Year 8 Curriculum

The aim of the Art, Design and Technology curriculum is to provide all students the opportunity to be empowered through creative problem solving and independence. This is at the heart of the subject and embedded in projects and activities inside and outside of the classroom. Innovative projects are designed to provide extensive experiences for inquisitive individuals to explore an impressive range of different materials and techniques.  Our students become creative, confident and independent lifelong learners, who are highly skilled and have high expectations, aspirations and passionately engage with the world around them.

Over the Key Stages, through a strategically structured and scaffolded curriculum, we believe that students should be given opportunities to develop confidence and ownership over their progress by gradually developing these mastery level skills, techniques and subject knowledge overtime.

Our students will be creatively challenged within disciplines by actively promoting the application of mathematical, scientific and literacy skills through a range of exciting and engaging projects. Curriculum content provides regular opportunities to prepare students for a rapidly advancing technological world, which reflects the creative industries that are thriving in Newham, the UK, and internationally.

We work closely with a range of industry professionals, further education providers and external organisations to provide regular opportunities to stimulate students and enhance curriculum’s. We continue to work closely with organisations including Bow Arts Education, University of the Arts London, Fixperts, Tech bloq. The links that we have nurtured have allowed us to establish an annual Our Creative Careers Event which helps students make purposeful connections and links between their subjects, pathways and their local communities developing their aspirations in the process.

We offer a range of opportunities for students to regularly engage with ADT subjects both within and outside the curriculum, Including:-

• Art Club, Baking club, Making club
• Masterclass sessions in subjects such as Engineering, Calligraphy and Photography
• Arts Award Bronze program in Photography
• Regular trips to galleries around London such as the V&A and the Tate Modern

Technical Proficiency in Art

Year 8 Art provides students with the opportunity to build on the technical proficiency of skills learned in Year 7. They create personal artwork that is informed by research and a range of artists’ work. Their sketchbooks provide detailed evidence of their increasingly experimental ideas.  Throughout the year students develop technical proficiency within mastery level subject knowledge in Drawing, Printmaking, Painting and Ceramics.

Animal Hybrids: Illustration project

Students explore the ideas and context behind fashion designer Alexander McQueen’s collection Plato’s Atlantis. They explore the links between the ideas behind the collection and modern day actions around the impact of climate change. Students design a mythical animal hybrid that has evolved to adapt to a future world affected by climate change. This results in a series of fashion illustrations, demonstrating skills in drawing, illustration and watercolour.

Under the Microscope: 3D Ceramics 

Students develop their knowledge of ceramic 3D forming and decorative techniques under the theme of Under the Microscope. They research images found at a microscopic level and analyse the artwork of Tessa Eastman, Alexis Rago and Pamela Sunday to help influence their design for a pinch pot sphere 3D sculpture.

Press and Print: Printing Making

Students develop techniques within typography/graphic design as well as experimenting with a range of printmaking techniques. They research current campaigns behind a range of graphic artists’ work as well as exploring issues that impact society today. Students then explore images, text and how design composition helps to create impact and interest, going on to creating a range of graphic compositions for their chosen campaign. Using their designs, students experiment with a range of printmaking techniques such as linocut, mono-printing and screen printing.

In Year 8,  students get the opportunity to take part in an trip, workshop or inspirational visit to help them make considered choices about their creative options in Y9. Past trips include visits to the Victoria and Albert Museum, Tate Modern gallery and workshops with Bow Arts Education.

At Sarah Bonnell School we aim to ensure that every student has the opportunity to learn and achieve in Computing. Students are taught a variety of skills in their Computing lessons which they will use throughout their lives in and out of school. During their Computing studies students are taught how to code using various programming languages. This in turns enables students to develop their computational thinking and develops their skills further in the subject.

In year 8 students continue to develop their skills and understanding of how digital systems work. They continue to develop their knowledge and understanding through various projects and programming. Students are given to tools to use information technology to create programs, systems and a range of content as well as becoming digitally literate.

