ENGLISH
The focus this term will be on Fiction writing and reading. Year 10 will draft an imaginative story or an extract using imaginative vocabulary and accurate grammar and punctuation. Spoken Language tasks will be completed where necessary and recorded as part of the qualification. Reading comprehensions are based on fiction extracts which include the use of description including similes, metaphors and idioms.
MATHS
The Spring term sees the students develop their reasoning and problem-solving skills further but this time under the topics of time and measurement. Depending on the student’s ability this could range from understanding how to tell the time to the hour to understanding the 5-minute intervals on an analogue clock. As ‘Organisation’ is one of our Learning for Living targets, this lends itself well to this topic and real-life scenarios will be discussed to help the students with their futures.
For measurement we will be learning about weight, length and capacity in line with a Functional Skills specification. This will involve real-life practical applications including measuring furniture and room sizes, weighing food and appropriate amounts for one person compared to different sized families.
Weekly online, independent learning with Mangahigh continues.
SCIENCE
Pupils in Years 10 and 11 work towards gaining an Entry Level qualification in science. This term pupils will be completing work from units that explore the nature of chemical reactions, combustion, fossil fuels and their impact and renewable energy sources.
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
Environmental Studies incorporates work from History, Geography and practical outdoor learning. This outdoor learning provides the students with opportunities to learn and enhance their horticultural and animal care skills.
This term we will be exploring the effect the media has on us. The students will have the opportunity to communicate with each other while looking closely at social media, as well as news stories which have had major impact to local community groups.
In Geography we will be working together to formulate small group projects of how young people play an active role in democracy. This will link with the One Can organisation where students will visit the food hub and gain a true understanding of the operations.
RELIGION AND ETHICS (R AND E)
The Religion and Ethics balanced curriculum is designed to help pupils begin to explore and engage with the six main religions from a spiritual and ethical perspective to stimulate their interest and understanding. The subject naturally is geared towards discussion, debate and a variety of opinions when exploring a range of spiritual, moral, social and cultural issues. Pupils are encouraged to appreciate and respect the British values of tolerance and freedom of speech when exploring their own beliefs and that of others.
Pupils will focus on Opening Up Easter and the Easter story – This unit invites pupils to select and present their knowledge of the Easter story as told in the Bible, reflecting on the relevance and importance of these events for some Christians today. There will be a range of activities to encourage pupils to offer their own opinions and ideas as a personal response and to learn through this religious festival.
DANCE
Dance from around the world – This term, pupils will explore different dance styles from around the world such as Gumboot dancing and Bollywood. Building on the key words learnt last term: Action, Space, Dynamics and Relationship, to create and choreography their own routines to perform.
PE
The use of Gymnastics, Trampolining and Invasion Games will be used to encourage pupil risk taking and resilience as they are exposed to increasing physical and psychological demands, which will require risk awareness and management alongside perseverance when mastering complex techniques, sequencing and skill execution.
DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD
The school run the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award over a two year period in year 10 and 11. Year 10 is split into two sections – Physical and Skill. The girls will choose their own activities which they will participate in for three months each. By the end of the school year they will have completed half the award.
PSHE
PSHE at all key stages aims to promote positive well-being and mental health enabling pupils to take responsibility for their learning and future life choices.
Pupils will have opportunities to understand and reflect on their experiences and understand how they are developing personally, emotionally and socially, encompassing many of the spiritual, moral, social, cultural and health issues in their lives and that of others in wider society. This will enable them to be have a deeper understanding of themselves, others and the world they live in while building meaningful relationships. It will also enable pupils to develop leadership of themselves and others and develop personal and transferable skills related to the Learning for Living skills such as confidence and resilience.
There will be opportunities for pupils to find out what the school is like, how it functions as well as its rules. They will then think about friendships and relationships and begin to consider their future challenges and choices.
Spring 1: Pupils will explore relationships and examine the importance of emotions, Identifying and expressing feelings, Self-esteem and unkind comments, Managing strong feelings, Romantic feelings and sexual attraction.
Spring 2: Pupils will explore Relationship and Sex Education in more depth by exploring changing and growing. They will examine Puberty, Friendship, Healthy and Unhealthy relationship behaviour and Consent, Intimate relationships and different types of relationships.
Pupils will examine the family, pregnancy and birth where pupils will consider how children learn to live in the world around them, adopt acceptable behaviour patterns and prepare for school. Pupils may also follow a young couple as they decide to start a family, finding out about their experiences during pregnancy and the birth.
WORK RELATED LEARNING
The theme for the term is ‘Taking a closer look at Careers’. Students will continue to look at different types of work and use different resources to find out more information about them. They will practice writing their name and address and complete a variety of application forms. Interview skills will be demonstrated and discussed.
TUESDAY ENRICHMENT
Pupils from Y10,11 and post 16 will work in mixed groups for a full morning (Lessons 1-4). Pupils are able to choose from a range of activities that they will complete over the course of a full term. All activities are designed to develop key employability skills and are aligned to our Learning for Living goals.
Spring: LEAD (January to Easter). Focus on ‘learning to lead’ with qualifications and projects linked to using / developing our leadership skills to support and work with people in our local community. AQA unit awards and sports leadership awards will be available to complete during this term.
THURSDAY BLOCKS
In Years 10, 11 and Post 16 students are timetabled together on Thursday mornings. During this time, they work on a range of half termly units of work or activities for which they can express a preference. Some of these activities are accredited and some are unaccredited. For the accredited units the specifications used are BTEC Pre-vocational Study (Entry 1 and Entry 2) and BTEC Entry to Vocational Study (Entry 3). These specifications focus on the development of interpersonal, organisational and learning skills. The contexts used to develop these skills and therefore deliver the units include cooking, art, dance, sport and media studies. Non accredited units include collaborative work with other schools, colleges and community organisations.