Key Stage Four

New GCSE Grade 9-1

New GCSE Maths and English courses started in September 2015, and other subjects (including GCSE Science) followed in 2016. The new courses are more challenging than ever, with all the exams set at the end of Year 11. There’s even a new ‘9-1’ grading system, where Grade 9 will be reserved for the very top tier of students. 

Subjects

Below is a list of Key Stage 4 areas that we offer tuition in. These are based on the National Curriculum and are included in their appropriate criteria. En1 and Ma1 are not included, as they represent any coursework that has been done in that subject.

Mathematics

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English

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Science

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English

Reading

 

  • Comprehension – Using advanced skills for comparing, summarising and quoting from a text. Identifying thematic patterns and textual imagery within fiction and non-fiction. Mastering close-reading in a variety of different textual forms i.e. media articles, travel writing and other cultures and traditions. Showing an understanding of the given text by presenting relevant quotes and commenting on their values within the text.
  • English Literature – A selection of poetry, drama and fiction (Syllabus varies)
  • Media Texts – Identifying different textual approaches of articles and how this affects and manipulates the reader.

Writing

 

  • Composition – Different types of essay planning
  • Audience and Structure – learning to modify language to fit a certain target audience. Structuring information to the purpose of the text i.e. informative, persuading, describing, narrating or analysing.
  • Standard English – Grammar, tense (Past, Present, Continuous), punctuation, paragraphs, nouns and pronouns, apostrophes, adjectives, colons and semi-colons

Exam Boards for English

Key Stage 4
English Language (8700)
English Literature (8702)
Key Stage 4
English Language
English Literature
Key Stage 4
English Language
English Literature

Mathematics

Numerals

 

  • Multiples/ Factors/ Prime Numbers/ Square, Cube and Root Numbers
  • Standard Index Form (Calculator and Non-Calculator)
  • Rational and Irrational Numbers
  • Speed and Density
  • Ratio and Proportion
  • Decimals, Fractions and Percentages (Percentage change/ Quantity)
  • Recurring Decimals
  • Calculator and Non-Calculator Method of Solving Fractions
  • Approximation and Estimation (Rounding)
  • Algebra (Expressing, Simplifying, Factorising, Multiplying and Dividing Expressions)
  • Solving Equations (Quadratic, Simultaneous)
  • Formulae (Writing, Substituting and Rearranging Expressions)
  • Number Sequences
  • Graphs : Line Graphs/Linear Equations, Distance-Time Graphs and Speed-Time Graphs

Shape, Space and Measure

 

  • Angles and 2D Shapes
  • Triangles, Quadrilaterals and Polygons
  • Tessellations
  • Symmetry (Rotational)
  • Circles and their Properties
  • Area, Perimeter and Circumference
  • Maps and Bearings
  • Scale Drawings
  • Locus
  • Reflection and Rotation
  • Translation and Enlargement
  • Pythagoras’s Theorem and Trigonometry (Sine, Cosine and Tangent)
  • Linear and Non-Linear Functions
  • Volume, Mass and Capacity

Handling Data

 

  • Primary and Secondary Data
  • Questionnaires and Databases
  • Two-way tables
  • Average and Range (using diagrams)
  • Bar and Pie Charts
  • Stem and Leaf Diagrams
  • Scatter Graphs
  • Correlation and Line of Best Fit
  • Cumulative Frequency Tables and Graphs
  • Calculating Probability

Exam Boards for Mathematics

Key Stage 4
Mathematics (8300)
Key Stage 4
Mathematics
Key Stage 4
Mathematics

Science

When it comes to science, different exam boards offer different exams and programs. Check out the links below to learn more or feel free to contact us with any questions you might have.

