During the first three years (7-9) at The Corbet School, all students follow a similar course, designed to give a sound general education and to provide the base upon which the more specialised studies in Years 10& 11.
All pupils in Year 7 will be allocated a language to study (French or Spanish). They will study this one language for the rest of their time at school resulting in a GCSE qualification.
Most lessons in the first two years will be taught in mixed-ability groups. However, the three core subjects; English, Maths and Science will be taught in ability groups. Maths and English will assign pupils to sets prior to commencement of secondary school, and science will assign pupils to sets within the first term.
In year 9, we support students and their parents in making choices from a range of GCSE courses to study in years 10 and 11.
All pupils in KS3 will take: (for further information on topics covered by each subject please click on the subject title):
Year 7
Autumn term – Childhood.
Students look at a variety of extracts from authors such as Charles Dickens and Roald Dahl exploring how childhood memories can be communicated through literature.
Spring term – Language Through Time.
From cave paintings to the use of emojis this topic explores how and why language changes over time and the impact this has on modern society.
Summer term – Wonderland.
With Alice in Wonderland as the set text, students will delve in to the realm of make believe and discover Lewis Carrol’s weird and wonderful characters.
Year 8
Autumn term – Gothic.
Students explore the creation of the genre, influential texts such as Shelley’s Frankenstein and create their own gothic-inspired short stories.
Spring term – Education.
A variety of extracts from texts such as Cider with Rosie are studied to widen students’ knowledge of how education has transformed over time. The set text, Our Day Out, offers a chance for speaking and listening activities as well as role play.
Summer term – Conflict.
Students read and analyse some of the most powerful pieces of poetry that survived wars from both past and present. They will also complete an author study on Wilfred Owen and learn about how his encounters with established writers such as Sassoon shaped his writing.
Year 9
Autumn term – Out of this World.
Dystopian fiction is an ever growing genre; this unit provides the opportunity for students to learn about the conventions of the genre as well as completing a film study to see how these features can be communicated through film.
Spring term – Relationships.
During this unit students explore a broad range of text types such as prose, poetry and scripts. Influential relationships in fiction are analysed including Miss Havisham’s life of isolation and Romeo & Juliet’s romance and the conflicts they experience with their families.
Summer term – Journeys.
During this unit students study a text that explores a character’s journey to finding their new life. They will look at a variety of themes such as discrimination, identity and modern life.
The mathematics topics are as follows –
Year 7
- Shape
- Negative Numbers
- Algebra 1
- Angle
- Number Patterns
- 3D
- Equations
- Graphs
- Area
- Probability
- Whole Number
- Transformations
- Algebra 2
- Statistics
- Arithmetic
- Decimals
- Fractions
- Rounding
- Fractions, decimals and %
- Ratio
- Fractions and %
- Measures
Year 8
- Transformations
- Equations 1
- Statistics 1
- Algebra 1
- Units of measurement
- Probability
- Algebra 2
- Area
- Graphs
- Equations 2
- Area and volume
- Algebra 3
- Angle
- Statistics 2
- Graphs 2
- Negative Numbers
- Indices
- Fractions
- Arithmetic 1
- Approximations
- Ratio
- Number properties
- Fractions, decimals and %
Year 9
- Number
- Constructions
- Graphs
- Ratio
- Real Life Graphs
- Number Properties
- Algebra 1
- Fractions, decimals, %
- Shape
- Equations
- Perimeter and area
- Pythagoras’ theorem
- Angle
- Percentages
- Sequences
- Probability
- Transformations
- Equations and graphs
- Statistics
- Area and volume
- Trigonometry
We also develop ws, HSW, numeracy and careers across all KS3.
The year 7 computing topics are as follows –
- Digital Literacy
- E-Safety
- Spreadsheets
- Introduction to Computer Science
- Programming with Microbits
The year 8 computing topics are –
- Computer Crime and Cyber Security
- Networks
- Algorithms
- Programming in Small Basic
- Game Making / Programming / with Microbits
The year 9 computing topics are –
- Networks
- Algorithms
- Programming in Python
- Video and Sound Editing
- Office & Web Searching Skills
Year 7
- Food:
In Year 7 students develop basic cooking skills. Topics include food hygiene, health and safety and an investigation into the environmental issues relating to food. Students will cook a variety of savoury and sweet dishes with an emphasis on eating a healthy balanced diet.
