Transition

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ENGLISH

We aim to give year 7 pupils a thorough grounding in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening with a particular focus, and weekly specialised lessons on Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar. We introduce them to the skills required for a successful school career and also to help prepare them for Key Stage 4 and their GCSE years. They will read a novel, poetry and drama including excerpts from 19th Century texts and Shakespeare. They will write for different audiences and purposes, and develop confidence in speaking and listening in a number of different contexts. Your child will develop their vocabulary through the range of challenging texts studied. The English Department promotes independent learning and this is integrated into our curriculum with Independent research Projects accessible to every level of ability, these are assigned for homework each half-term. Year 7 pupils will also have the opportunity to study a modern play text where they will be introduced to some of the basic principles of drama.

MATHS

The programme of study for key stage 3 is organised into distinct domains which build on key stage 2 knowledge and connections across mathematical ideas.

• Number
• Algebra
• Ratio, proportion and rates of change
• Geometry and measures
• Probability
• Statistics

We aim to provide a curriculum that enables all pupils to make progress no matter where they start. Progress on these strands is assessed using weekly homework, termly assessments and classwork.

It is essential that students have the correct mathematical equipment in all maths lessons.  They will need: pen, pencil, eraser, sharpener, 30cm ruler, protractor, compass and a scientific calculator, such as the Casio fx-83GT PLUS

SCIENCE

At KS3 we aim to inspire and enthuse pupils by giving them the opportunity to investigate phenomena in the world around them through experiment, discussion, modelling and independent enquiry.

Pupils will develop their understanding of the key scientific concepts skills and processes as they study the following areas: -

• Biology – Cells, body systems and reproduction
• Chemistry – Particles, elements and compounds, reactions and acids and alkalis
• Physics – Forces, sound, space and light
• Working Scientifically – Developing experimental skills through investigation: making and recording measurements; applying mathematical concepts to analyse and evaluate results; using literacy skills to effectively communicate ideas about Science and access scientific text

GEOGRAPHY

Year 7 start Geography with a unit called ‘My School’ which introduces students to map skills and fieldwork, based around the school grounds. This is followed by a unit on Flooding, examining the causes, effects and management of floods. In the Spring term students study the physical and human Geography of Africa and compare two countries within the continent. This is followed by a topic about Migration, looking at the causes and effects of migration and how migration has been experienced within their own families. Students also study the different perceptions of migration and how it is reported in the media. In the final term pupils will study Extreme Weather such as hurricanes and end with a topic on Environmental Issues, looking at issues such as climate change.

HISTORY

Students start Year 7 with a module designed to establish the core skills required to successfully study KS3 History. This unit, called "What is History?" looks at areas such as source analysis, chronology, change and continuity and significance. In the 2nd half of the Autumn term they will study Britain before 1066 with a focus on Roman Britain. After Christmas, all students will cover events in the Medieval era, looking at the Norman Conquest, the Black Death and the tension between Crown and Church. The final term sees a study on Tudor England addressing society, the Reformation and the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

FRENCH

All Year 7 students learn French.  They are taught in tutor groups and are, therefore, in mixed-ability groups.  We use the textbook Dynamo and our aim is to develop pupils’ vocabulary knowledge and understanding of grammatical structures.  Teaching includes lots of speaking in pairs, listening activities and learning games.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Year 7 students will participate in one session of RE per week. At KS3 RE is delivered through two different Attainment Targets, which provide a familiar structure to every session:

AT1: Learning about religion – factual information about beliefs, practices and actions;

AT2: Learning from religion – opinions and views, a personal response to the content discussed.

Year 7 introduces students to the key skills of investigation, comparison, empathy and justification of opinion that they will continue to develop and employ right through until GCSE. The topics covered in Year 7, in line with Warwickshire Agreed Syllabus for RE include: -

• R.E. Toolkit – Introducing Religious Education and the skills pupils will use when studying R.E.
• Big Story in the Bible – Looking at Judaism and the development of Christianity.
• The life of Jesus – Learning about and from the life of Jesus.
• Hinduism – Looking at beliefs and practice of Hindus, equality and Gandhi.
• Ultimate Questions – Considering responses to the existence of God, the point to life and other philosophical issues.

COMPUTER SCIENCE

Computer Science is an engaging and contemporary course which has input from companies such as, The BBC, Microsoft, Apple, GOOGLE, Computers at Schools (CAS), plus teachers and University Professors.  It is at the cutting edge of education and will give pupils excellent skills in problem solving and project management.

Subjects covered include, programming – games and App development using Python; BBC Micro:BIT; Advanced Scratch, and building software for mobile technology. Our course will give them an introductory session on being safe, covering topics such as cyberbullying, cyber security, phishing, and malware. Pupils will be encouraged to use creativity in project design. There will be an element of understanding how computers work and how data is represented. We will look at the future of society in education and the workplace, especially the input of Artificial Intelligence in the home and community. Pupils will be introduced to different file formats and have the opportunity to use graphics.