In Computing students continue to develop their understanding of hardware components and simple logic. Students are also able to write programs to help solve a problem. This course is engaging and fun and gives students the opportunity to learn how computer technology works.

Year 8 Computing curriculum includes: 

• Create interactive games by using a visual programming language and micro bits
• Understanding of how the internet works: HTML
• What an algorithm is and why they are used
• Design and understand computational abstractions

In ICT students develop their knowledge of current and emerging technologies. This course is engaging and allows students to use a range of ICT tools and techniques to help solve a problem. Students are able to develop their ability to work collaboratively.

Year 8 ICT curriculum includes:

• Creative projects
• Selecting, using & combining multiple applications
• Collecting and analysing data
• Create, re-use, revise and re-purpose digital artefacts

The aim of the Art, Design and Technology curriculum is to provide all students the opportunity to be empowered through creative problem solving and independence. This is at the heart of the subject and embedded in projects and activities inside and outside of the classroom. Innovative projects are designed to provide extensive experiences for inquisitive individuals to explore an impressive range of different materials and techniques.  Our students become creative, confident and independent lifelong learners, who are highly skilled and have high expectations, aspirations and passionately engage with the world around them.

Over the Key Stages, through a strategically structured and scaffolded curriculum, we believe that students should be given opportunities to develop confidence and ownership over their progress by gradually developing these mastery level skills, techniques and subject knowledge overtime.

Our students will be creatively challenged within all disciplines by actively promoting the application of mathematical, scientific and literacy skills through a range of exciting and engaging projects. Curriculum content provides regular opportunities to prepare students for a rapidly advancing technological world, which reflects the creative industries that are thriving in Newham, the UK, and internationally.

We work closely with a range of industry professionals, further education providers and external organisations to provide regular opportunities to stimulate students and enhance curriculums. We continue to work closely with organisations including Bow Arts Education, University of the Arts London, Fixperts, TechBloq. The links that we have nurtured have allowed us to establish an annual Our Creative Careers Event, which helps students make purposeful connections and links between their subjects, pathways and their local communities developing their aspirations in the process.

We offer a range of opportunities for students to regularly engage with ADT subjects both within and outside the curriculum, Including-

• Art Club, Baking club, Making club
• Masterclass sessions in subjects such as Engineering, Calligraphy and Photography
• Arts Award Bronze program in Photography
• Regular trips to galleries around London such as the V&A and the Tate Modern

Year 8 Design Technology students are provided with the opportunity to work with E-Textile components, micro-controllers and programmable servo mechanisms. These technologies complement and build upon the existing skill sets of designing and making, learnt in year 7, with the aim to improve technical accuracy. Learners will be introduced to the relationship between increased accuracy in manufacturing and reduction of waste and inefficient processes by comparing traditional making processes against 3D-printing and laser cutting technologies. Students will learn how to test their designs and ideas through models in order to identify any areas of improvement or modification before committing to a final build piece.

Structure Kit Design – Woodwork and Card Modelling

This architecturally themed project forces students to look at existing structures and iconic landmarks whilst learning about the various forces that cause them to stay upright. Students then design and make their own structure kit using wood tools and machines to follow tight tolerances to produce a structure kit that assembles together using slot joints without the use of any adhesives or fixtures.

E-textiles Night Lamp – Stitching and Electronics

Students are introduced to innovative smart materials and their growing uses within consumer products. Students will develop their skills of identifying constraints and freedoms from a provided brief. Using a variety of stitching and modelling techniques, students will initially produce a test model to explore shapes and nets. This will form the basis of their lamp shape, which will be constructed to create a final prototype made of specialist textile fabric materials and conductive thread and light changing LEDS.

