
Preparation for September 2025 Year 11 into Year 12

Students who prepare for the challenges for KS5 are more likely to succeed!
29JUNE-3JULY2020
Preparation for September 2025 Year 11 into Year 12
Students who prepare for the challenges for KS5 are more likely to succeed!
29JUNE-3JULY2020
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
Extension
Welcome to Art!
To ensure you make the best possible start to year 12 it would be useful if you could complete the tasks below and bring these to your first lesson back after the holidays. The tasks I have set will be the starting point for your project next term and will form your primary research for our experimental drawing week in September.
Project theme: ‘Formations and Mark Making’
Task One: Create a mind map linked to the theme ‘Formations and Mark Making’ use my Pinterest board to help support you with your ideas
Task Two: Take 20 good quality, well edited photos of ‘Formations’.
Task Three: Create one A4 best quality tonal pencil drawing related to these themes.
Task Four: Create on A5 pen study based on your photos of formations.
If you have the opportunity please visit a gallery or museum to support your studies, take photo, make sketches and write brief notes on your visit this can be created into a double sketchbook page in September.
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
• Consolidate work from GCSE Biology – read through the following topics, making a list of questions for concepts you are unsure of;
- Pathogens & Disease
- The Heart
- Lungs and Cystic Fibrosis
- Transport methods (Diffusion, Osmosis, Active Transport)
- Enzymes
• Purchase a ‘Head Start to A-level Biology’ CGP book (ISBN = 978178294279-5) and complete Sections 1,6 and 9. Bring in evidence of your answers/notes when we start in September.
• Read two of the books/articles suggested below, and then write a book review (one side of A4) for the one you enjoyed the most.
Required reading
Recommended reading
• Look at the A Level Biology page on SharePoint and this page:
• Any scientific journals, (Biological Science Review, New Scientist,Nature)
• ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’
- Bill Bryson
• ‘The Selfish Gene’- Richard Dawkins
• ‘Genome’ - Matt Ridley
• ‘The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks’ – Rebecca Skloot
• ‘Diversity of Life’ - E. O. Wilson
• ‘Seven Daughters of Eve’- Bryan Sykes
• ‘Amazing Tour of the Human Anatomy’ - Robert Winston
There are three components of the Year 12 course, outlined as follows:
1. Paper 1 – ‘Lifestyle, Transport, Genes and Health’ (Topics 1 & 2).
2. Paper 2 – ‘Development, Plants and the Environment’ (Topics 3 & 4).
3. Core Practicals (8 core practicals in Year 12).
Each of these components provides the foundation for the topics and core practicals that follow in Year 13. The content from Topics 1-4 will be assessed during Year 12 by means of two internal exams.
There are three components of the A2 course, outlined as follows:
1. Paper 1 – ‘Lifestyle, Transport, Genes and Health’ (Topics 1-6).
2. Paper 2 – ‘Development, Plants and the Environment’ (Topics 1-4 & 7&8).
3. Paper 3 – ‘General and Practical Applications in Biology’ (Topics 1-8 plus a prereleased article 8 weeks before the exam).
4. Core Practicals (8 core practicals in A2 - 16 in total including the 8 from Year 12).
Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 are each worth 33.3% of your A2 Biology grade. These are externally assessed. The exam board for Biology is Edexcel – we follow the Salters Nuffield A syllabus.
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
Required reading
Recommended reading
Select a marketing advertising campaign of your choice e.g. NIKE, M&S, Costa coffee and write a 500 word report based on the following:
• What is the campaign about?
• What is the marketing message to the customer?
• What product is being sold/promoted?
• What is the business hoping to achieve through this marketing activity?
• What is significant about the colour/language/imagery used in the campaign?
• Where is the campaign seen and by who?
Familiarise yourself with the Edexcel examination board website.
