India!

Pupils study the variety

of physical and human

geography across India.

What relationship does

India’s have with the rest of the world?

Unit 1 – Population

Explosion! Contemporary

demographic issues are

studied, including causes

and impacts of migration.

Unit 2 – Manchester

Manchester is studied as a

case example of a

dynamic urban

environment. All students

go on a fieldtrip to Salford

Quays.

Unit 3 – Cold

Environments Includes

the science behind cold

environments, the study

of glaciers and climate

change.

Unit 4 –Development

Pupils study global

inequalities and potential

solutions to the global

development gap, with a

focus on Morocco.

What can parents do to support their sons?

Mr Bromley, Head of Geography, suggests that you:

Encourage your son to take an interest in current affairs and discuss with him links to

topics he is studying in Geography. Read a broadsheet newspaper at least once a week,

with a particular focus on environmental and geo-political issues;

Geographers should be inquisitive, so encourage him to research different places you visit

as a family; and

Buy the following atlas Collins Cambridge IGCSE Student World Atlas for your son to use

at home. (ISBN 978-0-00-744305-5). We use these in school and highly recommend

them to students.

Your son will complete 2-3 assessments each year in Geography in addition to the end of year

examination. The assessments will range in style and content. As an example, in Year 7 pupils

justify a location to build an emergency shelter, in Year 8 pupils decide how to best protect the

Holderness coastline within a budget of £1m and Year 9 pupils write a geographical enquiry to

investigate the regeneration of Salford Quays.

DEPARTMENT: GERMAN_

10

Year 7 8 9

Studied for half the year

Topics Numbers

Alphabet

Talking about

yourself Birthdays and

presents

School Animals

Family

Countries

Hobbies Food

Grammar Verbs in Present

Tense

Likes and Dislikes Word order

Expressions of time

Topics

Weather

Free time

Travel

Holidays

Health

Food

Shopping

Living with a host

family in Germany Television

Grammar

Present Tense Perfect Tense

Future Tense

Modal verbs

Word order:

Inversion

Subordinate

clauses

- If Adjectival

agreement

Comparison and

superlative

Opinions

Prepositions

Pupils begin their

GCSE course

Topics My family and

friends

Technology in our

lives

Grammar

Present Tense

Perfect Tense

Future Tense

Future meaning

Imperfect

Conditional

Modal verbs Word order:

Inversion

Subordination

If

Infinitive clauses

Relative clause

Adjectival

agreement

Comparison and superlative

Cases (and

prepositions)

Sophistication in

written & spoken language

The work is regularly assessed. Assessment is of reading, writing, listening and

speaking.

What can parents do to support their sons?

Mrs Chapman, Head of German, says: Check that your son completes his independent learning tasks.

Check he is working on his vocabulary – this should be done on a regular basis, revisiting old vocabulary constantly too. He should always revise vocabulary, even

when tests are not set. He can access all of the vocabulary needed via

www.vocabexpress.com (he has a username and password).

Check he is working on his grammar – this, again, should be done on a regular

basis, consolidating old grammar as well. Grammar notes are in his exercise book

and available on www.klar.co.uk (he has the username and password). There are a number of other websites that your son should visit to help him.

Please ask him about them. There are revision exercises and other materials available online. At GCSE your son

will be given a Kerboodle account where he can access the online textbook. Any opportunity for your son to experience practising speaking German would be a

real confidence booster for him, for example, visiting the country with you, reading online news articles, finding a German emailpal.

DEPARTMENT: HISTORY_

11

Year 7 8 9 The Medieval Word

1066 – 1485

Topics covered within this period

will include:

Introduction to Historical Skills

The Normans

Medieval Castles

Medieval Religion &

The Crusades

Making of Early

Modern Britain

The Making of

Modern Britain

1485 – 1900 Topics covered

within this period will

include:

Renaissance,

Rise of Science

& Voyages of Exploration

Reformation & The Tudors

Elizabeth I,

Spanish Armada

and the English

Civil War

Industrial

Revolution &

Slavery

The 20th Century

1900-1975

Topics covered

within this period will include:

World War I

Rise of Dictators

& the Causes of

WW2

World War II

Start of GCSE

Course:

Early Cold War &

Korean War

What can parents do to support their sons?

