On this page you can find the curriculum notes for Year 8, for the Autumn , Spring and Summer Terms.

English

Within the Year 8 English curriculum there is constant graded development of the following which underpin all the English courses:

• Grammatical knowledge
• Handwriting
• Vocabulary development
• Sentence building
• Punctuation skills
• Essay planning, editing, presenting
• Reading skills
• Skills of listening and speaking
• Developing comprehension skills

Autumn Term

English

• Class text – theme ‘Relationships’
• Information texts
• Analysis of writers’ technique
• Poetry – poetic techniques
• Discursive writing
• Letter writing
• Persuasive writing
• Personal writing
• Book reviews

Sigma

• Tone
• Irony
• Humorous writing
• Satire
• Writing to explore
• Poetry – Hughes, Heaney
• Creative writing – setting the scene
• Play scripts
• Using your imagination
• The short story
• Vocabulary development
• Planning skills
• Punctuation

Maths

• Mensuration
• Symmetry transformations

• Fractions
• Averages, speed, distance & time
• Squares, cubes etc.
• Directed numbers & indices
• Equations & inequalities
• Angles

• Substitution
• Constructions
• Four rules

Sigma

• Revision of algebra

• Advanced algebra
• Percentage, profit & loss
• Transformations
• Probability
• Trigonometry

• Matrices

• + any further revision required and exam technique/practice

Science

Acids & Alkalis
Indicators, including plant extracts; the pH scale and pH values for strong/weak acids & alkalis & neutral substances; neutralisation & salt formation; common uses in medicine & agriculture; reactions of acids with metals & carbonates; chemical weathering.

Patterns of Reactivity
Reactions between metallic elements and water; displacement reactions between metals and metal sulphates to derive reactivity series; reduction of CuO with C; reaction between Mg and CO2; extraction of metals from their ores.

Sound and light
Relationship between volume & amplitude/pitch & frequency; sound used for communication & navigation/exploration; different hearing ranges in animals & people of different ages; calculation of the speed of sound; dangers of loud sounds. Law of reflection & application e.g. periscopes; refraction (non-quantitative); dispersion.

Respiration
Energy from food; equation for aerobic respiration; structure of the lungs & gas exchange; respiration in other animals and plants; anaerobic respiration in yeast and its role in alcohol production; fractional distillation of wine or beer.

FrenchTopics

• Preparation of 1st oral Topic for Common Entrance exam:  Moi et ma famille
  touching on subjects such as:
• Description of people
• Sports
• TV programmes
• New leisure activities
• Household chores
• Revision of topic of town and village Description of house and bedroom Daily RoutinePreparation of 2nd Oral topic for Common
• Entrance:  Ma maison et ma routin

Grammar and Syntax

• Intensive practice with verbs avoir, être, faire, aller, pouvoir and er, ir and re verbsExpressions with faire
• Use of infinitive

• Revision of reflexive verbs
• Revision of regular and irregular adjectives and their agreement
• Position of adjectives

• Negative expressions, ne plus, ne rien, ne jamais etc

Sigma

• Consolidation of Passé composé with exercises on
• Holiday activities

• School trip to Normandy

• Weekend activities
• The body and illnesses
• Expressions with avoir and être
• The weather and weather forecast
• Expressions with faire

• New vocabulary:  TV programmes, type of books…

• Current events

Grammar and Syntax

• Present participle

• Introduction and practice of the imperfect
• Use of past participle with expressions après avoir and après être

• Direct and indirect object pronouns

• Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns
• Verbs followed by a + infinitive or de + infinitive
• Relative pronouns
• Past tense of reflexive verbs

• Prepositions and conjunctions

• Comparatives and superlatives

• Use of depuis, être en train de, être sur le point de, venir de and au lieu de

History

The Making of the United Kingdom 1500-1750. Part II. The Stuart Era.

• James I – two kingdoms, one king

• James’ views on government
• James and Parliament
• The Gunpowder Plot
• The Pilgrim Fathers – an introduction to the Puritans

• The road to civil war – a background to simmering religious, political and economic problems
• The road to civil war- - an analysis of events
• The English Civil War – a research project

• Why did the English execute their king?

Geography

• Topic: Settlement Aim:  to study patterns of land use in MEDCs + LEDCs.  Look for differences/similarities.  Shanty towns etc.  Counter urbanisation/rural depopulation.
• Topic:  Weather and Climate
  Aim:  for pupils to understand the factors that influence our weather/climate.  To build a vocabulary and be able to interpret weather maps.

R.S.