Read through the course specification: BTEC National Level 3 Extended Certificate in Business
• Unit 1: Exploring Business
• Unit 2: Developing a Marketing Campaign
• Unit 3: Personal and Business Finance
• Unit 8: Recruitment and Selection
Subscribe to tutor2U
• The Economist
• BBC News: Business section
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
Required reading
Recommended reading
• Preferred average working at grade of a 7 or above in GCSE Chemistry or Combined Science (Grade 6 will be considered on an individual basis) and at least a grade 6 in GCSE mathematics.
• Go through GCSE Chemistry topics listed in the ‘required reading’ section in the ‘Year 12 AS Chemistry’ folder on Sharepoint to ensure you are confident with those areas listed. Make a list of the concepts/ideas you are not sure of to bring in to lessons in September.
• Purchase ‘Head Start to A level Chemistry (CGP A level Chemistry)’. Read and complete the exercises. If you have any difficulties, go back to your GCSE notes. Focus particularly on:
• - The structure of the atom in terms of Protons, Neutrons and Electrons
• - Bonding types and properties of substances
• - Moles including calculations
• - Balancing equations
• - Organic Chemistry: Alkenes, Alkanes, Alcohols, Carboxylic Acids & Polymers
• ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’- Bill Bryson
• ‘Mendeleyev’s Dream’- Paul Strathern
• ‘From Atoms to Infinity ’- Mary & John Gribbin
• Any relevant magazines and journals such as Science Focus, New Scientist or Catalyst magazine
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
Recommended watching Required summer work
• It would be helpful to familiarise yourself with the fundamentals for Computer Science at GCSE level, if you have not studied the subject previously.
• Watch the Craig n Dave OCR GCSE playlist on YouTube for access to the specification’.
Watch ‘learning Python with Mosh’ on YouTube. This will both teach beginners the basics, and reinforce trickier concepts with more experienced programmers.
• Complete a beginner’s Python course online. There are many to choose from, such as FreeCodeCamp.
• ‘Sign up to Harvard Universities CS50 course, specifically the Python and Cyber Security courses. These are free to enrol and are a ‘gold standard’ Computer Science course delivered by one of the best Universities in the world. These courses are long, but get through what you can.
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
Extension work
Research the work of the following architects and designers: Tom Dixon, Thomas Heatherwick, Ron Arad and Tom Wright. Select one of them as inspiration for designing a coffee table for your home, practice your 3D hand drawn designing skills. Can you draw inspiration from anything else?
Visit a museum (such as The V&A in London) to inspire creative designs or take photographs of any interesting architecture you see during your holidaywhat shapes, forms or styles can you incorporate into your designing process.
Required summer work
Develop a level of competence with the CAD programmes Google sketch-up, Techsoft Design V3, and Tinkercad.
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
Required summer work
A short report on the current cost of living crisis. (See below for more guidance).
Recommended reading
Write a short report (2/3 pages) summarising the current cost of living crisis which includes current inflation, the energy crisis, and the current mortgage crisis. In your report you should focus on the causes, current impact and government intervention to address the issues. Support your report with relevant research from institution such as the ONS (Office for National Statistics), IFS (Institute of Fiscal Studies), OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility), news reports, podcasts and any other sources that are credible and trustworthy. Please use diagrams, graphs, pictures, data and pictures to enrich your report. Try to explain and draw conclusions by using relevant research that supports your arguments throughout. There is no right or wrong answer, this assignment is designed to help you achieve a comprehensive understanding of several variables that are contributing to the current economic landscape.
Make use of the links below for further support
• ONS (Office for National Statistics)
• BBC News – Business Section
• The Economist
• Copies of ‘The Economist’ will be very useful to you as will financial sections of broadsheet newspapers (for example The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph or the Independent). It will be important to you throughout the course to keep up to date with current economic issues. Make a note on any key things you find from reading these.