Key Stage 4
Biology (8461)
Chemistry (8462)
Physics (8462)
Combine Science Trilogy
Combined Science Synergy
Key Stage 4
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Combined Science
Key Stage 4
Gateway Science Biology A
21st Century Science Biology B
Gateway Science Chemistry A
21st Century Science Chemistry B
Gateway Science Physics A
21st Century Science Physics B
Gateway Combined Science A
21 st Century Combined Sci.. B

Old Science

There are three different sections within science for Key Stage 4

Core Science

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Additional Science

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Triple Science

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Core Science

Biology

 

  • Keeping healthy
    Diet and exercise, defending against infection
    Nerves and hormones
    The nervous system, control in the human body, control in plants
  • The use and abuse of drugs
    Drugs
    Interdependence and adaptation
    Adaptations, environmental change
  • Food chains, energy, biomass and cycles
    Energy in biomass, the carbon cycle
    Genetic variation and its control
    Why organisms are different, reproduction
  • Evolution
    Theories of evolution

Chemistry

 

  • Fundamental ideas in chemistry
    Atoms, the periodic table, chemical reactions
  • Limestone and building materials
    Calcium carbonate
    Metals and their uses
    Extracting metals and making alloys
  • Crude oil and fuels
    Separating crude oil, hydrocarbons as fuels
    Useful substances from crude oil
    Alkenes, polymers and ethanol
  • Plant oils and their uses
    Vegetable oils, emulsions and hydrogenation
    Changes in the Earth and its atmosphereThe Earth’s crust, the Earth’s atmosphere

Physics

 

  • Heating and cooling
    Energy transfer by heating, buildings
    Energy and efficiency
    Energy transfers and efficiency, electrical appliances
  • Mains electricity
    Generating electricity
    Waves
    General properties of waves sound and light
  • Origins of the Universe
    Red-shift

Additional Science

Biology

 

  • Cells and simple cell transport
  • Tissues, organs and organ systems
  • Organs in animals, Organs in plants
  • Photosynthesis
  • Organisms and their environment
  • Distribution of organisms
  • Proteins and enzymes
  • Respiration
  • Aerobic and anaerobic respiration
  • Cell division and inheritance
  • DNA and cell division, Genetic variation and genetic disorders
  • SpeciationOld and new species

Chemistry

 

  • Structure and bonding
  • Ionic bonding, Covalent bonding, Structure properties and uses
  • Atomic structure, Analysing substances, Quantitative chemistry
  • Rates of reaction
  • Exothermic and endothermic reactions
  • Acids, bases and salts
  • Electrolysis

Physics

 

  • Forces and their effects
  • Resultant forces, Forces and motion, Forces and braking, Forces and terminal velocity, Forces and elasticity
  • Kinetic energy
  • Forces and energy, Momentum
  • Electricity, Static electricity, Current and voltage in electrical circuits, Resistance, Household electricity, Charge, current and power
  • Atomic structure, Nuclear radiation, Nuclear fission and fusion
  • Life cycles of stars

AQA Further Additional Science

Biology

 

  • Movement of molecules in and out of cells
  • Dissolved substances, Gaseous exchange in the lungs, Exchange systems in plants
  • Transport systems in plants and animals
  • The blood system, The blood, Transport systems and processes in plants
  • Homeostasis
  • Removal of waste and water control, Temperature control, Blood sugar control
  • Humans and their environment
  • Waste from human activity, Deforestation and the destruction of areas of peat, Biofuels and Food production

Chemistry

 

  • The periodic table
  • The early periodic table, The modern periodic table, Trends within the periodic table
  • Water
  • Hard and soft water, Purifying water
  • Calculating and explaining energy changes
  • Energy from reactions
  • Further analysis and quantitative chemistry
  • Analysing substances
  • The production of ammonia
  • Making ammonia
  • Alcohols, carboxylic acids and esters
  • Alcohols, Carboxylic acids, Esters

Physics

  • Medical applications of physics
  • X-rays, Ultrasound, Lenses, The eye, Other applications using light
  • Using physics to make things work
  • Centre of mass, Moments, Hydraulics, Circular motion
  • Keeping things moving
  • The motor effect and Transformers