Please encourage your son to read as much as possible. He might read historical fiction and non-fiction. He could try to keep an eye on current affairs which often have historical links. There are many well-produced and interesting TV

programmes on history, from entertaining ‘Horrible Histories’ to informative documentaries. If possible visit local historical sites like the Manchester Museum

of Science and Industry, The Imperial War Museum and Dunham Massey. When you go further afield, Hadrian’s Wall, Edward I’s Welsh castles and the Houses of Parliament are popular attractions. In Europe there are the First and Second World

War battlefield sites. The most important contribution parents can make to support their son’s history studies education is to assist them in developing an active interest

in the world around them.

DEPARTMENT: LIBRARY

12

Librarian: Mrs Marson

Resident Teacher: Mrs Chapman

The library sits right in the middle of the school and is a real hive of activity for all

year groups! During lesson time, it is used as a classroom and as a sixth form study space. At break

times and lunch times we invite pupils from all year groups to come in. Boys can be found working on homework together, using the computers, reading or taking part in

the extra-curricular activities detailed below. After school the library is used for a variety of extra-curricular activities.

Boys can borrow books from the library any day at break time or lunchtime.

Break time 11-11.20

Lunch time 12.20-1.20

After school 3.30-4.40

Monday Y7-13 – reading, borrowing books,

doing homework

Y7-13 – reading, borrowing books,

doing homework

Senior Reading Club Years 9-11

Tuesday Y7-13 – reading,

borrowing books, doing homework

Y7-13 – reading,

borrowing books, doing homework

Drama Club and

English Speaking Union Years 7-13

Wednesday Y7-13 – reading, borrowing books,

doing homework

Y7-13 – reading, borrowing books,

doing homework

‘Live at Lunch’ performances Years 7-13

Junior Reading Club

Years 7-8

Closed

Thursday Y7-13 – reading,

borrowing books, doing homework

Y7-13 – reading,

borrowing books, doing homework

Creative Writing

Club Years 7-13

Friday Y7-13 – reading, borrowing books, doing homework

Y7-13 – reading, borrowing books, doing homework

Closed

Throughout the year, the Library will also be used for competitions, quizzes, visiting authors and speakers and school council meetings.

There are student librarians in every year group. We don’t ‘employ’ Year 7 pupils in the first term as we encourage you to meet your peers and form friendships. If you

are interested in becoming a student librarian, see Mrs Marson.

DEPARTMENT: MATHEMATICS

13

Topic 7 8 9

Number Decimals

Rounding &

estimating negative

numbers

Indices & laws

BODMAS

Fractions

HCF & LCM

Percentages

Fractions

Percentages

Ratio & Proportion

Standard Form

Recurring decimals

Laws of indices Upper and lower bounds

Algebra Like terms

Index notation

Simplifying

expressions

Expanding brackets

Factorising

Substitution

Linear equations

Functions

Changing the

subject

Substitution

Inequalities Expanding & factorising

Trial &

improvement

Changing the

subject

Sequences

Solving equations

Simultaneous equations

Equation of a

straight line

Real life graphs

Sequences

Simultaneous

equations

Completing the

square Quadratic

formula

Solving quadratic

equations

Quadratic graphs

Quadratic expansion

Quadratic factorising

Change the subject

Algebraic fractions

Straight line graphs

Shape

and

Space

Perimeter & Area

Tessellations

Angles in polygons

Angles on line/

triangle etc.

Properties of 2D

shapes

Tessellations

Bearings

Similar triangles

Circles

Pythagoras’ Theorem

Volume and surface area

of cuboids

Coordinates

Mid point of a line

Arc length

Sector area

Constructions Plan & Elevation

Scale drawings Transformations

Pythagoras

Loci

Circle theorems

Congruent triangles

Similarity

Arc length

Sector area

Volume and surface

area of 3D shapes

Trigonometry

Handling

Data Mean

Mode Median Range

Statistical diagrams

Probability

Statistical

diagrams

Averages

Probability

Scatter graphs

Cumulative frequency

DEPARTMENT: MATHEMATICS

14

What can parents do to support their sons?

Mr Heslop is the Head of Department. He and all the Maths teachers ask you to

encourage your son to complete his independent learning tasks efficiently always showing his working out clearly and checking his answers before moving on to the

next question. Your son should also regularly revisit topics he has studied so that

the methods he is taught are securely learnt. Your son is welcome to see any teacher in the department, not just their own Maths teacher, to ask for help. We

also have 6th form Maths Prefects available in M2 at lunchtimes to provide help for any pupil. There are independent learning tasks exercises and revision sheets

available on the Maths page of Office 365. The department has access to the MyMaths.co.uk website and your son will be issued with a password to access the online lessons and resources that are available.