• Awareness of the AQA economics website is crucial
• Freakonomics Podcast
• Collection of videos introducing a range of Economics topics from Tutor2U
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
Required reading
Make research notes on the following to submit in your first lesson:
• Tragedy as a genre – Greek/Classical/Shakespeare/Modern/Domestic
• Aristotle’s Poetics
• Victorian (around 1890) society – education, the role of women, poverty, rural and urban lifestyles
• A sense of what ‘Romantic’ poetry means
Read these texts, make ‘initial thoughts’ notes ready for September: (if necessary, see your teacher for exact details before the summer holidays)
• Othello/King Lear by William Shakespeare (The New Cambridge Shakespeare, updated)
• Any poetry by Keats, Hardy
• Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy (Penguin Classics recent edition)
• Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller ESSENTIAL READING of a set text
• The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams (warm-up text)
Recommended reading You should read as widely as possible from a variety of different time periods and genres. Anything that particularly interests you from the following recommendations would also be good:
• ‘All My Sons’ & ‘A View from the Bridge’ by Arthur Miller
• ‘Hamlet’, ‘Macbeth’, ‘Titus Andronicus’, ‘King Lear’, by William Shakespeare
• ‘Saturday’ & ‘On Chesil Beach’ by Ian McEwan
• ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ by Khaled Hosseni
• ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ by Moshin Hamid
• ‘Invisible Man’ by Ralph Ellison
• ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood
• ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’ by Zora Neale Hurston
• ‘Heart of Darkness’ by Joseph Conrad
• ‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Bronte
• ‘A Doll’s House’ by Ibsen
• Poetry by Byron, Wordsworth, Shelley, Blake
• ‘Case Histories’ by Kate Atkinson
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
Recommended activities
You should already have covered all the grammatical structures at an Intermediate/B1/B2 level. It would be a good idea to revisit this grammar before starting your 6th form studies. I would recommend working through English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy to fill any gaps you may have.
You should have reached the level now where language progression involves many fun activities. Make sure you do some or preferably all of the following every week:
• read in English for pleasure. Choose a writer you enjoy and read the novel in English
• keep up with current affairs by listening to the news in English
• watch as many films and TV series as you can (with or without subtitles)
Make use of the following websites:
• https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org
• https://elt.oup.com/student/headway/upperintermediate
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
Log into or register with Futurelearn and complete the free online course. The course is designed to help students prepare for the EPQ qualification.
How to Succeed in Your EPQ: the Nuts and Bolts of Completing Your Project: How to do an EPQ - Online Course (futurelearn.com)
The online course covers:
• Reasons to do an EPQ
• The research process
• What the assessors are looking for in an EPQ
• Writing the project report
• Finding and evaluating sources
• Time management
• Doing your EPQ presentation
• Bringing your project together
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
• Register and complete the Food Standards Agency free online allergy training course: Food Standards Agency food allergy online training
• Identify an article from the website below, evaluate the article giving your thoughts to the reasons and consequences of the topic being in the news, we will discuss these topics at the start of term: https://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
Watch a French TV series or film and write a short review (approximately 200 words) in French. Here are some recommendations:
Films (lots are on Netflix):
• Intouchables, La Vie en Rose, La Vie scolaire (School Life), Je ne suis pas un homme facile (I Am Not An Easy Man), Mademoiselle de Joncquières (Lady J), Bienvenue chez les Tchitis, La Haine, Amélie, J’ai perdu mon corps (I Lost My Body), Oxygène, Pourris gâtés (soiled brats)
TV (all on Netflix):
• Lupin, Call my agent, Class act
Buy:
• French A Level Grammar Workbook 1
Recommended tasks Grammar - Tenses that you should know before we begin the course:
• Present tense of regular and irregular verbs
• Perfect tense (passé composé)
• Imperfect tense (imparfait)
Useful websites for grammar revision
• Near future tense
• Simple future tense
• Conditional tense
If you are not confident using these tenses, you should use the resources listed below to ensure that you are in a position to begin the A level course.
• https://conjuguemos.com/
• languages online
News - Download a French news app and read/listen to the news regularly.
