Learning in Years 7-9
In Years 7-9, St Bart’s students have the opportunity to enjoy an exceptional breadth of subjects. You can explore our subject pages for detail on the curriculum content across the school.
Subjects
Teaching hours per week per subject
| Y7 | Y8 | Y9 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Mathematics | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Science | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Modern Foreign Languages | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| History | 2 | 1.5 | 2 periods a week each of 3 of these subjects |
| Geography | 2 | 1.5 | |
| Fine Art | 1 | 1 | |
| Music | 1 | 1 | |
| Dance/Drama | 1 | 1 | |
| PE (Physical Education) | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| RS (Religious Studies) | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Food/Textile Design/3D Design | 2 | 2 | 2 periods a week of 1 subject |
| Computer Science | 1 | 1 | |
| PDP (Personal Development Programme) | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Total Hours per week | 25.5 | 25.5 | 25.5 |
Timetable adjustments
In Year 7, a group of students is identified to receive additional support in English and Mathematics. This is scheduled on a revolving basis so that these students still have access to all parts of the curriculum.
In Year 8, a group of students receive additional support in English and Mathematics in place of a second Modern Foreign Language subject.
In Year 9, a group of students are provided with additional English, Mathematics and Science support in place of a Modern Foreign Language subject.
Year 9 Options
In Year 9, students are given the opportunity to follow a tailored curriculum, making choices during the Spring Term of Year 8 about subjects they wish to follow in Year 9. This is done to enable students to enhance their knowledge and skills in subjects where they are most engaged.
Students choose from within the disciplines of:
- Humanities (History & Geography)
- Modern Foreign Languages (French, German & Spanish)
- Expressive Arts (Fine Art, Dance, Drama, Music)
- Technology (Computer Science, Food, Product Design, Textile Design)
We ensure that breadth and balance are maintained by asking students to choose at least one subject from each discipline. Students are then given the flexibility to make a further subject choice from Humanities, Modern Foreign Languages or Expressive Arts.
Year 9 students also have the opportunity to study GCSE Latin and GCSE Astronomy as a twilight session, meaning after school or during lunchtime. Please note that there is an additional fee for students wishing to take up this opportunity.
We view the curriculum in Year 7-9 as much more than just a ‘preparation for GCSEs’. To ensure the breadth of our curriculum, we cover topics and skills not examined later in the school. It is the case, however, that we do start GCSE courses in Year 9 for two subjects: Science because of the volume of content, especially for ‘separate science’ candidates, and Religious Studies because of limited available curriculum time.
Teaching Groups
All students join a House-based tutor group. Each group includes students from a variety of primary schools with different interests, abilities and skills.
The tutor group is used as the basis for most teaching groups at the start of Year 7. In some subjects, where it is considered to be in support of students’ progress, we group students by ability, usually through broad banding. Banding currently takes place as follows:
| Year | Subject | When? |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 | Mathematics | September |
| PE | October | |
| Modern Foreign Languages | January | |
| Year 8 | English | September |
| Year 10 & Year 11 | Separate Physics, Chemistry and Biology courses are introduced in Science, leading to two GCSEs in Combined Science or three GCSEs in Biology, Chemistry and Physics. | September |
Homework
At St Bart’s we firmly believe in the value of homework in order to support students’ independent learning skills, their organisation, and their overall engagement in learning. Students who successfully engage with their homework are proven to make significantly more progress with their studies.
Students receive regular homework tasks set for them on Satchel:One by their teachers. The tasks set are varied, accessible and achievable for all. If students require support or advice, teachers and tutors are always available to lend a helping hand.
Students in Years 7-9 receive two or three pieces of homework per night. Each piece of homework can last up to 30 minutes. English homework may be up to 45 minutes.
Parents and carers are able to monitor homework on Satchel:One, and we encourage them to do this on a regular basis. There is a parents’ information section on Satchel:One which can be accessed on this link here. In particular, there is guidance about managing notifications, which can be found here. There are a number of notifications that can be activated, but please be aware that not all of them are used by the school. The most useful notifications for parents and carers are:
- Task published
- Tasks marked as not submitted
- Homework Detentions
- Grade added
Parents’ Evenings and Reports
At St Bart’s we carefully monitor progress. We have personalised high expectations for all students based on their own prior attainment, recognising their personal achievement and ensuring all students receive the level of challenge that is right for them. Progress levels are not based exclusively on the student’s attainment in assessments but determined by reference to a student’s:
- classwork and homework
- achievement and progress in assessed work
- overall performance in the subject
We communicate students’ progress with parents through regular reports and parents’ evenings. Parents are also welcome to contact the school with any specific questions they may have, either via their student’s tutor or directly with a subject teacher.
We also feed back on students’ performance in the following key areas:
- Engagement in Learning
- Quality of Homework
- Organisation
- Behaviour
Students are given a grade from Excellent progress, Good progress, Minimum expected progress, Less than expected progress and Unsatisfactory progress. Our expectation is that all students will aim to achieve a Good progress rating or higher across these key areas.
For Engagement in Learning and Quality of Homework, there is a *STAR* judgement to recognise exceptional performance. Those students who achieve consistently high ratings across subjects are rewarded with a ‘Very Impressive Performance’ stamp.
Reports also give up-to-date information on attendance and an indication of your student’s engagement in the great range of enrichment activities offered by the school.
| Y7 | Y8 | Y9 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Settling-In Evening | October | ||
| Reports | December & July | January & July | January & July |
| Parents’ Evening (remote) | April | March | February |
| Exams | May/June | June | May/June |