DEPARTMENT: MUSIC_

15

Year 7 8 9 Performance on

Voice and

orchestral

instruments

(all year 7 take

Part in the December

and June concert).

All pupils will have

the

opportunity to

perform on an orchestral instrument.

Listening and

Theory

Work to support

the above

Performance on

Percussion

Keyboard and

Voice

Composition

Using Logic software on Apple

Macs

Listening and

Theory

Work to support the above

Skills training in

using the

sequencing

software

programme

“Logic”. The boys use this to create backing tracks and

then programme

whole songs into

the computer.

This work is

based around the

area of study

Pop Music

(bringing guitar,

piano, drum and

vocal parts

together)

and Music and

Media, TV Themes

and Film Music

What can parents do to support their sons?

Ensure that independent learning tasks and practice are completed when set. Use

materials on Office 365 to help with independent learning tasks, class music and assessment.

Encourage your son to take part in the many and varied musical activities within

School, bands choirs etc and come to our concerts.

Ensure music for band or choir is downloaded for practice at home.

Also, private music lessons are available in a range of instruments with Trafford Music Service. Contact Mr Myers for further details.

cmyers@agsb.co.uk

DEPARTMENT: PE

16

Year 7 8 9

Term 1: Rugby,

Football & ‘Baselining’*

Term 2: Hockey &

Badminton

Term 3: Athletics,

Cricket & Tennis

Term 1 and 2:

Boys continue

with the same

sports

that they

experienced in

Year 7.

Table Tennis, Squash, Basketball and Orienteering

are added to the curriculum.

Term 3: Athletics, Cricket & Tennis

Term 1 and 2:

Boys continue

with the same

sports

that they

experienced in

Years 7 and 8.

Fitness and Rounders

are added to the

curriculum.

The ‘Top set’ (Set 1) begin the Fast

Track – GCSE PE qualification.

Term 3: Athletics,

Cricket & Tennis

What can parents do to support their sons?

Mr Soulsby, Head of Department, asks you to support your son by encouraging him

to take part in a range of sporting activities both through curricular and extra-

curricular school sport. This will develop sport specific skills and improve their

health and wellbeing. The PE department also actively encourages pupils to

participate in sport or physical recreation clubs outside school.

Pupils can be further engaged within this subject by parents questioning their son

about what he is doing in lessons and why he is doing it. There are also self-assessment activities on Office 0365 that can be completed.

Details of the extra-curricular sports activities and team training times are given to the boys in September and are also made available on the school website.

‘Baselining’ allows the department to make an accurate, generic assessment

of a year 7 pupil in a diverse and inclusive variety of sports. This information is then treated as entry-level data and is used to ensure pupils make progress

throughout KS3.

DEPARTMENT: PSHE (Personal, Social, Health & Economic Education)

17

Year 7 8 9 Introduction to

PSHE

Emotional and

physical well being

Drugs: focus on

smoking

Risk

Communities

Sex and

Relationship

education: facts

and feelings

Planning for the

future

Managing money

Reflecting and target setting

Emotional and physical well being

Drugs: focus on

alcohol and prescription drugs

The House of Commons

Road safety

Sex and Relationship

education: facts and feelings

Planning for the

future

Identity

What do I value and why?

Emotional and

physical well being

Drugs: focus on

legal highs

Young people and

the law

How to stay safe online

Sex and Relationship

education: facts

and feelings

Planning for the

future

Communities: YPI

Project

PSHE aims to enable a pupil to develop into a healthy, well rounded and responsible adult. In lessons every pupil is encouraged to participate

fully, discuss, reflect on and form their own opinions and views.

What can parents do to support their sons?

Mr. Perkins, Head of PSHE, asks you to encourage your son to be open

minded, tolerant and ready to discuss and respect the views of others.