Common Entrance syllabus

Parables                                                                     

The Christian response to racism and prejudice.

                                                  The Christian response to social responsibility. 

                                                  Miracles

                                                  Elijah and the prophets of Baal       

                                                               Examples of people who have stood up for ideals and beliefs in the contemporary world.

                                                   The teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Plain                                                      

                     Concept of a ‘Just War’.

                                                    Forgiveness and reconciliation.

                                                   Revision for the World Religions Paper

Sigma

Parables             

Racism and prejudice.

 Elijah and the prophets of Baal

              Materialism, contemporary ‘gods’.

              Post-modernism.

Jesus’ death and resurrection

              It’s significance to the Christian faith.

              Attitudes to death and beliefs about life after death. 

Classics

4 lessons a week and 1 prep

Main focus: preparation to sit Common Entrance

Course Books:  Set 1 Latin Prep Book 2
Set 2 Latin Prep Book 1

Background: the mythology CE topic and the Roman Army & Roman Britain CE topic.

Set 1

• Reinforcement of all work covered last year
• 3rd declension nounsThe future tenseDemonstrative pronouns
• Comparison of adjectives
• Level 1 vocabulary learning
• Background topic

Set 2

• Revision of present & imperfect
• Completion of perfect tense
• Revision of nouns & adjectives
• Level 1 vocabulary learning
• Background topic

ΣLatin

• 5 lessons a week and 1 prep

• Main focus:  preparation for individual scholarship examinations.
• Course Book:  Latin Prep Books 2 & 3
• Consolidation of work covered in the fifth form
• Various pronouns
• Comparison of adjectives
• The pluperfect tense
• Certain irregular verbs
• 3rd declension adjectives
• Introduction to the passive mood
• Participles
• Vocabulary learning

ΣGreek

• 3 lessons a week, 1 prep a fortnight
• Course Books:  Greek – A New Guide for Beginners, Kristian Waite; Greek for Beginners, L A Wilding
• Main focus:  to enable pupils to tackle their scholarships with confidence
• 1st & 2nd declension nouns
• The definite article
• The future tense
• The imperfect tense
• The Aorist
• 1st & 2nd declension adjectives
• The verb ‘to be’

• Vocabulary learning

Art

• An introduction to abstract artists.
• Exercises aimed at providing a variety of techniques to use in own abstract painting.  This will include looking at harmony, contrast, rhythm and repetition in paintings.  Also natural forms, landscapes and emotional responses.
• ‘Faces’ – understanding facial proportions.  Attempting a portrait using charcoal and pastels.
• Designing Christmas cards.

Music

• Composition with a given framework
• Extended Choral Work:  Alexander the Great
• Using orchestral instruments to accompany Alexander the Great

Design Technology

ICT in DT
In small groups make a short animated film using stop-motion and i-movie.

Sigma – Structures
Design and make a lamp using polypropylene to make the shade.

Drama

• (Play preparation)
• Space, place & atmosphere
• Dramatic styles

P.E.

• Swimming – 2 weeks. Synchronized swimming skills combine into small partner sequences. Basic water polo rules and competitive play.
• Badminton – 2 weeks
• Hockey – 2 weeks. Strategies and tactics in set plays. Competitive match play in mixed teams.
• Health and Fitness – 7 weeks. Knowledge and understanding of the elements of fitness and how to test for endurance, agility, flexibility, power and strength. What effects fitness and how to improve it. Sports related injuries.

Boys' Games

• Rugby – 15-a-side game developed
  8 man scrum.  8 man lineout.  Development from Year 7 set  of skills
  Overall analysis of performances and self evaluationRefereeing/laws/coaching.
• Football / Hockey – pre-season training begins in December with skills and practice matches
• Cross Country - Increase distance and difficulty
  Increased distance and difficulty Senior Course run every week – times recorded
• Fixtures and competitions - Relays

Girls' Games

• Hockey
  Training on astro-turf once a week – Wednesday matches. Refine and adapt existing skills. Respond to changing situations in the game. Set play development. Develop basic skills of defending to close down space, forcing errors and making decisions difficult for the attack. Positional play development.
• Netball
  Agility and co-ordination practices. Passing and catching drills. Intercepting. Circle work. Set passes. Competitive match play.
  Space and pace.
• Cross-Country
  Timed runs weekly on senior course.

