Year 9

The Year 9 curriculum for 2023-24 will be as follows, delivered across a two week timetable in three 100 minute lessons per day:

Over a two week cycle, students will have the following number of lessons per subject area:

English	Maths	Science	Spanish	Technology	PE	Computing
5	5	5	3	2	2	2

History	Geography	Religious Studies	Music	Drama	Art
1	1	1	1	1	1

In Year 9, we offer a broad and balanced curriculum to ensure students have the best opportunity to decide which options subjects they are interested and inspired by. As a result, students can make informed choices when they select their options subjects over the course of the academic year.

The Year 9 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. 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.

What will all students learn in Year 9?

English

Unit 1: Novel (Of Mice and Men, Animal Farm or Lord of the Flies)
Unit 2: Justice and Morality (sources about the death penalty including pre-20th century non-fiction)
Unit 3: Poetry (representations of gender in poetry, feminist critical theory)
Unit 4: Shakespeare (Much Ado about Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet or Richard II)
Unit 5: Play (An Inspector Calls)

Maths

Half-term 1: Straight-line graphs; Forming and solving equations; Testing conjectures
Half-term 2: Three-dimensional shapes; Pythagoras’ Theorem
Half-term 3: Numbers; Using percentages; Maths and money
Half-term 4: Constructions and congruency; Deduction
Half-term 5: Rotation and translation; Enlargement and similarity; Solving ratio and proportion problems
Half-term 6: Rates; Probability; Algebraic representation

Science

Unit 1: Working scientifically
Unit 2: Energy stores and how to calculate energy efficiency
Unit 3: Introduction to chemistry – what are atoms?
Unit 4: Animal, plant and bacterial organisms and their structures
Unit 5: How did scientists discover the atom and organise the elements?
Unit 6: How do the heart and lungs work together?
Unit 7: How do we use the Earth’s resources?
Unit 8: How do particles behave in solids, liquids and gases?
Unit 9: What energy changes occur in chemical reactions?
Unit 10: How does the digestive system work to break down our food?

Spanish

Technology

Textiles

Unit 1 – Circular economy: The impact of plastic in the fashion industry with a focus on re-using plastic products in an effective way to create a textiles product. A range of plastic waste/products used to design a logo in the style of textiles artist Jessica Grady.
Unit 2 – Vivienne Westwood:Fashion activism: How fashion can be used to portray powerful messages. Exploring stencilling, hand embroidery, design ideas and fashion illustration. A final collection of clothing ideas are produced to raise awareness about a choice of world problems. A fashion campaign is created and presented around the chosen topic.

Food and Nutrition

Unit 1 – Macro and micro nutrients: lentil soup, pizza pinwheel, salmon and broccoli quiche. Nutritional profiling and its impact on future health. What affects food choice? Further development of evaluative skills.
Unit 2 – Dietary needs at different life stages: children, teenagers, adults and the elderly. Fish cakes, jambalaya, cottage pie, vegetarian chilli, toad in the hole. Meal planning. Nutritional profiling, links to target groups and impact on future health. Religious and cultural beliefs including vegetarianism. Food labelling including allergens. Food provenance including sustainability. British foods.
Unit 3 – Foods from around the world: Italy, Spain, India and China. Pizza, nutritionally infused pasta, risotto, baked eggs, biryani, sweet and sour chicken and a chicken noodle stir fry. This term develops both practical skills and confidence within the kitchen. The lessons develop food science knowledge and the function of key ingredients within every dish. Food provenance, fair trade, food miles, carbon footprint, sustainable farming methods, organic, free range and genetically modified foods.

3D Design/ Resistant Materials:

Unit 1: Sustainability and eco-design (practical: eco-treehouse). Modern and smart materials (theory)
Unit 2: Mini NEA – Understand a contextual challenge and analyse and evaluate existing products. Develop technical drawing skills by generating innovative designs to meet a users wants and needs. Using iterative design to create a final prototype.

Physical Education

Netball
Volleyball
Fitness Suite
Gymnastics
Handball
Basketball
Tag Rugby or Rugby
Football
Table tennis
Badminton
Dodgeball
Athletics
Summer Games

Business and Computing

Unit 1: business activity
Unit 2: programming (Python)
Unit 3: network security and threats
Unit 4: human resources
Unit 5: developing a marketing campaign
Unit 6: social media and web development

History

In all units, students will learn how to make chronological and thematic links, assess change and continuity, evaluate significance, and analyse and evaluate primary and secondary evidence, including different interpretations

Unit 1: Minority Rights in the USA
Unit 2: The Great War and Remembrance
Unit 3: The Russian Revolutions
Unit 4: Nazi Germany and the Holocaust
Unit 5: The Home Front in WW2

Geography

In all units, students will learn map skills (including OS maps and compass directions) numerical skills including data analysis, how to analyse graphs and how to use case studies and carry out investigations:

Unit 1: Development
Unit 2: Fieldwork Skills
Unit 3: Dark Tourism
Unit 4: Topical Geographical Issues
Unit 5: Natural Hazards

Religious Studies

Across these units, students will learn the key beliefs and practices of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Hinduism as well as considering their responses to philosophical and ethical dilemmas.

Unit 1: How should criminals be treated?
Unit 2: Is death the end?
Unit 3: What has religion got to do with medical ethics?
Unit 4: Can religion make the world equal?

Music

Over the course of the year, students will develop to a higher level and apply skills in musical theory through listening to Music, performing and composing.

Apply and express creatively their knowledge of the elements of music through appraising Music
Composing with more awareness of the criteria for different genres of Music using Keyboards and Computer software
Perform with more technical ability pieces using keyboards and ukuleles in an ensemble and as a solo
Study Popular Music, Trailblazers in Music, Music tech, Music for Stage, Screen and Media and Fusions

Drama

Musical Theatre
Pantomime
Researching careers within Drama and Performing Arts
Developing character creation skills
Embodying a characterisation and using a range of character development techniques
Working as a director and an actor to devise a play
Becoming confident in a range of acting skills
Delivering lines from a script to embody a role
Performance: Blood Brothers
Styles and genres of acting – Naturalistic, Brechtian, and Theatre In Education

Art

Topic 1: Clay tiles. Students will start with creating 3 different GCSE style artist research and response pages. They will then use developing skills to create a clay tile design inspired by their responses. Students will finally produce a 3D clay tile focused on steampunk, still life and under the sea.
Topic 2: Portraiture. Students will complete a mixed media teacher portrait , study Italian artist Doriana Popa then combine all skills and techniques to produce a digital drawing using Adobe Fresco.
Topic 3: Architecture. Students will study artist Ian Fennelly and create a range of architecture inspired experiments using a range of media such as fine liner, watercolour, printing and digital drawing. Students will then have the opportunity to reflect upon the project and produce a creative A3 final piece.