In summary, Computer Science is a subject that will equip our pupils with transferrable and relevant skills for the modern ever changing world. It is a subject for the 21^st Century.

ART

The first year in a child’s secondary school Art experience is an important one.  We aim to play our part in the holistic development of the child by providing opportunities for creative learning through the exploration of ideas, concepts, themes and conventions as well as the introduction to a range of artistic processes, media and techniques. An important part of pupils' learning is the investigation of Art from other times and cultures, allowing students to form an understanding of the relevance of Art to different people and in different contexts.

Autumn Term – 'Learning to Look' project:

During the winter term, pupils complete a project designed to deepen their understanding of Art by focusing on skills of observation.  Through research of the Formal Visual Elements of Art and Design students will learn to examine and evaluate their own and others' art work, while also developing their observation skills with a range of materials. By the end of key stage 3 students should have a solid understanding and working knowledge of the Formal Elements and a well-developed foundation of practical skills with artistic media and techniques.

Spring & Summer Terms – theme based projects:

During the spring and summer terms students complete two further theme-based projects (one each term).  One of these projects will allow students to explore three dimensional artwork and have a 3D piece of artwork as one final outcome. Both theme based projects are underpinned by the Formal Elements of Art and allows opportunities for students to make comparisons between their own understanding of artwork and its place in other times, cultures and contexts.

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

In Year 7, all students follow a course which consists of three modules:

• Product Design
• Food preparation and nutrition
• Textiles

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, students will be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills which will enable them to design and make a range of products in different contexts. Problem solving, innovation and user-centred design will be key focus areas.  Within Product Design students get to make an acrylic product and become familiar with a wide variety of tools and equipment along with workshop machines.

Within Nutrition and Cooking, students will develop their basic practical skills whilst learning about hygiene and healthy eating. They will make a range of dishes that take into account the source of ingredients, seasonality and the importance of a varied diet.

Within Textiles, students will learn how to use a sewing machine and work with a range of different materials and develop their practical techniques.

All Year 7 modules cover Health & Safety, graphical skills and a variety of ICT applications.  Note: Due to the sizes of some cohorts it is sometime unavoidable that not all Year 7 and Year 8 students always complete Nutrition and Cooking cycle within their year rotation due to the demands of the rooms at GCSE level. 

MUSIC 

In Year 7, students will experience a wide range of music which they will explore through a mixture of performing, composing and listening.  They will use a range of instruments, including keyboards, tuned and un-tuned percussion, guitars, ukuleles and their voices.   Class music lessons are mainly practical and the music theory will be incorporated into the music making.  Students who learn musical instruments are often encouraged to bring these to lessons to include them in group performances. In addition to class music lessons, there are a number of extra-curricular music groups.

P.S.H.E.

P.S.H.E stands for Personal, Social, Health Education.  The purpose of these lessons is to help you become a happy and well-developed individual, capable of making healthy decisions for your own wellbeing.

P.S.H.E is delivered once per week and delivered to form groups.  In addition, 20 minutes of P.S.H.E time is given over to occasional assemblies: an opportunity for the year group to get together and share ideas and opinions.  The topics you will study throughout Year 7 P.S.H.E are:

1. Citizens & Community & Responsibility: Settling as a Kenilworth Student;the anti-bullying and Human Rights
2. Personal Wellbeing: How can we adopt a healthy lifestyle;
3. R.S.E (Relationships and Sex Education): Making and keeping good friends;
4. D.R.E (Drugs and Risk Education): Risk awareness, staying safe and cyber-bullying;
5. Citizenship, Community & Responsibility: Nationalism & Patriotism
6. The Wider World: How can you have an impact on the wider / global community 

FAQs

I am afraid of getting lost and not being able to find my lessons.

Don’t worry about this, it is a big site but you will quickly get used to it. There will be lots of teachers around that you can ask as well as students. 

How much homework will I get?

You will possibly get more homework than you used to get because of the increased number of subjects you will have. You will get 30 minutes of homework from each subject per week. We also use Class Charts – which is an app where your homework instructions will be sent to by your teachers (this means you don’t have to write your homework down). Parents can also access this app to see what homework is being set and when it is due to be handed in.

How does the House Point system work?

Teachers will give students house points for a variety of reasons. This could be for excellent work, answering questions in class, a random act of kindness, persevering with a piece of work that a student has found hard but didn’t give up on trying to complete it.

All house points are recorded in the Class Charts app which can be seen by both yourself and your parents. You can ‘trade’ in your house points in the school shop for a variety of items, ranging from stationary to a Golden Ticket – this is effectively an entry into an end of term raffle where you could win an tablet (or similar) in the end of term celebration assemblies.

Can I bring my mobile phone into school?

Students who bring their mobile phones onto site must place their mobile phones in designated pouches at the start of the school day, where they will be securely locked. Before our students leave the school site, they will be able to unlock their pouches using devices that are placed in each classroom.

