In year 8 students have 25 lessons a week. 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 for the subject page.

If you would like to speak to us about any aspect of our curriculum, please get in touch.

Art

Masks – investigate masks from different cultures. Design and make a tiki mask

Bees – explore a range of printing techniques including mono and relief printing

Figures – learn the proportions of the human figure. Create paintings inspired by the work of pop artist, Keith Haring

Visit our art page for more information

Computer science

Autumn term

  • Digital literacy and e-Safety
  • Microbits

Spring term

  • Inkscape (Vector Images)
  • HTML

Summer term

  • Computational thinking
  • Algorithms
  • Flowcharts
  • Text programming (Turtle)

Visit our computer science page for more information

Design and technology

Create

  • Resistant materials – mood light project using CAD/CAM
  • Engineering – build a bot using working drawings
  • Food and nutrition – developing skills and processes
  • Textiles – geometric patterns including analysis, design and making
  • CAD/ digital art understanding vector and bitmaps

Visit our design and technology page for more information

Drama

Students are exposed to learning new skills and drama conventions through real life topics. We also explore genre and styles of theatre for different audiences.

Visit our drama page for more information

English language and literature

Autumn term

  • Frankenstein
    Key concept – empathy

Spring term

  • The Sherlock Holmes short stories
    Key concept – curiosity: crime and punishment

Summer term

  • Nought and Crosses
    Key concept – identity: diversity

Visit our English page for more information

French

Where I live: Ma zone + Chez moi, chez toi

  • Home
  • Area
  • Environment
  • Free time
  • Food and drink
  • Festivals and celebrations

Holidays: 3, 2, 1… Partez! + Paris, je t’adore!

  • Holidays and travel
  • Tourism
  • Free time
  • Festivals and celebrations
  • Daily life
  • Food and drink
  • Future plans

Hobbies: Mes passetemps + t’es branché

  • Free time
  • Sport
  • Life online

Visit our French page for more information

Geography

  • Political Europe
  • Volcanoes
  • Population
  • Climate
  • Rivers
  • Health
  • Ecosystems

Visit our geography page for more information

History

  • The transatlantic slave trade
  • The Industrial Revolution
  • The development of empire
  • The French Revolution
  • Power and protest

Visit our history page for more information

Mathematics

  • Number
  • Algebra
  • Geometry
  • Stats and probability
  • Ratio and proportion

Visit our mathematics page for more information

Music

  • Students will express themselves with more confidence and self-critique their performances
  • Students will perform compositions and set pieces to an audience
  • Expression techniques, compositional devices and lyric creation will be studied
  • Students will compose and perform in at least three musical genres including the blues, rock and pop music using authentic techniques
  • Students will use more structure musical vocabulary to explain and critique music both with performance and composition
  • Students will explain the musical genres with reference to how these genres were developed linking iconic practitioners to each genre
  • Students will experience working as part of different groups throughout the year with a key focus on respecting each other’s contribution and being empowered to support each other using positive, musical role models as a guide
  • Students will recognise how music directly affects everyday life
  • Students will appreciate how music is used to stimulate, sooth and energise
  • Students will investigate, compose and perform music from the deep south of America

Visit our music page for more information

Personal development

  • Drugs and alcohol

Alcohol and drug misuse and pressures relating to drug use

  • Community and careers

Equality of opportunity in careers and life choices, and different types and patterns of work

  • Discrimination

Discrimination in all its forms, including racism, religious discrimination, ableism,  sexism, homophobia, biphobia and transphobia

  • Emotional wellbeing

Mental health and emotional wellbeing, including body image and coping strategies

  • Digital literacy

Online safety, digital literacy, media reliability, and gambling hooks

  • Identity and relationships

Gender identity, sexual orientation, consent, ‘sexting’, and an introduction to contraception

Visit our personal development page for more information

Physical education

In year 8, students follow a similar curriculum to that in year 7. The curriculum progresses and students are exposed to learning new skills that are more advanced. In addition, students start to implement strategy in to performance and work as part of a team to implement tactics.

Visit our physical education page for more information

Science

Biology

  • Plants as multicellular organisms
  • The structure  and functions  of the human skeleton
  • Interdependence in an ecosystem
  • Positive and negative human interactions with ecosystems
  • Variation

Chemistry

  • The periodic table
  • Chemical reactions and equations
  • Acids and alkalis
  • Energy changes during a chemical reaction
  • Reactivity of common metals
  • Atmosphere

Physics

  • Electricity
  • Renewable and non-renewable resources
  • Forces as both contact and non-contact interactions
  • Density as the mass per unit volume of a substance
  • Internal energy as the sum of the kinetic and potential energies of particles

Visit our science page for more information