Robotic Redeisgn – Electronics, CAD and Polymer

Students will be provided with a mechanism controlled with a microcontroller. Students will learn the concept of inputs, outputs, flow diagrams and sensors and apply this to control a range of movements. Students will then be required to redesign an aspect of the mechanism in order for it to function in a more efficient manner. This project assesses how students are able to creatively solve problems using digital engineering tools such as 3D modelling CAD software to design and then 3D printers to make their final outcome.

In Year 8, students get the opportunity to take part in educational visits to design organisations and workshops in order to for them to make an informed decision on their creative options for year 9. In the past, students have visited automotive design exhibitions held at the Design Museum and take part in design workshops at Sarah Bonnell.

The Drama Curriculum Area at Sarah Bonnell School seeks to build a learning culture of aspiration, achievement and creativity. We aim to empower our students so that they can all reach their full potential and develop as confident young performers. We believe that the skills students ascertain can provide them with a fulfilling career in the Arts, but also, equip them with transferable skills that can be used in everyday life. We feel that the study of Drama reflects the ethos of our school motto:

Be Proud: Students are proud to showcase their work both in class, at extracurricular events and performances inside and outside of school.

Aim High: Students are encouraged to challenge themselves leading to increased confidence and resilience.

Work Hard: Students see the importance of working hard to reach their goals. For example, their dedication to learning at GCSE level ensures that they achieve excellent results.

Be Kind: Students understand that communication, working with others and having great teamwork skills are essential ingredients to succeeding in Drama and life.

No Excuses: Students have high expectations for themselves and the work they create and are committed to their learning inside and outside the Drama curriculum area.

In Year 8 students continue to develop their understanding of approaches to devised and scripted work. They also build on their understanding on their performance, analytical and written skills.

The Year 8 curriculum includes:

Frankenstein – Approaches and Interpretations of a script – ‘performing duologues’

Political Theatre – Devising from Stimuli

Commedia dell’arte – Style and Form

Barbershop Chronicles – Scripted Unit

Rocks – Film Acting

There is a balance of practical and written activities where they explore devised drama and scripted work in more-depth. This prepares them with necessary knowledge and skills to continue their learning journey if they choose to study Drama as a pathway in Year 9.

Throughout KS3, the curriculum area provides a full range of exciting opportunities for students to perform and thrive in, for example, we have an annual school production as well as other performance opportunities throughout the year. Additionally, Year 8 students are given the opportunity to participate in an Enhanced Learning Day where they create a ‘Play in a Day’ working with professional actors.

Over the years the Drama Curriculum Area has built excellent relationships with world renowned institutions including Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, The National Theatre, The Barbican, UCL: Institute of Education. In addition to this, students have the opportunity to work with a range of professional actors who regularly run workshops here at the school.

English at Sarah Bonnell School fosters a deep passion for Literature and creativity, inspiring students to develop excellent communication skills which empowers them to succeed in all areas of life. Our curriculum offers challenge and rigour providing students with opportunities to: read widely and critically; write with prowess and skill; communicate articulately and become independent, evaluative learners.

Our curriculum is challenging and pertinent to ensure all students can become successful English students. They are inspired through engagement with literary heritage as well as contemporary writers and thinkers – all readings encourage students to enjoy Literature and see the value of exploring the world through reading. We deliver a curriculum which focuses on skills empowering all students to communicate in a fluent and confident manner. Students leave SBS with the skills they need to engage and flourish within their community and society as a whole.

English Year 8 – Enhance

English in Year 8 enhances students’ knowledge and skill; students explore a range of different experiences and relationships while also gaining a deeper understanding of writer’s craft.

What students study:

• Novel – ‘The other side of truth’
• Shakespeare – ‘Romeo and Juliet’
• Poetry from Different Cultures
• Non-fiction (Adventure)

Why they study this:

Students develop their skills as a reader by engaging with timeless themes of society and friendship. They begin with Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’; the modern tale encourages students to formulate opinions and judgements on characters and their motivations. This critical reading is furthered through engagement with Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and a range of poetry (from different cultures). Students question and explore the tools a writer might use to create meaning, securing students’ abilities to discuss and write about the impact of craft. Similarly, students continue to develop their voice by creating narrative and transactional pieces based on their readings. By the end of Year 8, students will become familiar with the processes of exploration of meaning through pertinent and interesting texts. They also continue to enhance their independent reading skills through accelerated reader and dedicated literacy time.