DEPARTMENT: RELIGION and PHILOSOPHY

18

Year 7 8 9

Introduction to

Philosophy of Religion

a) Religious and

philosophical literacy

b) The nature of

philosophical questions

c) Case study: Plato’s Cave

d) Creation • Ideas about the origin

of the universe: scientific,

philosophical and religious approaches

• The significance of

myth in religion and folk-culture

e) Introduction to

classical arguments

for the existence of God

f) Death and the Afterlife

• The concept of ‘soul’

• Afterlife beliefs in

the world’s religions

Moral Philosophy

a) Introduction to Moral philosophy

b) Equality, Prejudice and discrimination

• Racism • Sexism

• Interfaith dialogue

c) War and Peace

• Just war • Pacifism

d) The historical Jesus

Introduction to KS4 studies in:

Philosophy of Religion, Ethics

and Buddhism

a) The Concept of God

b) The Teleological

Argument c) The

Cosmological Argument

d) Deontological

approaches to

moral decision making

e) The Life of the

Buddha

f) Introduction to

Buddhist doctrines

What can parents do to support their sons?

Mr Lowe, Head of Department writes:

To support your son’s progress please encourage him to keep an open mind; to come to the lessons ready to think and discuss. No matter what his personal belief

he should be encouraged to respect the views of others.

DEPARTMENT: SCIENCE YEARS 7 and 8 _

19

Year 7 8

Unit 1: Starting Science,

including learning

experimental skills that will

be used throughout the

school

Unit 2: Living things

Unit 3: Energy

Unit 4: Building blocks

Unit 5: Solutions

Unit 6: Cells/Reproduction

Unit 7: Adaptations

CASE – Cognitive

Acceleration through

Scientific Education.

Throughout year 7 your son

will study 1 lesson per

fortnight from the CASE

program. These lessons help

him to develop logical

thinking skills and learn key

scientific terminology and

techniques.

Each unit varies in length. They

are typically taught in the order

shown, however, this may vary

with classes who have more than

one teacher.

Biology

Unit B1: Environment

Unit B2: Muscles & Bones

Unit B3: Food & Digestion

Chemistry & Geology

Unit C1: Elements & Compounds

Unit C2: Metals & Earth Materials

Unit C3: Rates of Reaction

Physics

Unit P1: Forces & Motion

Unit P2: Heat Transfer

Unit P3: Sound and Waves

Each unit varies in length. There

are approximately equal number

of lessons for Biology, Chemistry

and Physics in Year 8. Unit 1s of

each subject are generally taught

first, followed by Unit 2s and then

3s, however, this may vary with

classes who have more than one

teacher.

What can parents do to support their sons?

Mrs Eastwell coordinates the work of the Science department in years 7 and 8. She asks

you to:

The AQA Collins KS3 Revision guide and question practice book will be available to

purchase in the Autumn Term, through parent pay. This book is highly recommended

as basic key notes for the GCSE AQA Science boards.

Help your son with the use of his Topic starter sheet as a guide to his current studies

and help monitor his progress. There is a communication section for parents and

teachers in the topic starter sheet for each unit.

Ensure independent study tasks are completed on time and done to the best of his

abilities.

Review your son’s targets and progress with each report or grade sheet.

Ask school/teachers any questions you need to know about the course.

Help your son relate what he has learnt in his Science lessons into the world around

him and how these issues affect decisions that society has to make, eg how we produce

energy, what foods we eat.

Key pieces of work will need to be proof read. Please help your son by pointing out any

spellings he needs to correct and make suggestions about what can be added or changed to

improve his work. If he uses sources to help him with his work, eg books, articles or the

internet, he should record these at the end of his work Dr Squire, Head of Science, encourages your son to take up, when appropriate, the extra

opportunities that are available in Science such as Science Clubs and competitions.

SEE SEPARATE PAGE FOR YEAR 9 SYLLABUS (Physics, Chemistry and Biology are taught as separate subjects from Year 9.)

DEPARTMENT: SCIENCE YEAR 9

20

Subject BIOLOGY CHEMISTRY PHYSICS

Term 1:

Photosynthesis

and Plant

Growth Respiration

2nd half of

Autumn Term, start GCSE

Cells

Term 1:

Organisation with

biological systems

Term 2:

Infection and

response

Term 1:

Acids, alkalis, salts

and precipitates

General chemical techniques, eg

thermal

decomposition,

exo/endo thermic

reaction

In Jan of Year

9, start GCSE

Study of

foundation Chemistry

Start Physics GCSE

Term 1:

Waves

Term 2 + 3:

Electricity

What can parents do to support their sons?

The GCSE courses are as follows:

Biology – AQA

Chemistry – AQA Specification 8462

http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/chemistry/specifications/AQA-8462-SP-2016.PDF Physics – AQA Specification 8463 http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse/physics-8463

Details about these can be found on the exam board websites.