• Accueil - 1jour1actu.com
• 20 Minutes - Toute l’actualité en direct et les dernières infos en continu
Podcasts - Listening to podcasts is an excellent way of developing your listening skills. It will also help you with your speaking exams! Here are suggestions (all available on Spotify and most online)
• Le débat du jour – RFI
• Coffee break French
• Journal en français facile
• News in slow French
• Les actus du jour - Hugo décrypte
• L’heure du monde
La Francophonie - Research other French-speaking countries around the world. Immerse yourself in the French-speaking world, it is diverse and wonderful!
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
• Download BBC news app (or something equivalent).
• Find articles relating to DISEASE over the course of the summer.
• Summarise and save these articles in following headings: ‘Spread of Disease’ & ‘Management of Disease’.
• In particular, look at the following diseases: Malaria, HIV, & Diabetes (although you can look at others).
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
• For the first lesson back after the summer holidays you must have written a fact file on the NILE DELTA.
• You must include information about:
1. The location (including a map)
2. Formation of Delta
3. Physical characteristics of the Nile Delta
4. Landforms of the Nile Delta
5. Causes of high erosion in the Nile Delta
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
AQA History (7042)
Component 1C: The Tudors: England 1485-1603
Core textbook: Oxford AQA History The Tudors: England 1485-1603
• Listen to this podcast on Henry VII The Rise of Henry VII - Gone Medieval | Acast
• Read this short biography on Henry VII Henry VII - Historic UK (historic-uk.com)
• Create an information leaflet on Henry VII using the podcast and article
Component 2N: Revolution and Dictatorship: Russia, 1917-1953
Core textbook: Oxford AQA History Revolution and Dictatorship: Russia, 1917-1953
• Watch this documentary on YouTube: Last of the Czars: Last of the Czars - 01Nicky and Alix (1996) - YouTube
• Research Karl Max and the meaning of communism – you can choose how to present this research
• Starting point for research; BBC - History - Historic Figures: Karl Marx (18181883)
Recommended reading / viewing
Component 1C: The Tudors: England 1485-1603
• Tudor Fiction series by Phillipa Gregory
• Wolf Hall, Bring up the Bodies or the Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel or BBC series of Wolf Hall
• Winter King: The Dawn of Tudor England by Thomas Penn
Component 2N: Revolution and Dictatorship: Russia, 1917-1953
• One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
• Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak (book/film)
• Ten Days That Shook the World by John Read (book/film)
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
• GCSE grade 6 standard in Mathematics is required, though a 7 or above is preferred (and recommended). The A level course will be extremely challenging (and perhaps not possible) if a grade 7 level of understanding or above is not achieved at GCSE.
• Students wishing to study Further Mathematics are advised that a grade 8 standard or above is desirable.
• Students must have completed as much of the ‘Head Start to A level Maths’ pack as necessary. This can be found here. An exam will be given approximately two weeks into the course which will test whether students have understood the work from the pack and will enable us to gauge the appropriateness of the course for each student.
• MyMaths.co.uk can also be used to assist the reviewing of GCSE materials.
• It is important to remember that at A level, much of the work deemed to be ‘7 or above’ at GCSE becomes a standard expectation, so reviewing using the ‘Head Start to AS Maths’ pack towards the end of the summer holidays is essential.
• The new A level course requires a specific kind of calculator (the GCSE ones are in general not high enough spec). We will provide this at the beginning of the course so that everyone has the same version, so please do not feel that you need to get one in advance.
• Those taking Further Mathematics need to appreciate that not all the combinations of subject options will be available. The options will need to support the strengths of the majority of the class and will be finalised in September.