Students create an exciting variety of dishes using flavours and cooking techniques from around the globe. Students will learn how to evaluate their food using detailed evidence and learning through trialling and adapting. Students will build their knowledge of food provenance along with a growing awareness of social, cultural and environmental issues that impact on choices.

Food from Around the World – Food Commodities 

Students develop practical skills on how to prepare and cook high risk foods and continue to explore a range of ingredients and processes from different culinary traditions (traditional British and international) Examples include:- Thailand and creating their own curry paste and Thai Green Curry, and Learning how to make Spaghetti using flour and eggs to incorporate into a Tagliatelle alla Bolognese.

Students start to build upon their theory knowledge through investigating food miles and exploring their carbon footprint through food geography and through learning how to adapt recipes through recipe division and multiplication.

Students start to develop their practical skills further from making curry pastes using a range of herbs and spices for Thai green curry to making sheets of pasta and turning into tageleteli for Ragu alla Bolognese. Students learn to evaluate their dishes which deepen their understanding of sensory properties and adapting and trialling dishes as needed as part of KS4 Non Exam Assessment.

In Year 8, students get the opportunity to take part in a trip, workshop or inspirational visit to help them make considered choices about their creative options in Y9. Past trips include visits to the Victoria and Albert Museum to visit the ‘Bigger than the Plate’ Exhibition.

Students are given the opportunity to join baking club. It is an extracurricular club where students can develop their baking skills through making a range of baked goods and learning how to adapt a recipe to dietary needs such as veganism / gluten intolerances.

hroughout Year 8, Geography at Sarah Bonnell continues to develop the skills that our students will need to be effective Geographers. The team works hard to ensure lessons are engaging, challenging current and relevant to the girls. We aim to promote curious and inspired minds. As part of being an independent learner, the team encourages the students to get involved in project work and use online resources on platforms like Google Classroom.

There is a strong focus on fully preparing the girls for GCSEs throughout years 7-9, by introducing GCSE topics, GCSE style exam questions and GCSE assessments.

Year 8 curriculum: Carousel

• Climate Change: Pupils will develop their understanding about the local and global issues surrounding global warming. 
• Coasts: Pupils will be assessed on why coastlines such as the Jurassic Coast are vibrant and diverse. 
• Development: Pupils will explore the different ways development is measured in rich and poor countries.
• Population: The study of population is important as it allows us to study the nature in which our population changes over time.
• Crime: Pupils will assess the extent to which crime is triggered in the UK, including socio-economic status and environment. Pupils will develop their understanding on ‘Crime in the UK’, relating this to urban and rural issues and how these change overtime. 

In History at Sarah Bonnell, we passionately believe in the relevance of studying the past in order to prepare for the future. Through the study of a diverse range people, places and cultures, students will broaden their horizons and develop as broad minded, critical thinkers.

Our teachers are immensely passionate about the subject and recognise the fundamental importance of engaging learners in an academically rigorous subject. We plan, and teach, lessons that foster a spirit of enquiry, debate and enthusiasm for History. This enables our students to gain a more rounded understanding of society and the world as a whole.

In Year 8 students have one hour a week in History, which is taught by a specialist teacher. We continue to teach an enquiry based learning where each topic is framed around a specific historical question. Enquiries cover a mixture of breadth (e.g. exploring a range of issues) and depth (e.g. focusing on a specific event or concept). A range of skills and proficiencies are developed in Year 8 as students become confident in exploring a range of historical interpretations through engaging with challenging historical sources.

