The Key Stage Four curriculum is designed to ensure that all students gain the necessary knowledge, experiences and skills to become curious, reflective and resilient learners who are ready to reach their potential in a complex, rapidly changing world. Our options process enables students to choose subjects according to their interests while remaining broad and balanced with the EBacc at the heart. Through our curriculum we take pride in all that we do, respect the thoughts, beliefs and personal qualities of others and seek to be the best we can be both personally and academically.

The Year 10 and 11 curriculum for 2023-24 will be as follows:

English Maths Science PE Option A Option B Option C Option D
5 5 6 2 3 3 3 3

The Year 10 and 11 curriculum is broad and ambitious and maintains students’ choices for further study or employment. All students will study either history or geography and French or Spanish. A very small number of students will receive additional lessons in English, maths and science in place of a modern foreign language. 

More detail about what students will learn in each subject can be found below.

What will all students learn in Year 10 and 11?

English 

Year 10

  • English Literature Paper 1: 19th Century Novel – A Christmas Carol or Frankenstein
  • English Language Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing – literary fiction
  • English Language Paper 2: Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives using source material for comparison
  • English Literature Paper 2 : Modern poetry – Study of 15 poems from the Power & Conflict AQA anthology as well as a range of unseen material

Year 11

  • Speaking and listening assessments
  • English Language Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing – literary fiction
  • English Language Paper 2: Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives using source material for comparison
  • English Literature Paper 2 : unseen poetry and Macbeth
  • English Literature Paper 2: An Inspector Calls revision
  • Post Easter holidays, classes will follow a bespoke programme of study to ensure revision is tailored to individual needs.

Maths

Year 10 

  • Half-term 1: Congruence and similarity; Right angled triangles 
  • Half-term 2: Equations and Inequalities; Simultaneous equations
  • Half-term 3: Probability; Graphs; Revision for pathway assessment
  • Half-term 4: 
    • Higher: Further equations and graphs
    • Foundation: Transformations; Constructions, loci and bearings
  • Half-term 5: 
    • Higher: Further algebra; Circle theorems
    • Foundation:Ratio and proportion; Multiplicative reasoning
  • Half-term 6: 
    • Higher: Further trigonometry; Sine and cosine rules
    • Foundation: Further percentages; Averages from a frequency table

Year 11

  • Half-term 1:
    • Higher: Further statistics;
    • Foundation: Circles, cylinders, cones and spheres
  • Half-term 2: 
    • Higher: Vectors and geometric proof
    • Foundation: Fractions and indices; Standard form;
  • Half-term 3: 
    • Higher: Proportion and graphs
    • Foundation: Further Algebra
  • From Half Term 4 (February half term) all Year 11 classes will follow a personalised curriculum determined by detailed exam analysis.

Science 

Students in Set 1 will take separate GCSEs in Biology, Chemistry and Physics. All other students will take the Trilogy Science qualification; worth two GCSEs, this course includes Biology, Chemistry and Physics units. As the two courses share significant content, students will be placed into science pathways at DC2 of Year 10 and from that point onwards, students on the separate science pathway will work at an accelerated pace.

Trilogy Science – Year 10

  • Chemistry of the atmosphere
  • Forces and motion
  • Infection and response
  • Metallic bonding and reactions to extract metals
  • Electricity 
  • Bioenergetics: factors affecting respiration and photosynthesis
  • Ions and ionic bonding and structure
  • Waves
  • Acids, alkalis and their reactions
  • Atomic structure and radioactivity
  • Ecology 

Trilogy Science – Year 11

  • Atomic structure and radioactivity
  • Covalent structure and bonding
  • Quantitative chemistry – calculating the amounts of atoms
  • Chemical analysis – testing for specific chemicals
  • Homeostasis: the control of internal conditions through the nervous system and hormonal systems
  • Measuring and calculating the rate of chemical reactions
  • Inheritance, variation and evolution: how do cells replicate and how can we predict patterns of inheritance?
  • Forces and motion: investigating Newton’s laws of motion
  • Organic chemistry: the structure of fuels and their uses 
  • Measuring and calculating the rate of chemical reactions
  • Magnetism: how do we use magnetic forces in motors electromagnets?
  • Homeostasis and response in animals