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Spring Term

English

• Poetry
• Class text
• Identifying tone
• Effective essay planning
• Higher level reading skills
• Book reviews
• Persuasive writing
• Writing to inform
• Descriptive writing
• Discursive writing on fictional text

Sigma

• The Sonnet
• Autobiography – writing from your experience
• Summary writing
• Imaginative writing
• Writing to persuade
• Writing to analyse
• The language of advertising

Maths

• Sequences
• Lines of Equations
• Probability
• Significant Figures & Decimal Places
• Calculator work & Estimation
• Percentages
• Factors & Factorising
• Bearings
• Charts & Graphs
• Ratio & Proportion
• + for Papers II & IV
• Simultaneous equation
• Pythagorus

• Trial & improvement

Science

Pressure & Moments

Effect of changing the area over which a force acts; derivation of the equation for calculating pressure; examples of increasing/decreasing pressure, pressure effects in liquids & gases. How levers work; investigating turning forces, equation for moments; practical applications (e.g. crowbars, pliers, scissors); awareness of similar effects in body movements.

Electromagnets

Magnetic effects in a wire carrying an electric current. Creation of an electromagnet & investigation of the effect of changing current/number of coils.  Domestic/industrial uses of electromagnets.  Reed switches & reed relays.

Energy

Forms of energy ( kinetic energy, gravitational potential energy, strain (spring) potential energy, chemical potential energy, light

energy, heat energy, electrical energy); energy conversions represented by flow diagrams; Sun as the ultimate source of energy & its role in the water cycle & formation of wind & waves.

French

Topics

• Body and illnesses
• Going to the doctor’s
• School and school activities
• Numbers and Time
• Weather and weather forecast

• 3rd Oral topic for Common Entrance: Mon collège

Grammar & Syntax

• Expressions with avoir and revision of  faire

• Conjugation of devoir
• Partitive articles and use of de and d’ with negatives
• Use of aller + infinitive

• Direct object pronouns

Sigma

Topics

• Teenagers’ problems

• Problems one encounters when travelling abroad
• Natural disasters including fire, flood, droughts, global warming etc
• The weather and weather forecast

• Future plans and conditional

Grammar & Syntax

• Practice with past tenses including the pluperfect
• Direct and indirect object pronouns including  y and en
• Agreement of past participles with preceding direct object
• Consolidation of the negative with compound verbs
• Revision of avoir and negative expressions
• The future
• The conditional
• Disjunctive pronouns
• Possessive pronouns: le mien, le tien
• Relative clauses including those involving a prepositionUse of ce qui and ce que and lequel  and dont etc

History

• Oliver Cromwell. A case study. A reputation deserved?
• The Commonwealth and Protectorate: changes in government and religion
• The world turned upside down- radical religious and political thought in the English Republic.
• Why did the English restore the monarchy?
• Social history study: The Plague, Fire and the growth of London.
• Britain: a trading nation.

Sigma

Will broadly follow the course content as outlined above, but as Scholarship examinations occur earlier than Common Entrance, there will be times during the early Spring Term where we will examine the differing requirements of various scholarship papers as preparation. Also, there will be sessions where we will address past scholarship essay questions irectly. It is also my hope to enter as many individuals from Sigma as possible to the Townsend Warner History Competition in January, as I believe the demands of this competition will also help prepare this group for possible scholarship examinations.

Geography

Exam technique. Preparation for the mock exam. Looking for key works in questions.
Aim: to prepare pupils for the mock exam to give them exam practice in class and equip them with the skills to tackle the mock paper.
A review of the practice paper in class.
Topic: Managing the Environment
Aims: for pupils to understand what we mean by our environment, the effect that man has on the environment and what can be done to protect it. Focus on National Parks.

R.S.

• Revision of studied topics and practice of CE/Scholarship papers
• The crucifixion of Jesus
• The resurrection of Jesus

Classics

Set 1

• The Pluperfect tense
• possum
• is, ea, id Possessive adjectives
• 3rd declension adjectives
• Analysis of parts of speech
• Comprehension & translation practice  Level 2 vocabulary learning
• Background topic

Set 2

• Analysis of parts of speech
• Comprehension & translation practice
• Level 1 vocabulary learning
• Background Topic

ΣLatin

• More about participles
• More passive tenses
• 4th & 5th declension nouns
• Purpose clauses
• Expressions of time & place
• Indirect commands
• Indirect statements
• Deponent verbs
• Vocabulary learning

ΣGreek

• The Perfect tense
• The Pluperfect tense
• The Infinitive
• The Imperative
• αυτος
• 3rd declension nouns
• Syllabic and temporal augments
• Numerals
• Expressions of time

• Vocabulary learning

Art

• Themed still life.
• The study of Impressionism, especially pointillism.