In Biology pupils have access to the online text book and parents should encourage their sons to use it regularly.

DEPARTMENT: SPANISH_

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Year 7 8 9 Studied for half

the year

Topics

Greetings

Personal details

Alphabet

House & home

Family

Physical

descriptions

School subjects

Likes & dislikes at

school

Daily routine

Food & drink

Grammar

Nouns and Gender

Verbs in Present

tense

Likes and

Dislikes/justification

Impersonal verbs

Negation

Adjectival

agreement

Connectives

Reinforcement of

KS3 Literacy in

the target

language

Topics

Food & drink

Cooking

Spanish & South

American Cuisine

Shopping

Preferences in

fashion

Tourism & holidays

Going out & hobbies

Free time

Grammar

The present tense

Reflexive verbs

The preterite tense

Indirect/direct

object pronouns

The near future

tense

The real future

tense

More adjectives

Comparatives/

superlatives

Negation

1st year of the GCSE

Course

Topics include:

me, my family and

friends

Bullying

Family life

marriage and partnerships

daily routine

chores

past and present

relationships

technology in everyday

life

social media

social networking

mobile technology

free time and sports

TV/films

sports

pocket money

going out and socialising

Grammar

Present/Present continuous

preterite / future /

conditional and imperfect

tenses

Adjectival agreement

Articles / object

pronouns

para+ infinitve

Modal

verbs/structures

Comparative and

superlative

Persuasive language

Gustar and similar

impersonal verbs

Work is regularly assessed. Assessment is of reading, writing, listening, speaking.

What can parents do to support their sons? Miss Mattison, Head of Spanish, says:

Please check your son has completed his independent learning tasks and ensure he is using his

text book/vocabulary glossary to help. All vocabulary lists should be revisited regularly.

All grammar notes in your son’s exercise book should be regularly revisited.

There are excellent language websites on the Engine:

www.vocabexpress.com-vocabulary learning interactive learning tool

www.kerboodle.com (on-line text book; foundation in Year 9) Digibook and interactive resources

that accompany the AQA textbook.

www.languagesonline.org.uk :grammar and topic based vocabulary work

Any opportunity for your son to experience practising speaking Spanish would be a huge

confidence booster for him eg: visiting the country or participating in the Spanish exchange to

Barcelona in February and the summer trip to Barcelona.

22

DEPARTMENT: _TECHNOLOGY_________________________________

Y

e

a

r

7 8 9

Electronics Pupils will manufacture

a basic moisture

sensor.

Mechanisms

Pupils will manufacture

a mechanical automaton.

Product Design Pupils

will design and

manufacture a free standing sculpture

using Acrylic based on

Reflection. Food Technology

Pupils will learn the importance of

Hygiene and Safety.

Pupils will learn how

to follow recipes

accurately.

Graphic Products

Pupils will design

and manufacture

the packaging for a

chocolate bar.

Structures

Pupils will design,

build and test a medieval siege

engine.

Innovation

Pupils will experience

an innovation

challenge

Food Technology

Pupils will learn

about the

importance of

nutrition and

balanced diets. Food products will be

cooked to support

the theory.

Electronic Products

Pupils will work with

microcontroller

technology to design

and build an

electronic product.

Product Design

Pupils will complete

a self directed

design project that

is based on

calibration. This is

an applied Science

and Mathematics

project.

Food Technology

Pupils will work on a

multicultural project.

They will also develop

their practical skills

further and how to

use raising agents in

food products.

What can parents do to support their sons? Mr Baker, Head of Technology says:

There is a valuable web resource at www.technologystudent.com that provides animations and explanations of the things that are covered in lessons. Updated and useful links can be found on the Design and Technology section of the AGSB Engine

accessed via the website. More specifically in: Year 7: Use the website www.flying-pig.co.uk to help in the research of mechanisms for the

Automaton project. Assist in practising isometric sketching techniques. You can use www.printfreegraphpaper.com to generate isometric grid paper. Year 8: Visit http://andypsionfan.users.btopenworld.com/trebindex.html to assist in the research trebuchet designs.

23

Year 9: Download the PICAXE editor from www.rev-ed.co.uk/picaxe/ as this will allow your son to work on his software design at home. Any code that is generated can be uploaded to the engine and tested in class.

