In year 8 students have 25 lessons a week, these are allotted as follows:

Number of lessons per subject

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

Computing

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 computing page for more information

Design and technology

Create

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

Visit our D & T page for more information

Drama

In year 8, students follow a similar curriculum to that in year 7. The curriculum progresses and students are exposed to learning new skills and drama conventions through their application of drama skills.

Students explore real life topics as well as a variety of genre and styles of theatre for their intended audience.

Visit our drama page for more information

English language and literature

Autumn term

  • Frankenstein
    Key concept – empathy

Spring term

  • 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

German

School: Schule ist klasse

  • School
  • Free time
  • Daily life
  • Future plans
  • Festivals and celebrations

Holidays : Gute Reise + Ich liebe Ferien !

  • Area
  • Food and drink
  • Tourism
  • Holidays and travel
  • Future plans
  • Home
  • Free time
  • Environment

Hobbies: Bist du ein Mediafan? + Bleib gesund

  • Free time
  • Sport
  • Life online
  • Food and drink
  • Social issues

Visit our German 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

Maths

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

Visit our maths page for more information

Music

  • Students will be able to 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 be able to compose and perform in at least 3 musical genres including The Blues, Rock and Pop music using authentic techniques
  • Students will use more structure musical language to explain and critique music both with performance and composition
  • Students will be able to 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. Using some musical language
  • Students can recognise how music directly affects everyday life
  • Students will be able to 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, disability, discrimination, 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 as well as re-capping skills from year 7. In addition, students start to implement strategy in to performance and work as part of a team to implement tactics.

Visit our PE 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

  • 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