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
Suggested visits
Research and prepare a short presentation (no more than 10 slides) or poster on one of the following:
• A favourite scene/s from a film or television series
• A film director of your choice
• A career that interests you in the media world (film)
• A media organisation of your choice (BBC, Sky, BBFC)
Useful equipment and reading
• BFI British Film Institute in London, Southbank
• BBC studios Media City, Salford or Birmingham – need to book online
• Go and see a film you wouldn’t usually watch
A pair of comfortable headphones (no need for expensive ones) labelled The Digital Filmmaking Handbook (Brindle) Quercus £4.99 (Book People) Your own 32GB high quality SD card for filming (labelled)
Useful additional reading:
Making Short Films: The Complete Guide from Script to Screen (Thurlow) Bloomsbury
In addition, if you have completed any practical work for GCSE media or as your own project, please bring this with you to the first lesson you attend.
Music Performance Extended Certificate BTEC National Level 3
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
Suggested listening
Suggested listening
Learn a new piece of music/song
• Try a new style/genre
• Complete an audit (shortlist) of what you know and what don’t know with the theorical aspects of how music works. For Example Notation, Tab, Graphic Scores….
• Play with other musicians (your ensemble skills with be assessed during the course)
• Coverage of summer music festivals/new releases
• Expand your musical horizons!
Watch BTEC Level 3 Music Performance a reminder of the course and the 4 Units that you will be studying.
In order to prepare for this course we would like you to complete the following tasks in preparation for the start of the course. The course comprises of three units – Philosophy, Ethics and a study of Buddhism, therefore we would like you to complete one task on each of these areas.Course specification: https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-a-levels/religious-studies-2016. html.
Philosophy
Research into philosophical arguments for and against the existence of God. Also create fact sheets on the following philosophers: Plato, Aristotle, Irenaeus and Augustine. Use this website to help you.
1. Over the summer holidays take care to read the news, perhaps download an app that lets you read the news daily. Make a note of any headlines that you believe discuss moral or ethical issues. The headlines may come across as controversial or may ask people to consider the right and wrong within the situation. Be ready to discuss these in your first ethics lesson. Pay particular attention to stories regarding the following: issues concerning equality, the environment and war and peace.
2. Find out about the following philosophers and make yourself a reference page on them: Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Immanuel Kant, Aristotle. You will need to include background information on them, any influences upon their ideas and their main philosophical theories.
Buddhism is a very interesting yet demanding religion to study. It is a religion with no God. It is unique.
1. I would recommend getting hold of a dictionary of Buddhist terms, this will be extremely helpful to you both at home and at school over the A level course.
2. Complete a knowledge organiser on the following background information on Buddhism:
• Where did Buddhism originate?
• Where is Buddhism practised around the world today?
• Who founded Buddhism – what is his background?
• Where are the nearest Buddhist centres to Middleton Cheney/Banbury
• What are Mahayana, Theravada and Vajrayana Buddhism?
3. Once you have completed this task consider the following – if Buddhists do not believe in a God, what do they believe in?
There are further activities and topics to consider here: GCE Religious Studies Transition Pack.
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
Required reading
Recommended reading
• Preferred grade of a 7 or above in GCSE Physics or Combined Science (Grade 6 will be considered on an individual basis) and at least a grade 6 in GCSE mathematics.
• Consolidate work from GCSE Physics, particularly: Waves and the Electromagnetic spectrum, Forces, Electricity. Websites such as ‘Pass My Exams’ are good for this: http://www.passmyexams.co.uk/GCSE/physics/ index.html.
• A handy Physics Pocket guide is available alongside many other resources from the Institute of Physics website.
• New Scientist magazine (available here)
• One of the following popular Science books: - ‘The Big Bang’ by Simon Singh - ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything Parts I - III’ by Bill Bryson
• Work through the Student Maths Support pdf from Edexcel .
The exam board for A level Physics is Edexcel.
There are four assessment components to the A level course.
• Paper 1 Advanced Physics I (worth 30% of the A level grade). This covers topics in Mechanics, Electricity, Fields and Particles Physics.
• Paper 2 Advanced Physics II (worth 30% of the A level grade) This covers topics in Materials, Waves, Oscillations, Thermodynamics, Nuclear Radiation and Space.