Separate science students (covered across Year 10 and 11)

  • Biology: Culturing microorganisms; monoclonal antibodies; plant disease; the brain; the eye; control of body temperature; maintaining water and nitrogen balance in the body; plant hormones; cloning; theory of evolution; speciation; genetics; decomposition; impact of environmental change; trophic levels; food production.
  • Chemistry: Properties of transition metals; bulk and surface properties of matter including nanoparticles; yield and atom economy of chemical reactions; Using concentrations of solutions in mol/dm3; use of amount of substance in relation to volumes of gases; titration; chemical cells and fuel cells; reactions and alkenes and alcohols; synthetic and naturally occurring polymers; identification of ions by chemical and spectroscopic means; using materials; the Haber process and the use of NPK fertilisers.
  • Physics: Pressure in gases; increasing the pressure of a gas; hazards and uses of radioactive emissions and background radiation; nuclear fission and fusion; moments, levers and gears; pressure and pressure differences in fluids; changes in momentum; reflection of waves; sound waves; waves for detection and exploration; lenses; visible light; black body radiation; loud speakers; induced potential, transformers and the national grid; space physics (the solar system, stars, satellites and red shift)
Trilogy Science – Year 10

  • Bioenergetics: factors affecting respiration and photosynthesis
  • Atomic structure and radioactivity
  • Chemical energy changes: exothermic and endothermic reactions
  • Chemical changes: what happens to a chemical during a chemical reaction?
  • Electricity: current, voltage and resistance
  • Homeostasis: the control of internal conditions through the nervous system and hormonal systems
  • Measuring and calculating the rate of chemical reactions
  • Properties of waves and the electromagnetic spectrum
  • Forces and motion: how and why do objects speed up, slow down or change direction?
  • Infectious disease: how do we stop the spread of disease and respond to infections in the body?
  • Organic chemistry: the structure of fuels and their uses 

Trilogy Science – Year 11

  • Chemical changes: what happens to a chemical during a chemical reaction?
  • Forces and motion: how and why do objects speed up, slow down or change direction?
  • Infectious disease: how do we stop the spread of disease and respond to infections in the body?
  • Forces and motion: investigating Newton’s laws of motion
  • Measuring and calculating the rate of chemical reactions
  • Chemical analysis: how can we test for specific chemicals?
  • Inheritance: how do cells replicate and how can we predict patterns of inheritance?
  • Chemistry of the atmosphere: how has the Earth’s atmosphere changed over time?
  • Evolution: How has life changed over time?
  • Magnetism: how do we use magnetic forces in motors electromagnets?
  • Using resources: where do we get our useful elements such as copper from?
  • Ecology studies: how can we estimate the sizes of populations of plants and animals?

Additional content for separate science students (covered across Year 10 and 11)

  • Biology: Culturing microorganisms; monoclonal antibodies; plant disease; the brain; the eye; control of body temperature; maintaining water and nitrogen balance in the body; plant hormones; cloning; theory of evolution; speciation; genetics; decomposition; impact of environmental change; trophic levels; food production.
  • Chemistry: Properties of transition metals; bulk and surface properties of matter including nanoparticles; yield and atom economy of chemical reactions; Using concentrations of solutions in mol/dm3; use of amount of substance in relation to volumes of gases; titration; chemical cells and fuel cells; reactions and alkenes and alcohols; synthetic and naturally occurring polymers; identification of ions by chemical and spectroscopic means; using materials; the Haber process and the use of NPK fertilisers.
  • Physics: Pressure in gases; increasing the pressure of a gas; hazards and uses of radioactive emissions and background radiation; nuclear fission and fusion; moments, levers and gears; pressure and pressure differences in fluids; changes in momentum; reflection of waves; sound waves; waves for detection and exploration; lenses; visible light; black body radiation; loud speakers; induced potential, transformers and the national grid; space physics (the solar system, stars, satellites and red shift)

For details of all options courses please see the Options Guide, p16 onwards below