Key Stage Three

Subjects

Key Stage 3 is the first three years of secondary education. It ends with the Nationwide SATs examinations that are an important precursor to the GCSE’s. These grades are used as indicators to the grade quality of a pupil. Therefore, this penultimate stage in a child’s secondary education is structured around achieving a more academic quality to knowledge. This culminates towards more successful GCSE grades, and hopefully, higher educational aspirations.

English

Reading

Comprehension – Understanding more complex texts and beginning to explore the area of sub-textual connotation (textual theory), especially within older texts i.e. Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
English Literature – Understanding a cross-section of topics based on Classic English literature and poetry. Includes recognising cultural references, working with language differences (meaning of words), Themes, Topics and Imagery.
Cultural Reading – Texts of different cultural and ethnic background.
Media Texts – Analysing visual differences of layout, structure and language between media-based texts (newspaper/ magazine articles).

Writing

Composition – Extensive use of grammar and application of style and form according to type of text. Understanding target audience, different texts and their effects
Formal and Informal Writing – Distinguishing different types of essay writing i.e. Descriptive, Factual, Controversial, Imaginative, Report, Article, Review and Letter Writing.
Punctuation and Spelling
Standard English and Language Structure – Grammar, Vocabulary and Spelling.

Mathematics

Year 7

Logic – two-way tables, sets and Venn diagrams
Arithmetic: Place Value – whole numbers, decimals
Graphs – directed numbers on number line, coordinates
Arithmetic: Addition and Subtraction of Decimals – money
Angles – basic geometry
Arithmetic: Multiplication of Decimals – whole numbers and decimals; money
Number Patterns and Sequences – nth term formulae
Arithmetic: Division of Decimals – whole numbers and decimals; money
Area and Perimeter – squares, rectangles, triangles
Arithmetic: Fractions – fundamental concepts
Data Collection and Presentation – collection, organisation and display
Arithmetic: Revision – recap of four rules for whole numbers, decimals, money
Searching for Patterns – nth terms for geometric sequences
Time, Timetables and Mileage Charts
Arithmetic: Negative Numbers – four rules
Algebra – linear equations
Arithmetic: Decimals and Fractions – conversion
Discrete Quantitative Data – organisation and analysis
Scale Drawing – lengths and angles
Arithmetic: Fractions – four rules
Probability of One Event – including addition law
Volume – cubes, cuboids, triangular prisms; capacity, density

Year 8

Mathematical Diagrams (extension to critical path analysis)
Factors
Pythagoras’ Theorem
Rounding and Estimating
Data Analysis – mode, median, mean, range for discrete ungrouped frequency
Nets and Surface Area
Ratio and Proportion (extension to inverse proportion)
Algebra: Brackets (extension to two brackets)
Arithmetic: Fractions and Percentages (extension to reverse problems)
Probability – Two Events – multiplication law, tree diagrams (extension to conditional probability)
Angles, Bearings and Maps – scale drawings
Formulae – including change of subject
Money and Time
Straight Line Graphs – linear extrapolation, correlation
Polygons – classification of quadrilaterals
Circles and Cylinders
Units of Measure – metric and imperial units
Speed, Distance and Time – distance/time and speed/time graphs
Similarity
Questionnaires and Analysis

Year 9

Base Arithmetic
Basic Operations
Indices and Standard Form
Fractions and Percentages
Linear Graphs and Equations
Probability
Transformations
Statistical Diagrams
Area, Perimeter and Volume
Sequences
Algebraic Manipulation
Angles, Constructions and Loci
Graphs, Equations and Inequalities
Estimation and Approximation
Trigonometry
Cumulative Frequency
Quadratic Functions
Sampling

Science

Unit 7

Unit 7A: Cells
Unit 7B. Reproduction
Unit 7C. Environment and feeding relationships
Unit 7D. Variation and classification
Unit 7E. Acids and alkalis
Unit 7F. Simple chemical reactions
Unit 7G. Particle model of solids, liquids and gases
Unit 7H. Solutions
Unit 7I. Energy resources
Unit 7J. Electrical circuits
Unit 7K. Forces and their effects
Unit 7L. The solar system and beyond

Unit 8

Unit 8A. Food and digestion
Unit 8B. Respiration
Unit 8C. Microbes and disease
Unit 8D. Ecological relationships
Unit 8E. Atoms and elements
Unit 8F. Compounds and mixtures
Unit 8G. Rocks and weathering
Unit 8H. The rock cycle
Unit 8I. Heating and cooling
Unit 8J. Magnets and electromagnets
Unit 8K. Light
Unit 8L. Sound and hearing

Unit 9

Unit 9A. Inheritance and selection
Unit 9B. Fit and healthy
Unit 9C. Plants and photosynthesis
Unit 9D. Plants for food
Unit 9E. Reactions of metals and metal compounds
Unit 9F. Patterns of reactivity
Unit 9G. Environmental chemistry
Unit 9H. Using chemistry
Unit 9I. Energy and electricity
Unit 9J. Gravity and space
Unit 9K. Speeding up
Unit 9L. Pressure and moments
Unit 9M. Investigating scientific questions