- Textiles:
Cotton tote bag
Students will design and make a cotton tote bag. Within this brief they will use the theme of ‘doodle art’ as a basis for their design ideas. They will tie dye a piece of fabric and create a pocket for the front of their bag. They will learn basic hand sewing skills and then use the sewing machines to construct their bags. The decoration will be applied using fabric pens and will incorporate the theme of doodle art.
- Product Design:
Travel game
Students will design and make a travel game to a given theme. They will research and develop a brief, develop a specification and from this generate ideas for designs. Using CAD (computer aided design) software they model and test their designs, before finishing their designed product. Pupils will learn about the properties and uses of a range of timbers and manufactured boards.
Wooden truck project
Students will learn to develop basic design communication skills including sketching, drawing controlled lines, 3D sketching, annotation, emphasising key points and knowing which points to highlight to get their design ideas across. Pupils will also learn how to use a range of workshop tools and equipment safely to make quality products.
Metal key tag
Students design and make a metal key tag. They will use a range of metal working tools and equipment and learn about the properties and uses of metals and alloys.
Year 8
- Food:
Building on the skills taught in year 7 students will learn about the function of nutrients in their diet and the importance of eating a healthy balanced diet. Students will develop their practical skills by cooking more complex dishes.
- Textiles:
Creative techniques – soft sculpture of a crisp packet
Students will research different types of soft sculpture before using a current artist to inspire them to create a soft sculpture of a crisp packet. This will allow them to focus on hand sewing techniques and applique. They will also use CAD/CAM to create the lettering for their crisp packet and develop their sewing machine skills further when using them to construct their design.
- Product design:
Bottle opener
Building on the knowledge and skills pupils learned in year 7, they will further develop their skills in working with metals. They will model and test their designs to develop an ergonomically designed handle for a bottle opener and will then go to make the metal part and use heat treatment techniques to protect the metal.
Bluetooth amplifier
Students will design and make a Bluetooth amplifier incorporating recyclable materials. Students will investigate the use of non-sustainable and sustainable materials in design and look at the impact of these on the world’s resources. Students are asked to use ‘Responsible design’ in their work which involves thinking about what happens to a product at the end of its useful life.
Crumble programmable microcontrollers
Students will use programmable kits to build buggies, robots, alarms and other sensing circuits. Students are given the opportunity to respond to real world scenarios e.g. flooding, then design and model working prototypes/systems to solve these problems.
Year 9
- Food:
The practical elements of the year 9 food syllabus focus on enabling students to plan, prepare and cook meals independently. Theory topics focus on factors that influence what we choose to eat and help prepare students who may wish to study food at GCSE level.
- Textiles:
Personal project – Inspirational people cushion cover
Students will be using lots of different creative techniques to model a variety of repeat print patterns. This will develop further when they choose their own inspirational theme. They then go on to research their own theme helping them develop ownership of the project and allow them to be creative. The theme must then be applied to fabric and constructed into a cushion cover. The main focus is how to develop an idea and create a final piece.
- Product design:
Colour changing lamp
Students design and make a USB powered lamp based on a theme or design style. Students will investigate decorative and functional lighting; develop design ideas, model, and test their designs and make their final product. Students are encouraged to use the full repertoire of skills and techniques they have developed during years 7 and 8 including CAD/CAM (computer aided manufacture)
Jewellery design and packaging
Developing skills in CAD/CAM, pupils will make a laser cut mould which will allow them to make a pewter cast item of jewellery. Students will then develop the packaging together with graphic designs to go onto the packaging and evaluate their finished product.
YEAR 7
In year 7 pupil experience units of work on: storytelling (Jack and the Beanstalk); body language; spontaneous improvisation; Rose Blanche; evacuees; using soundscape; and a cross curricular unit with music and art on William Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
YEAR 8
In year 8 pupils experience units of work on: melodrama; pantomime; externalised conscience (Jo); status; David Almond’s the Savage; using tableaux to stimulate performance.
Year 9
In year 9 pupils experience units of work on: soap opera; Greek theatre; Hillsborough; The First World War; ritual drama; Shakespeare’s The Seven Ages of Man speech from As You Like It; mountain language (based on Harold Pinter); protest and persuasion; and, Charles Causley’s What Has Happened to Lulu. In year 9 pupils will also produce their own final piece of drama based on a stimulus.