I have heard that you can get detentions at secondary school.

At Kenilworth School, we have a Rewards and Sanction system. If homework is repeatedly not handed in a student may receive a detention during the school day or after school – this will be agreed with your parents. If a student’s behaviour is inappropriate in a lesson and disrupts the learning that is taking place they will be given sanctions ranging from a S1 – S4. S1’s and S2’s are warnings (parents will be able to see if any sanctions have been given on the Class Charts app). If a student gets given a S3 it will mean that they have ignored the previous warnings and will now be given a 45-minute detention after school – this will be with their head of year. If a student continues to disrupt the lesson, they will be given a S4 – they will then be moved to another classroom in that department and will receive a one-hour detention after school. During these detentions, the member of staff who gave the sanction will meet with the student in a restorative meeting to discuss the incident and find ways of preventing it from happening again.

Where do I go to get my lunch?

All students have their lunch break in canteen. Hot and cold food can also be bought from the snack bar which is located on the Lower ground level. Students queue up in canteen, tables are set up in the hall for students to eat their lunch, as well as other outdoor eating areas.

We use a biometrics system which means that students do not need to carry any money to pay for their food. Parents put an allowance onto their ParentPay account and students use their biometrics (they put their finger onto a sensor which brings up their account) and the cost of their food comes out of this account. Parents can put a limit on how much their child can spend in a day. There are also machines in school where students can put money (coins) onto their account. If a student’s account is £0, we have a system in place where the student can still get some food – but the money would be owed to the school.

In the first two weeks in September, Year 7 will finish their period 3 lesson 15 minutes early to allow them more time to get used to this new system.

Where can I go if I need to contact my parent during the school day?

If you need to speak to your parent during the day because you have forgotten something like your PE kit or a piece of homework, you should go to the Main Office (M.G.09) and ask if you can contact your parents.

What should I do if I feel that I am being bullied?

Unfortunately, bullying happens in every school from time to time. If a you feel that you are being bullied, we need to know about it as quickly as possible so that it can be dealt with. You should speak to your tutor, head of year or any member of staff that you feel comfortable to speak to.

If you feel that the situation has not been resolved (that the bullying continues after the individuals have been dealt with) please inform your head of year as soon as possible.

uniform

ptA second hand uniform

For information on Bus Routes and Timetables see

warwickshire county council - kenilworth school bus timetable

Suggested Reading from the Learning Resource Centre

This is a small selection of books that will help you progress your reading as you move from year 6 to year 7. Some authors may be familiar to you, others will be new to you, all will take you away to a different time or place.

You may find some of these books in your school library or the public library. If you don’t have a public library card it’s very easy to get one from the website, but you may need a grown up to help you. All will be available from the library at Kenilworth School.

· Eve Ainsworth – Back of the net

· Katya Balen – The Thames and Tide Club

· Alex Bell – The Polar Bear Explorers Club

· Rachel Burge – Whispering Hollow

· Cressida Cowell – The Wizards of Once

· Phil Earle – The Dawn of Adonis

· Natasha Farrant – Voyage of the Sparrowhawk

· Matt Goodfellow – The Final Year

· Sara Pennypacker – Pax

· Katherine Rundell – The Explorer

If you enjoy reading these or any other books over the summer – why not let us know. Send a postcard to the school with the title of the book and why you liked it.

See you in September

Mrs Eadon

LRC Manger

Extra-Curricular Activities

Kenilworth School provides education for its students that goes well beyond the confines of the classroom. There is a variety of opportunities for our young people to engage in a wide range of activities during their lunchtimes and after school.

During a typical week, there are a wide number of activities in which our students are able to participate. These range from a variety of sporting clubs, debate club, book clubs, History club, Orchestra to name but a few. There really is something for everyone at Kenilworth and we strongly recommend that all students engage in at least one activity – even if it is trying something for the first time in their life!

extra-curricular activities

Each year a number of trips and visits are arranged. In the past Kenilworth students have visited: France, Austria, the USA, Iceland and Canada. There are also many visits within the UK; including Geography GCSE field trips, Religious Studies trips to local churches and mosques, Drama and English trips to see performances in the West End as well as more local shows. We also have opportunities for our students to visit universities to experience master classes as well as getting a taste of university life. All of our Year 8 students attend a residential trip and experience a wide range of outdoor activities. Some of our older students also take part in Mountain Walks in Wales with our staff.

We also encourage our students to involve themselves in the local community. Many of our students raise money for local causes and charities. Each year, Urban Sounds for Uyogo, a student-led charity performance, provides a platform for students to showcase their talents while supporting a meaningful caus

In Year 10 students are able to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh Award which is extremely popular at Bronze, Silver and Gold level. As part of this award, many of these student’s volunteer in charity shops, local Beavers and Rainbow groups as well as a number of residential homes in and around Kenilworth.