Monitor the work of your son during the Product Design tasks to ensure that work is being completed. These projects are designed to run like GCSE courses so that your son can make informed choices at options time. This means that they will be

responsible for many of the deadlines and target setting. Please reinforce the importance of meeting deadlines. Food Technology in Years 7,8 and 9:

It is important that your son participates in the practical lessons in Food Technology in order to develop basic skills. Each pupil will be given a recipe booklet to take home

so that you can help your son to be organised in ensuring that they have the correct ingredients for their lessons. Pupils should bring a suitable apron and container for each practical lesson. www.nutrition.org for information on healthy eating and researching independent learning tasks. www.bbcgoodfood.com for recipe ideas when designing products. www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk and www.bbc.co.uk/food for further research and

idea generation.

24

EXAMS, REPORTS AND PROGRESS SHEETS Exams Class tests will be carried out throughout the year as appropriate to individual

subjects. The formal school exams will take place in May for Years 7, 8 and 9.

Assessment at AGSB (Year 7 and 8)

How will your son be assessed? At the start of each unit of work pupils are given topic descriptor sheets which are attached to their exercise books. The

sheets detail the skills and knowledge that pupils must demonstrate to reach each category of achievement for that unit. The categories of achievement are

Secure (the highest category), Developing, Emerging and Foundation. These terms describe the pupil’s grasp of that unit of work. The pupil should be aiming

to demonstrate that he has acquired the knowledge and developed the skills that are listed in the topic descriptor sheet. Teachers will give feedback to pupils

throughout the unit and at the end of the unit of work the teacher will give an overall category for that unit. These categories have been carefully defined by

teachers to ensure that pupils are making the progress we would expect for pupils at AGSB.

Categories of achievement Specific details for subjects can be found in

exercise books, these descriptions are to be used as a general guideline only.

SECURE: Knowledge listed is secure. It can be applied appropriately and in detail. All skills demonstrated and applied accurately. DEVELOPING: Most of the knowledge is secure; some further learning is needed to secure all the knowledge. Most skills demonstrated, a few skills need further practise for secure and consistent application. EMERGING: Some knowledge acquired and applied appropriately but more learning is needed to develop a better grasp of the unit. Some skills evident but further practise needed to demonstrate they can be applied independently. FOUNDATION: Most of the knowledge and skills listed on the topic descriptor sheet have not been evident in this unit. More work is needed to revise the knowledge and skills so that they can be applied with consistency to demonstrate some grasp of the unit.

Reporting

School data is sent home three times per year in the form of two grade sheets and a report. These documents will inform you of the average category of

achievement your son has been awarded for the units of work studied up until that point in the academic year.

25

What can you do to help your son? If your son receives a lower category than he would like in his units of work in

Year 7 and 8, you can support him by encouraging him to review the topic descriptor sheets, redo work he is not happy with, review knowledge that is not

secure and practise skills that he does not use consistently. Finally, you can reinforce our message that the only limit to his success is how hard he is prepared

to work.

26

GCSEs, OPTIONS and CAREERS GUIDANCE During year 9 your son will begin his GCSE course in several subjects including

Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, PE, Religion and Philosophy and MFL. He will

not begin the GCSE courses in his other subjects, but he will be assessed using GCSE grades.

Every term teachers will report the grade your son is most likely to get at the

end of the GCSE qualification, if he continues to work at the standard seen so far. We call these projected grades. At this point your son will also be given a

target, this is the grade that he should be aiming for in his GCSEs. In Year 9, pupils have a series of Careers sessions in order prepare them initially to choose their GCSE options. They are introduced to decision- making, self-evaluation and information-gathering. They are encouraged to look ahead so that they can begin to consider their future options. Parents can support their sons by discussing careers and educational pathways so as to encourage aspirational thinking. In the Spring of Year 9 your son will be asked to choose which subjects he would

like to continue at GCSE level in addition to the compulsory subjects. You will be invited to a meeting, usually held in February each year, when the option

system will be explained to you. For more DAY TO DAY INFORMATION see the notes for parents that you are given on the Induction Evening in July and also your son’s planner which he

is given at the start of each school year in September. In addition, please refer to the school website where copies of letters that have

been sent home to whole school or whole year groups and other information is regularly posted.

27

REWARDS and SANCTIONS

Rewards

Commendations are given to award academic achievement and effort shown.

In addition, commendations may be awarded for service to the school. They are recorded on the appropriate page in your son’s planner and when he has

reached either, 20, 40, 60, 100, 150 and 200 commendations, a Head Master’s certificates will be presented to him. If a teacher is particularly impressed with how much progress a pupil has made

or how much effort they have put into their work, they might also be awarded

a postcard. This will be sent home in the post and five commendations will be awarded. For truly exceptional work boys can also be awarded Head Master’s

commendations. For these rare awards the pupils will be given 10 commendations.