The Year 8 curriculum includes:

EMPIRE & REVOLUTION

• Why was there an increase in explorations in the Early Modern Period?
• What can sources tell us about the Transatlantic Slave Trade?
• How did the Industrial Revolution transform Britain?
• Why is the British Empire so controversial?
• How united is the United Kingdom?

The Mathematics Curriculum Area builds on and develops students’ prior knowledge and skills in Maths throughout their time at Sarah Bonnell. We seek to promote students’ curiosity in Maths in order for students to think, read, write and speak like mathematicians. 

We follow a mastery approach to teaching maths which focuses on mathematical thinking, fluency, variation, coherence and representation and our aim is to support and stretch all learners through Quality First Teaching. In lessons students will have the opportunity to work both independently and collaboratively to develop a strong understanding of algebra, geometry, number, ratio and proportion, and statistics.

During Key Stage 3, students are introduced to key mathematical concepts and skills such as developing number sense, geometry and solving problems which allows pupils to learn and master these before embarking on the GCSE curriculum. In Key Stage 4 students start the GCSE syllabus and topics previously encountered at Key Stage 3 are built on and developed further through coherence. Throughout their time at Sarah Bonnell, students’ Maths lessons will link back to how the skills and topics learnt can be used in real life, whether she pursues Maths to Higher Education or otherwise. We aim to ensure that all students leave Sarah Bonnell being numerate with the essential skills to become successful adults in society.

The Year 8 curriculum further builds upon and develops the knowledge and skills learnt in Year 7 to develop more confident mathematicians who have the skills and resilience to tackle any problem. Through coherence students are able to make connections and build on their prior knowledge in order to apply their learning and solve problems. As we follow a mastery approach when teaching maths, to help students with the transition from Year 7 to Year 8, all lessons follow the same consistent format and structure. These lessons focus on Quality First Teaching and allow for in depth learning and questioning.

Throughout Year 7 students are assessed at the start and end of each topic through pre and post tests so that we can assess student understanding of individual topics and monitor each student’s progress over time.

Where we feel students may benefit from additional support we also offer numeracy groups  whereby students follow a personalised numeracy scheme of learning in conjunction with the A&I department.

By the end of Year 8, students should be able to demonstrate a good understanding of:

• Proportional reasoning,
• Equations of straight lines
• Algebraic techniques
• Developing number skills
• Developing geometry
• Reasoning with data 

Alongside learning inside of the classroom, students in Year 8 have the opportunity to take part in celebrating Pi Day, STEAM week as well as extracurricular clubs, educational visits and the option to take part in the Junior Mathematics Challenge

The vision for the music department at Sarah Bonnell is to give all students access to the best possible opportunities whilst pushing the very best to perform, compose and understand music at the highest level. We aim to achieve this by offering a broad curriculum experience with a variety of opportunities inside and outside the classroom. We want all of our students to have access to quality first music teaching, professional performances, great facilities and an exciting and inclusive extra-curricular programme.

We have an accomplished team of professionals who work alongside our curriculum team to deliver small group and one-to-one instrumental tuition, run beginner clubs and support our extra-curricular programme. As a department we think it is important to showcase this work throughout the year at termly concerts and events attended by parents and the school community.

The music department is a well equipped space with a wide range of instruments and great access to music technology. We are also very excited to be moving to a new state of the art music hub later this year.

The year 8 curriculum seeks to broaden students’ knowledge of the context and History of the music we perform whilst also giving them the opportunity to develop the discrete skills they have touched on in year 7.  In our ‘spiral’ KS3 curriculum students return to their work on practical piano and guitar skills as well as class ensemble.  They develop more advanced music technology and composition skills through our Sequencing and Film Music Projects. Students also study the Great Composers Bach, Joseph Bologne, Mozart, Beethoven, Florence Price and Charles Mingus and their influence on European and American music from 1600-2000. 

The music department offers a range of extra-curricular activities for musicians of all ages and standards. These include choir, jazz band, string ensemble, drum works, piano club, Music Producer Club and band club. Students showcase high quality work at events throughout the year including lunchtime concerts, evening concerts, the Christmas show, and collaborations within Newham Borough. 