Music

• Digital recording using a live microphone directly onto CD-ROM.
• Manipulation of recorded sound – to slow it down or to speed it up.
• Recording, typing, printing and performance of individual compositions.
• Typing and recording of individual compositions.

Design Technology

Structures
Design and make a unit of storage that incorporates at least one halving joint.

Sigma
Free Choice

Drama

Forum Theatre

• Script formatting and creation for ‘Play-in-a-Week’

P.E.

• Squash- All basic shots covered. Tactics. Scoring and match play.
• Basketball – Passing, catching, dribbling, shooting, tactics and match play.
• Badminton – Singles and doubles matches.

Boys' Games

• Football – 11 – a – side game (cont with Yr 7)
  Skill developed – turns, step-overs, Developed team tactics and strategies. Attacking and defending as a team. Possession work and closing down. Self analysis, reciprocal teaching, ICT use. Refereeing and coaching
• Hockey
  Self analysis of performances and development of skills as individuals, team members and as observers. Coaching and refereeing.

Girls' Games

• Netball
  Decision making. Design own passes. Video analysis. Set moves.
• Tennis
  Doubles and singles tactics. Ladder match play

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Summer Term

English

Review, as judged appropriate, of CE syllabus requirements
Practice papers

Sigma

• Selecting your material
• Planning review

Post Exam

• Poetry workshop
• Selection of material and production of Scripta Legenda

Maths

• CE Revision
• Exam practiceLeavers Programme

Science

Revision for Common Entrance

Revision through revisitng, reinforcing and extending topics covered previously.

French

Topics

• Holidays and holiday activities
• Shopping and Money
• Food and clothes vocabulary
• Visiting a tourist office

• Using public transport in France
• 4th Oral topic for Common Entrance:  Mes loisirs et mes vacances
• Introduction to the past tense

• Work on past papers.

Grammar and syntax

• The past tense

• Sentence construction
• Revision of all grammar and vocabulary learnt during the course.

• Preparation for Oral, and written exams.

Sigma

• Intensive practice with past papers

• Grammar exercises
• Essay writing
• Comprehension

• Practice with oral and listening exercises

History

• James II, the Glorious Revolution and the Jacobites.
• Government. An overview of changes 1500-1689.
• Preparation and revision for Common Entrance Examination

Sigma will broadly follow the course content as outlined above, but as Scholarship examinations occur earlier than Common Entrance, there will be times during the early Spring Term where we will examine the differing requirements of various scholarship papers as preparation. Also, there will be sessions where we will address past scholarship essay questions directly. It is also my hope to enter as many individuals from Sigma as possible to the Townsend Warner History Competition in January 2007 as I believe the demands of this competition will also help prepare this group for possible scholarship examinations.

Geography

Aim: to review the syllabus and fill in any gaps that pupils may have. This is also a good opportunity to consolidate what has been covered.

R.S.

Revision Programme

Sigma

Abortion and euthanasia

Classics

Set 1

• Final completion of Level 2 syllabusRevision and practice papers

Set 2

• Final completion of Level 1 syllabus
• Revision and practice papers

Σ LATIN

• Final round of scholarship preparationIndividual and group post-scholarship projects

Σ GREEK

• Final round of scholarship preparation
• Individual and group post-scholarship projects

Art

• Workshops with Georgina Beadman: designing and making ceramic table lamps.Lichtenstein and ‘Pop Art’.

Music

• Introduction to “The Orchestra” educational software
  
• Preparation of material for the Leavers’ Concert
• Performance – Leavers’ Concert

Design Technology

Free choice

Sigma

ICT in DT - Design and make a short animated film using stop-motion and i-movie

Drama

• Completion of scripts for ‘Play-in-a-week’

P.E.

• Swimming
  Time Trials. Fitness. Relay Practice. Water Polo.
• Tennis
  Development of Spin. Serve and Volley. Matches.
• Athletics
  Revision of Track and Field Events. Recording of Results.

Boys' Games

• Cricket continued with Year 7
  Bowling – attack and defence
  Fielding – wicket keeping – standing up and how to move in a game
  Overs matches/declaration games/competitions/ tournaments/tours (where possible) Self-analysis and evaluationUmpiring and coaching
• Athletics
  Full programme of events developed. Long distance and short distance. All throwing and jumping events (weights change through years). Competitions and events.
• Tennis
  Developing all aspects of the game and to use knowledge and skills to coach, evaluate and improve own and others performances

Girls' Games

• Rounders – Plan and implement strategies. Batting and Bowling Technique. Skill circuit.
• Tennis – Practice for school matches.
• Athletics – All Track and field safety and techniques.

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