In year 7 students have 30 lessons a week, these are allotted as follows:
Design and technology – This is a rotation where students study food, graphics, photography, resistant materials and textiles.
Personal development – Includes religious education
Arts – This is one period of art, drama and music
Below is a general overview of the topics students are taught throughout the year in each subject.
For a more in depth outline of each subject please click on the link (in each drop down) to view the full subject page.
If you would like to speak to us about any aspect of our curriculum please get in touch.
Art
Autumn term
Baseline and introduction to ‘Horrible histories in art’
- Observational drawing
- Texture and mark making
- Colour
- Art time line
- Prehistoric art
- Art of the ancients – Classic Greek theatre (masks)
Spring term
‘Horrible histories in art’ continued
- Egyptian art paper making
- Middle ages
- Eastern dragons and clay work
Summer term
‘ Horrible histories in art’ continued
- Modern art time line
- Expressionism and music
- Pop art and consumerism
Computer science
Autumn term
• All about me – introducing the office suite
• E-safety – early guidance on online safety
Spring term
• PPT game design – designing a maze-style game in PowerPoint.
• Welcome to Holgate – shooting and editing a welcome video for new year 7s.
Summer term
• Virtual pet – students design and program a virtual pet using Scratch
Design and technology
Technology rotation
Workshop – key ring fob, students will explore design and making using cutting techniques.
Food and nutrition – health and safety and good food plate. Various recipes explored including savoury scones and pleasing pasta.
Photography – please refer to individual photography information.
Graphic communication – logo design, students will explore design, development and processes. What makes a good design? What elements do designer use to sell us stuff?
Drama
Autumn term
Drama skills/breadwinner script
Spring term
Native American Indians (exploratory)
Summer term
Greek theatre (historical)
English language and literature
Autumn term
Islands and isolation. Core text: William Shakespeare – The Tempest
Rationale: To focus on acceptance and belonging, exploring a range of cultures and how these can affect everyday life.
Key knowledge:
- Introduction to Elizabethan theatre
- Isolation
- Segregation
- Comedy
Key vocabulary:
- Isolation
- Segregation
- Acceptance
- Tolerance
- Patriarchy
Key skills:
- Comparison
- Words in context
- Writing to describe
- Increase confidence in identifying and applying grammatical constructions.
Spring Term
Children in Literature. Core text: Charles Dickens – Oliver Twist
Rationale: To explore how writers depict children in literature, focusing on rags to riches. Exploration of 19th Century literature.
Key knowledge:
- Poverty and wealth
- 19th Century literature
- Victorian Britain
- Class
Key vocabulary:
- Society
- Workhouse
- Poverty
- Wealth
- Loyalty
- Personal growth
- Conscience
- Tension
- Morality
Key skills:
- Retrieval
- Words in context
- Comprehension
- Inference
- Selecting evidence from the text
- Narrative voice
- Developing a voice and becoming a character
- Consolidating grammar taught in Key Stage 2
Summer Term
Love and Relationships. Core text: Marcus Sedgwick – Midwinterblood
Rationale: To explore the depiction of distinct types of love and relationships over time: family, friendship, societal, cultural and romantic.
Key knowledge:
- Introduction to The Gothic
- Influence of folk cultures and heritage
- Overt and subtle use of power and control in society and communities
- The role of community
- Narrative conventions and structures
- Time
- Appearance and reality
Key vocabulary:
- Protagonist
- Isolation
- Community
- Identity
- Gothic
- Sacrifice
- Destiny
- Possession
- Resolution
- Suspicion
- Trust
- Exposition
Key skills:
- Retrieval, prediction and inference
- Summarising
- Cross-referencing
- Analysing characterisation and use of narrative structures
- Developing reader response
- Consolidating Speaking & Listening skills and developing confidence with presentations.
French
Autumn term
Theme: identity and culture
- Introduce myself
- Where I live / languages I speak
- Learn about French speaking regions
- Describe yourself and other people
- Describe your personality
- Talk about which pets
Spring term
Themes: identity and culture, current and future study and employment
- Talk about where you live
- Giving directions
- Talk about school life
- Give opinions about school subjects
Summer term
Theme: local, national, international and global areas of interest
- Learn about my area
- Learn about food and drink
- Give opinions about food and drink
- Say where you can eat out and ordering food
Geography
Autumn term
What is Geography?
• What is geography?
• What are the three types of geography?
• Journey around the world
• Map Skills
Brilliant Britain
• What is the UK like?
• Interpreting landscapes
• Erosion and weathering
• Population change
• Immigration
Spring term
Wild Weather
• What is weather and climate?
• Water cycle
• Climate graphs
• Storms
• Extreme weather
Amazing Africa
• Celebrate Africa as a continent
• Development Gap
• Tourism
• Lagos
• Drought
• Piracy
• Desertification
Summer term
Geography of my stuff
• Globalisation
• Transnational corporations
• Geography of chocolate
• Food miles
• Climate change
Fieldwork on microclimates around school.
