What options do I have for my education in Year 9?

Academic Year 2018/19

What options do I have for my education in Year 9?

Year 8 Options Information Booklet

At Tarleton Academy, we firmly believe that students should study a broad curriculum which gives them the opportunity to excel in a variety of disciplines and educational undertakings. We also understand, however, that students at the end of Year 8 will have an insight into their own strengths and weaknesses and their own likes and dislikes. As such, our Year 9 curriculum ensures that ​every​ student gets a strong educational foundation across a range of subjects but also allows students to explore some of their favoured subjects in greater depth than in Years 7 and 8.

The Compulsory Curriculum In the interest of students’ general education and their future opportunities, we insist that all students continue with the following subjects: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

English Mathematics Biology Chemistry Physics Geography History Religious Education French Physical Education PSHCE

It is because so many of these subjects are important in enabling students to pursue future educational and employment pathways that we ensure that they are studied for the maximum possible time.

Options for Year 9 Students are able to choose two from the following list of subjects, where previously in Years 7 and 8 they have studied them alongside one another. The exception to this case is Spanish, which students have not previously studied but is now available for our keen linguists to take up as a second additional language.

● ● ● ● ● ●

Art & Design Computing Drama Food Preparation and Nutrition Music Spanish

As part of this options process, students will be asked to select their ​three ​most-preferred subjects and we will do our best to accommodate as many of these as possible. You should be aware that some class sizes are limited due to health and safety requirements. In these cases, we will use indicators such as prior Engagement in Learning to decide which students are a best fit for each course.

2

A brief description of the Year 9 course for each of the option subjects is included in the following table. These courses are designed to prepare students in order that they are very well equipped to begin GCSE study in these subjects by the start of Year 10. Whilst the students are not expected to be working at their eventual GCSE standard, the themes taught, as well as the style and depth of teaching should give students an understanding of what it might be like to study the subject to exam level.

Art & Design In year 9, art students will complete two mini coursework projects. You will learn new techniques, new processes and work with a wider range of materials. You will research the work of other artists and designers, use their influences within your own work and learn how to annotate your findings and experiments.

Computer Science Section 1 - Computer hardware, computer software, computer memory and storage; moral, legal, cultural and environmental concerns Section 2 - Computational logic, algorithms, programming techniques and data representation Section 3 - Programming project

Drama The Y9 Drama course focuses on: developing vocal and physical acting skills. Studying a play text. Performing extracts from a play text. Exploration of contrasting theatre practitioners and physical theatre. Study of theatre craft and evaluation of a live theatre performance. Exploring devised work and improvisation.

Food Preparation and Nutrition Food Preparation and Nutrition is a course which balances many practical based skills with theory knowledge. The course is made up of the five following sections. Food preparation skills are intended to be integrated into the five sections:

•Food, nutrition and health; •Food science; •Food safety; •Food choice; •Food provenance.

The students have four lessons over a two week period where they usually have one demonstration, one practical lesson and two theory lessons which relate to the practical work.

Skills learnt through the year may include making pasta , puff pastry, choux pastry, a variety of sauces, portioning a chicken, filleting a fish. We run competitions such as the Rotary Chef competition and the Taste of Lancashire competition where students prepare a two course meal in pairs using local products for one person in 50 minutes. This course prepares students for GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition and also teaches valuable life skills.

3

Music ● Forming bands and ensembles to perform a range of music; ● Chance to try out more instruments, such as drums, guitar, bass, voice, keyboard or refine their favourite; ● Learn to create their own music and remix other peoples’; ● Study more musical topics, such as film music, pop, jazz, EDM and fusions;

Spanish The students could expect to cover the four skills (Listening, Speaking, Reading & Writing) in addition to translation from and into the target language. Students could also expect to learn about Spanish culture, festivals and traditions. Key themes are as follows:

● Greetings ● Personal information (describing yourself) ● Family ● Pets ● Likes and dislikes ● Hobbies ● Sports ● School ● Weather ● Describing your town or village ● Telling the time ● Ordering food and drink in a cafe

Should you have any further questions about the courses on offer, or the options process itself, please do not hesitate to discuss them with your tutor, the teachers of the subjects you’re interested in or with Mr McLardy.

4