In year 9 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
Baseline and introduction to creative careers
- Observational drawing
- Mark making and texture
- Colour
- Introduction to creative careers topics that will be explored throughout the year:
- Illustrator
- Animation
- Architecture
- Artist
- Fashion
- Theatre design
Computer science
Autumn term
• Introducing Python – developing skills in Python programming language.
• Digital graphics – design a digital graphic using Photoshop etc for a client.
Spring term
• Python Turtle – using Python to find solutions to challenges.
• Digital animation – developing an animation to advertise a new product coming to market.
Summer term
• Hardware and software – computer science focused unit introducing the difference between hardware and software.
• Digital video – design, shoot and edit a trailer for a new horror film.
Design and technology
Technology rotation
Workshop – mobile phone holder: students will work with plastic to create personalised mobile phone holders.
Food and nutrition – health and safety and an introduction to cultural foods and tastes along with key skills such as boiling, sautéeing and simmering.
Textiles – creative textiles.
Photography – please refer to individual photography information.
Graphic communication – mini skateboard design: students design and then apply effective design to a mini structure.
Drama
Autumn term
DNA scripted
Spring term
John Godber (playwright)
Summer term
Devising/stimulus
English language and literature
Autumn Term
Power. Core text: John Steinbeck – Of Mice and Men
Rationale: To explore the portrayal of race and segregation in literature. To explore the presentation of power in a range of texts and how a voice can portray ideas and attitudes.
Key knowledge:
- Race and segregation
- Attitudes towards mental and physical disability / mental health
Key vocabulary:
- Segregation
- Integration
- Migrants
- Itinerants
Key skills:
- Introduce common themes across literature, looking at comparison of texts
- To secure the significance of writers’ context and perspective
- Develop a voice through informality and cynical writing
- Accurately identify and apply grammatical constructions
Spring Term
Controversial issues. Core text: Dean Atta – Black Flamingo
Rationale: To explore how structure impacts writer’s intentions on character, and to promote the importance of the British Value of tolerance pertaining to identity and belonging.
Key knowledge:
- Exploration of gender divide
- Treatment and expectations of women over time
- Drug awareness
- Protected characteristics
- British Values
- Equality and freedom from discrimination
- The right to safety and freedom of expression
- The right to culture
- Identity and the full and free development of our personalities
Key vocabulary:
- Identity
- Gender
- Gender stereotypes
- Representation
- Racism
- Micro-aggression
- Extended metaphor
- Verse
- Anaphora
Key skills:
- Develop an extended creative, personal response to literature.
- To develop viewpoints and articulate them using literary devices.
- Explore the significance of context and perspective.
- To practise writing in verse
Summer Term
Disasters and events. Core text: Power and Conflict poetry
Rationale: To explore the representation of power and conflict in literature, discovering links between context and text.
Key knowledge:
- Context of World War 1, WW2, Vietnam, Cambodia and Crimean wars
- Censorship
- Propaganda
Key vocabulary:
- Propaganda
- Censorship
- Patriotism
- Heroism
- Guilt
- Honour
- Controversial
- Empowerment
- Stanza
- Direct Address
- Oppression
- Victim
- Society
Key skills:
- Develop an extended analytical response to literature, including the significance of writers’ context and perspective
- Develop an ironical and cynical voice in writing
- Secure writing skills for composition and transcription
- Accurately identify and apply grammatical constructions
- Use oracy skills which have been developed in order to plan/produce a spoken language presentation.
French
Autumn term
Theme: Identity and culture
Talk about pocket money and helping at home
- Discuss issues faced by teenagers and understand advice
- En pleine forme!
- Healthy eating
- Dangers of unhealthy lifestyle
- Sports and importance of physical activity to stay fit
Spring term
Theme: identity and culture, current and future study and employment
- Talk about festivals and events
- Organising a party
- Communicate with people in a formal situation
- Discuss traditions and festivals (cultural capital)
- Talk about jobs and qualities needed for certain professions
- Discuss ideal jobs and ambitions
- Talk about part-time jobs (successes and failures)
Summer term
Theme: Identity and culture
Me, my family, and friends
- Talking about getting on with others
- Describing family members
- Talking about future relationships
- Discussing relationship choices
Geography
Autumn term
Crime
• What is crime?
• Where does crime take place?
• Crime in Hucknall
• Crime solutions
• Heroin Trail
• Piracy
• Livchenko Mystery
Cold Environments
• What are Cold Environments?
• How have people adapted to cold environments?
• Opportunities in cold environments
• Challenges in cold environments
• Cold areas under threat
• Managing cold environments.