History
Autumn term
The Romans
• How did the Romans change Britain?
• How significant were the Romans to Britain?
• Why did Boudicca’s revolt fail?
• What do sources reveal about the Roman Empire?
• Why was there a murder in Rome?
Vikings and Anglo Saxons
• Who were the Anglo-Saxons?
• What was life in Anglo-Saxon Britain like?
• Was Alfred ‘Great’?
• Who was Aetheflaed?
• Saxon Burials
• Who were the Vikings?
• Viking home life
• Were the Vikings the ‘bad boys’ of history
Spring term
The Norman Conquest
• Raiders and Invaders
• What was buried at Sutton Hoo?
• Why was 1066 a year of crisis?
• The Battle of Stamford Bridge and Gate Fulford
• The Battle of Hastings
• William’s problems
• Why did William harry the North?
• The feudal system
• Motte and Bailey Castles
• Impact of Norman rule
Medieval Monarchs
• Mathilda
• Murder of Becket
• Eleanor of Aquitaine
• King John
• Magna Carta
• The Black Death
• The Peasants Revolt
• Richard III
Summer term
The Crusades
• Golden age of Islam
• Byzantine Empire
• Causes of the first Crusade
• Crusader control of the Holy Land
• Muslim response to the first Crusade
• Saladin
• Richard the Lion Heart
Silk roads and African Kingdoms
• What were the Silk Roads?
• What can objects tell us about the Silk Roads?
• What was traded?
• Religion
• Conquest
• African Kingdoms introduction
• The Kingdom of Mali
• Who was Mansa Musa?
Mathematics
Autumn term
Algebraic thinking, place value and proportion
- Sequences
- Understand and use algebraic notation
- Equality and equivalence
- Place value
- Ordering integers and decimals
- Fraction, decimal and percentage equivalence
Spring term
Application of number, directed number and fractional thinking
- Solving problems with addition and subtraction
- Solving problems with multiplication and division
- Fractions and percentages of amounts
- Operations and equations with directed number
- Addition and subtraction of fractions
Summer term
Lines and angles, reasoning with number
- Constructing, measuring and using geometric notation
- Developing geometric reasoning
- Developing number sense
- Sets and probability
- Prime numbers and proof
Music
Autumn term
Find your voice 1
Keyboard skills
Spring term
Gota rhythm-African drumming
Keyboard skills 2
Summer term
Film music
Find your voice 2
Personal development
Autumn term
All about me and careers
- Aspirations
- Self esteem
- Using the start profile
- Healthy lifestyles
- Planning for a healthy lifestyle
- The dangers of energy drinks
- RE curriculum: philosophy of religion (see RE curriculum)
Spring term
Financial education/ changing faces
- Budgeting
- Loans, savings and interest rates
- My attitudes to money
- RE module symbols of peace (see RE curriculum)
- Puberty
- Romantic relationships
- Families
- Emotional literacy
- RE curriculum – pilgrimages (see RE curriculum)
Summer term
Bullying and safety – antiracism – mental health
- What is bullying?
- Staying safe online
- Safety in relationships
- What is discrimination
- Skills for managing bullying
- Anti-racism
- Anti-racism in religion – (see RE curriculum)
- What is good mental health?
- Coping with stress
- Managing anxiety
Photography
- What is a considered photograph?
- Basic camera settings
- Aperture/macro photography
- Legography
Physical education
Students study the same activities in years 7 to 9 as this gives them the opportunity to show a greater level of progression in their tactical awareness, knowledge of the rules and skill level in each of the activities.
| Girls | Boys |
| Trampolining | Football |
| Table tennis | Rugby |
| Tag rugby | Handball |
| Handball | Boxercise |
| Boxercise | Trampolining |
| Netball | Table tennis |
| Rounders | Rounders |
| Athletics | Athletics |
| Fitness | Fitness |
| Football | Cricket |
| Softball | |
| Frisbee |
Religious education
Autumn term – philosophy of religion
- Ultimate questions and belief
- Belief in God
- Creation
- Big Bang and evolution
- The Design Argument
- Experiencing God and miracles
- Problem of evil
- Ethics
- Utilitarianism
- Christmas and customs
Spring term – signs and symbols/pilgrimages
- Symbol of poppies
- Water as a symbol
- World religious symbols
- Christian symbols
- Baptism
- Pilgrimages
- Lourdes
- Hajj
- Hajj 2
- Ganges
Summer term anti-racism
- Anti-racism Christianity
- Anti-racism Islam
- Anti-racism in different religions
- Racism in our community
- Vision for justice and equality
- Singing for freedom
Science
Autumn term
- Cells
- Particles and behaviour
- Forces
Spring term
- Structure and function of body systems
- Elements, atoms and compounds
- Chemical reactions
- Sound
Summer term
- Adaptation and inheritance
- The Earth
- Motion and pressure