• Paper 3 All topics and Practical Principles (worth 40% of the A level grade)
• Core Practicals (PASS noted on your A2 Certificate)
Sociology is the study of human social life. There are many different aspects of Sociology, so you must be curious and attentive to looking at the world in a different way!
Look at this photograph; not everything is as it seems!
There is usually another way of looking at things – and that is what we do as sociologists.
We take normal, taken-for-granted life and turn it upside down, looking for meanings. And very often we end up seeing things very differently. The social world is changing. Some argue it is growing, others say it is shrinking. The important point to grasp is that society does not remain static over time; it constantly changes - through decades and centuries and across countries, societies.
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
TASK 1: Watch an introduction to Sociology.
TASK 2:
Some sociologists argue that individuals are like moulded like putty and formed by institutions and structures in our society - like schools, religion and our families. Others argue that there are decisions we make that are driven by our own internal motivations. These behaviours come from within us. This act of free-will is called agency. Sometimes we can challenge and oppose structures, and in this way we help construct a part of our identity.
Does society create us as individuals, or do we create society? Write up your response.
1. You should consider points that go for and against the question.
2. You should offer evidence and examples.
3 You should come to a clear conclusion.
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
1. Create a model of the skeleton and label all of the bones that you need to know for your syllabus. Be creative in your design and bring it to the first lesson back.
Axial skeleton
• Cranium
• Sternum
• Ribs
Appendicular skeleton
• Scapula
• Clavicle
• Humerus
• Radius
• Vertebral column – to include cervical/thoracic/lumbar/sacrum/coccyx
• Ilium
• Ulna
• Carpals
• Metacarpals
• Phalanges
• Ischium
• Pubis
• Femur
• Patella
• Tibia
• Fibula
• Tarsals
• Talus
• Metatarsals
2. It will really help you to learn early on all the muscles that you are expected to know for this course. These are listed below:
• Deltoid
• Latissimus dorsi
• Pectoralis major
• Trapezius
• Teres major
• Biceps brachii
• Triceps brachii
• Radio-ulnar
• Pronator teres
• Supinator muscle
• Wrist flexors
• Wrist extensors
• Rectus abdominus
• Erector spinae group
• Internal and external obliques
• Iliopsoas
• Gluteus maximus
• Gluteus medius
• Gluteus minimus
• Adductor longus
• Adductor brevis
• Adductor magnus
• Rectus femoris
• Vastus medialis
• Vastus intermedius
• Vastus lateralis
• Biceps femoris
• Semimembranosus
• Semitendinosus
• Tibialis anterior
• Gastrocnemius
• Soleus
For each one learn where it is as well as its function (what action it performs). These will be tested during the first week back.
For your chosen sport research the following: 1. Identify and describe the skills, tactics and fitness requirements for your sport. 2. Identify the main coaching points and the progressive practices for at least 3 skills in your chosen sport. 3. Observe a coach and identify what their strengths and weaknesses are. Explain what could the differently and how this would progress the session further.
Produce your work in a written report ready to hand in the first week back.
Pre-course tasks to be completed by September 2025
Extension
Welcome to Textiles! To ensure you make the best possible start to year 12 it would be useful if you could complete the tasks below and bring these to your first lesson back after the holidays. The tasks I have set will be the starting point for your project next term and will form your primary research for our experimental drawing week in September.
Project theme: ‘Formations and Mark Making’
Task One: Create a mind map linked to the theme ‘Formations and Mark Making’ use my Pinterest board to help support you with your ideas
Task Two: Take 20 good quality, well edited photos of ‘Formations’
Task Three: Create one A4 best quality tonal pencil drawing related to these themes
Task Four: Create on A5 pen study based on your photos of formations.
Extension: If you have the opportunity please visit a gallery or museum to support your studies, take photo, make sketches and write brief notes on your visit this can be created into a double sketchbook page in September.
If you have the opportunity please visit a gallery or museum to support your studies, take photo, make sketches and write brief notes on your visit this can be created into a double sketchbook page in September.