Year 7
Monarchs, Monks and Migrants
Exploring the origins of Britain through the monarchy, church and migration of peoples.
Year 8
Cavaliers, Colonies and Coal
Looking at English Civil war, British expansion around the world including the slave trade and the industrial revolution.
Year 9
Trenches, Treaties and Terror
Exploring the First World War, looking at the 1930's and the emergence of extreme regimes in Europe which led to WWII and looking at the events of the Second World War.
The year 7 Geography topics are as follows –
- Map & Atlas Skills
- Rocks & Resources
- The UK
- The Rural Environment
- Rivers
- Enquiry Skills
The year 8 Geography topics are –
- Europe
- Weather & Climate
- Population Change
- Ice on the Land
- Volcanoes & Earthquakes
- Tourism
The year 9 Geography topics are –
- Globalisation
- Coasts
- The Development Gap
- Middle East
- Ecosystems
- Urban Environments
All pupils in Year 7 will be allocated a language to study (French or Spanish). They will study one language for the rest of their time at school resulting in a GCSE qualification at the end of Year 11.
KS3 Overview
A streamlined selection of key language patterns will be taught with an emphasis on repetition, recycling, and rehearsing with most teaching and learning activities linked to sentence builders. Pupils will learn phrases or chunks with a long-term aim of internalising the target language. Listening and reading activities (receptive skills) will be used to introduce new language patterns. Speaking and writing activities will consolidate and strengthen these new structures, with a view to pupils being able to speak and write with greater spontaneity and confidence (productive skills).
Interleaving (referring to key language patterns and chunks on a regular basis) will be an essential part of teaching, giving pupils plenty of opportunity to recycle language from parts of the term or year. Teachers will follow Dr Gianfranco Conti’s MARSEARS approach over the course of years 7 to 9, thus the aim of our curriculum design is increased spontaneity and internalization of language.
The music curriculum at The Corbet School is designed to:
- engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music through broad, balanced and comprehensive study.
- increase self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement.
- allow pupils to develop a critical engagement with music.
Specifically, lessons are structured for pupils to:
- perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions.
- develop their vocal and instrumental skills (solo & ensemble) with a focus on fluency, accuracy and expressiveness.
- create and compose music on their own and with others.
- use technology appropriately
- understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated from a range of composers and musicians
- become familiar with the musical elements: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations in a range of genres and traditions.
A range of extracurricular activities are available throughout the week that pupils can attend to further their musical experiences at The Corbet School. Performance platforms occur throughout the year to allow pupils to develop their confidence to perform and raise the profile of the subject amongst the student body. All pupils are given the opportunity to learn a musical instrument should they wish to do so.
Year 7
In Year 7 this includes units of work on:
- Carnival of the Animals
- Keyboard & Notation
- Samba
- Tempest
- Fanfares
- O Fortuna
Year 8
In Year 8 this includes units of work on:
- The Blues
- Gamelan
- Indian Music
- I Need a Dollar
- Film Music
- Stand By Me
Year 9
In year 9 this includes units of work on:
- Minimalism
- Reggae
- Chromaticism
- Four Chord Song
- Valerie
- Pop composing
Year 7
- Netball,
- Football
- Rugby
- Fitness
- Basketball
- Gymnastics
- Tennis
- Striking and Fielding
- Athletics
Year 8
- Netball
- Football
- Rugby
- Fitness
- Basketball
- Gymnastics
- Tennis
- Striking and Fielding
- Athletics
Year 9
- Netball
- Football
- Rugby
- Fitness
- Badminton
- Table Tennis
- Tennis
- Striking and Fielding
- Athletics
- Theory
RE at KS3 is based on two assessment objectives. AO1 and AO2.
Assessment Objective 1 skills include being able to describe, explain and analyse, using knowledge and understanding. Learning about religion.
Assessment objective 2 skills include being able to use evidence and reasoned argument to express and evaluate personal responses, informed insights, and differing viewpoints. Learning from religion.
Below is a list of the topics we study in each year of KS3.
Year 7
- Belief and Belonging
- Christianity
- Religious Stories
- Buddhism
- Ethical Issues
Year 8
- Rites of passage
- Judaism
- Codes for life
- Being Muslim in Britain
- Hinduism
- Spirited Arts
Year 9
- Philosophy of God
- The Holocaust
- Prejudice and Discrimination
- Relationships
- Life after Death