Spring term
Conflict
• Why do we look at conflict in geography?
• Causes of conflict
• Rwanda
• Blood diamonds
• Middle East
• Iraq
Summer term
Hazards
• Structure of the Earth
• Volcanoes
• Montserrat
• Earthquakes
• Nepal
• Iceland
Local fieldwork
Hucknall pedestrianisation
History
Autumn term
WW1
• What was the Alliance system?
• What was the Arms Race?
• Why did war break out?
• What was life like in the trenches?
• What was there a Christmas Truce?
• Who were conscientious objectors?
• What role did women have in the war?
• Why did war end?
• What was the Treaty of Versailles?
America in the 1920s and 30s
• Why did people migrate to the USA?
• Why did America have an economic boom?
• What was prohibition?
• Al Capone
• Why did prohibition fail?
• Why was the KKK powerful?
• The Wall Street Crash
Spring term
The Rise of the Dictators
• Creating a dictatorship
• Dictatorship vs democracy
• Communism and fascism
• The USSR
• Italy and Mussolini
• The Rise of Hitler
• Appeasement
• How democracy is lost
WW2
• Blame for WW2
• Dunkirk
• Battle of Britain
• The Blitz spirit
• The Home Front
• WW2 and Hollywood
• Dresden
• The Atomic Bomb
• Churchill
Summer term
The Holocaust
• Jewish persecution in Nazi Germany
• Roots of Anti-Semitism
• Anti-Semitism over time
• Warsaw Ghetto
• Oskar Schindler
• The death camps
• Stories of the Holocaust
• Justice for the Holocaust
• Remembering the Holocaust
The Cold War
• The Origins of the Cold War
• Soviet expansion
• The Berlin Airlift
• The Hungarian uprising
• The Berlin Wall
• The Cuban Missile Crisis
• The Vietnam War
Mathematics
Autumn term
Equations and angles
- Solving equations
- Solving simultaneous equations
- Basic angle facts
- Angles in parallel lines
- Bearings
Spring term
Graphs, Pythagoras and trigonometry
- Linear graphs
- Quadratic graphs and their equations
- Expanding double brackets
- Factorising quadratics
- Pythagoras
- Trigonometry
Summer term
Probability
- Probability
- Standard form
- Surds
- Simultaneous equations
- Scatter graphs
Music
Autumn term
Ukulele
Pop music
Spring term
Reggae
Hooks and riffs
Summer term
DJ-ing and dance music
Song choice
Personal development
Autumn term
Wellbeing and law and order
- Body image
- Self harm
- Eating disorders
- Selfie safety
- Behaving to achieve
- Young offenders and the law
- Discrimination and the equality act
- Human rights
- Joint enterprise laws
Spring term
Sexual relationships GCSE options (RE curriculum)
- Positive relationships
- Contraception
- Teenage pregnancy
- Sexually transmitted infections
- Abusive relationships
- Options process
- Decision-making for careers
Summer term
Looking after myself and others human rights
- Alcohol awareness
- Drugs
- Acid attacks
- Vaccinations and organ donation
- Dangers of pornography
- The work of Unicef
- Human trafficking
- Female genital mutilation
- Unifrog introduction
- Careers research
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 |
| Dance | Handball |
| Handball | Boxercise |
| Boxercise | Trampolining |
| Netball | Table tennis |
| Rounders | Rounders |
| Athletics | Athletics |
| Fitness | Fitness |
| Football | Cricket |
| Tag rugby | Softball |
| Frisbee |
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 |
| Dance | Handball |
| Handball | Boxercise |
| Boxercise | Trampolining |
| Netball | Table tennis |
| Rounders | Rounders |
| Athletics | Athletics |
| Fitness | Fitness |
| Football | Cricket |
| Tag rugby | Softball |
| Frisbee |
Photography
Exploring commercial photography through 3 specific skills:
- Minimalism
- Lighting
- Composition
Students will create 3 adverts: 1 drinks advert, 1 fragrance advert and 1 food advert.
Religious education
Spring term
Multiculturalism
- What is multiculturalism?
- How multicultural are we?
- What happens when multiculturalism doesn’t work?
- Why does multiculturalism make Britain a better place?
- How can we promote multiculturalism?
Summer term
Human rights
- Who are UNICEF and what is their role?
- What is human trafficking?
- About FGM and what can be done to support those affected?
Science
Autumn term
- Turning points in biology
- Metals and acids
- Rocking
- Turning points in physics
Spring term
- Psychology
- Chemistry – detection
- Physics – detection
- Biology project
Summer term
- Energy
- Communicable diseases
- Atomic structures