Sanctions We encourage boys to respect each other and their surroundings. Some boys find this more difficult than others and some of you might find that your son has work to repeat or a detention to attend. You will be informed if an after school detention is to last more than 10 minutes. Teachers use a “yellow card” system for minor offences such as talking in lessons or failure to follow the dress code. Five or more “yellow card” offences during a half term triggers a Friday afternoon detention of 45 minutes. There are other sanctions including Heads of Year detention after school on

Friday and Saturday morning detention with the Head Master. Exclusion from the school is considered for very serious offences including bullying, drugs

related issues and theft. If boys are late for school in the morning or afternoon they will be marked in the register as late. If 5 lates are accrued during a half term they will receive

a Friday afternoon detention lasting half an hour. For a further 5 lates this will increase to 45 minutes and one hour for the next set of 5. Anything over this

will lead to a Saturday morning Head Master’s detention.

28

INDEPENDENT LEARNING TASKS

Your son will be asked to complete Independent Learning Tasks outside of the

classroom. The value of independent learning tasks is to set meaningful work

when appropriate rather than dictated by a timetable. We believe that the ‘one size fits all’ model does not encourage independence and challenge and we have,

therefore, introduced Independent Learning Tasks to foster self-reliance and the love of learning.

Each department have designed its own independent learning policy. This will

reflect the specific demands of the subject and rely on the professional judgement of those teachers within the department to achieve the end goals of

greater pupil autonomy as well as, allowing for diversity and creativity in the design of the tasks to be set.

Pupils will sometimes be asked to use sources such as books and websites to help them with their independent study tasks. It is very important that they

reference these sources in their work. For further information on how to do this, please see the “Be Wise Don’t Plagiarise” document.

At AGSB we also promote the importance of proof reading work at all levels –

please see the proof reading guidelines on the final page of this booklet.

29

Be wise don’t plagiarise

Active Learning involves READING, THINKING and UNDERSTANDING

in order to CREATE your own work and opinions.

To avoid plagiarism: If you use someone else’s work you must reference them in a list at

the end. Use quotation marks when directly stating another person's words.

After the quotation write their surname in brackets. If you are not using their words exactly, but you are using some of

their ideas you must also include them in the reference list.

KS3/ KS4: Referencing Book: Author (year of publication) Name of Book e.g. Hunt (1999) The Joy of Learning Other source (magazine, journal or newspaper): Author (year of publication) Name of article. Name of Magazine/ newspaper article e.g. Davis (2005) Are Computers taking over the world? The Guardian. Website: Title of website. Web address and date of access e.g. BBC Bitesize. www.bbcbitesize.co.uk (12 August 2012)

Anyone can

30

Choose your websites carefully:

AS/A2 Referencing For a book: Author (last name, initial). Date of publication. Title (in italics). Place. Publisher. EXAMPLE: Crystal, D. (2006) Words Words Words. Oxford. Oxford University Press.

For a Journal/Magazine article: Author (last name, initial). Date of publication. Article title in quotation marks. Title of publication in italics. Issue. Page numbers. EXAMPLE: Rollins, F. Winter 1997. "Snowboard Madness." Sports Stuff. Number 15, p.15-19. For the World Wide Web: Author (last name, initial). Date of publication, Title of webpage in italics. Website address. Date you looked at website. EXAMPLE: Weart, S. 2005, The discovery of global warming. www.aip.org/history/climate/timeline.htm viewed on 24th February 2012.

For more information go to

www.ofqual.gov.uk/plagiarism-students or call in at the Library.

Website

worth

using?

.com = international company

.org = non-profit organization (often a charity) .gov = government .co = company (.uk registered in the UK or .fr registered in France or .cn registered in China) .edu = education .ac = academic(often a university) .lib = library .net = a network of websites

Who is the author of the site?

Is contact information provided?

When was the page last updated?

When was the website created?

Is the site professionally designed?

27

You can ask someone else to proofread your work if you prefer (e.g. Parent, sibling or friend).

If you cannot find any errors you should write ‘proofread’ and sign your piece of extended writing in the coloured pen.

Use a different coloured pen to show your teacher the changes you have made to improve your work.

Proofread: S Hill