Life in Key Stage 3 (Years 7–9)
Morning: A Positive Start
The day begins at 8:30am with students being welcomed by senior staff and popping their coats and bags in their lockers before registration and tutor time at 8:35am. Students may arrive from 8am to purchase breakfast from our canteen, meet with friends or join in an early morning club.
During tutor time students meet with their form tutor who can support them both academically and pastorally. Sessions might include current affairs, wellbeing topics, quizzes or time for silent reading. Each year group will have at least one assembly each week which will be led by the Head of Year or another senior member of staff. The assembly annual plan schedules a wide range of thought provoking topics, celebration days, charity and house items and news from around the school.
Lessons
KS3 students follow a broad and balanced curriculum including:
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English, Maths, Science
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Humanities: History, Geography, Religious Studies
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Languages: French, Spanish or German
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Creative Arts: Art, Drama, Music
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Design Technology DT, Textiles, Food & Nutrition
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Computing
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Physical Education
- PSE
Lessons are one hour long, with a mix of practical and theory-based learning designed to spark curiosity and build core skills. When walking around the school you may see classes held outside in our ampitheatre or students completing experiments and observations around our leafy grounds and in our secluded quadrangles.
Most lessons in KS3 are taught in tutor groups. We operate a rotation in DT which allows students to try out all the different subject areas such as textiles, resistent materials and nutrition, as well as an opportunity to learn with and get to know peers outside of their tutor group.
As part of their school equipment, students are required to have a chromebook or borrow one from their key stage hub. The majority of students buy the own chromebook as it is a helpful tool for lessons and homework.
Break & Lunchtime
Students enjoy a 20-minute break mid-morning and a longer lunch break at 12:25pm. Our canteen offers hot meals, snacks, grab and go items, salads, sandwiches and panini. Many students also take part in lunchtime clubs – from crochet to choir, netball to journalism.
It would not be unusual for their to be house events taking place such as the Bake-Off Challenge and charity fundraising events, or student leadership meetings occuring such as our student parliament.
Afternoon Learning
Afternoon lessons continue the vibrant pace of the day. Lessons often include group work, discussion, and independent tasks. We are committed to ensuring our students gain the computing skills needed for today’s job market so students will be using their chromebooks as an integrated part of learning. We also value and ensure traditional teaching methods take place, so seeing our students writing prose, finding a new book in our library or learning how to paint with watercolours would not be unusual.
We run a wide range of trips and visits throughout the year so some days whole year groups or smaller teams could be out enjoying a new experience eg. visiting the V&A museum, a mosque or taking part in a maths challenge, eco committee meeting or inter school match.