At Sarah Bonnell we offer a spiral curriculum which develops the students’ Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education enabling them to further enhance their confidence and the contribution they make to the local, national and global community. Form time is an integral part of this and we provide a well-structured and purposeful start to the day through this medium. As well as encompassing the DfE’s fundamental British values, the PSHCE curriculum follows the three core subjects of the PSHE Association: health and wellbeing, relationships and living in the wider world. Through these core themes, our form time curriculum promotes leadership, wellbeing, resilience and spiritual, moral, social and cultural aspects of education, and complements our curriculum and Enhanced Learning Days (ELDs).   An overview of our timetable for PHSE is available in the graphic below.

“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” – Maya Angelou 

In Year 8, the PSHCE/Form Time programme builds on the work that has been done during Year 7 as part of the spiral curriculum, but in addition, students will increase their knowledge in the following strands and core themes:

Term 1 – Health and Wellbeing

Core theme: How to maintain physical, mental and emotional wellbeing, identify and access help and advice

Core theme: How to make informed choices about health and wellbeing

Term 2 – Friends and Relationships

Core Theme: How to recognise and manage emotions within a range of relationships

Core Theme: How to deal with risky or negative relationships including all forms of bullying

Term 3 – Living in the Wider World

Core Theme: About rights and responsibilities as members of diverse communities, as active citizens and participants in the local and national economy

Core Theme: How to make informed choice and be enterprising and ambitious

During Y8 Form Time and ELDs, students will continue to become better able to understand the issues that face them as young women in our modern society, as well as how to be confident in keeping themselves safe. They will also gain a greater understanding of their place in the SB community and be able to reflect more deeply on their relationships as well as their futures.

Our RSHE (Relationships, Sex and Health Education) curriculum is designed to reflect Newham’s guidance around the implementation of the statutory arrangements in this area.

The Religious Studies Curriculum Area strives for students to engage in rigorous academic pursuit through critical engagement with the truth claims of major world faiths and philosophies, while creating opportunities for students to explore, reflect and understand the impact of beliefs on the lives of believers.

Students are encouraged to explore, challenge and develop their own views, knowledge and skills through discussion, debate and extracurricular activities. They showcase their understanding of matters of philosophy, religion and ethics through essays, presentations and by applying knowledge in creative ways.

In the study of matters of life, death and reality, students develop empathy, understanding and tolerance. This prepares students to engage in the wider world with an understanding of the diversity, values and challenges within society.

The Year 8 Curriculum continues to develop analytical skills to ensure that students are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to be successful at GCSE. The second year of study builds on the comparative studies of Year 7 exploring the different manifestations of similar beliefs and practices, as well as exploring non-religious world views.

Students study: 

• Judaism – Jewish Leaders and The Nature of God
• Islamic Prophethood
• Religious Iconic Figures
• Christianity: Jesus as a Rebel

Assessment: Student progress continues to be measured through the school’s use of Gold, Silver and Bronze assessment, with pupils developing skills such as; Knowledge and Understanding, Religious Expression, Evaluation and Textual analysis. Students undertake home learning projects investigating global politics and ethics, to assess the strengths and weaknesses of different religious beliefs and practices. Formal assessments support students to develop the academic speaking and writing skills necessary for KS4 and beyond.

The Science curriculum functions with the vision of building excellence at all levels. This means that we nurture and coach learners to be the best that they can be.  KS3 and KS4 students are taught with strong emphasis on ensuring they develop scientific knowledge, conceptual understanding and of the nature, processes and methods of Science.

Teaching Science content falls within the categories of biology, chemistry or physics however, our approach to the different aspect of the scientific enquiry skills overlap all three disciplines helping to reinforce and strengthen knowledge, understanding and mastery of ‘working scientifically’.  Increasingly, our students develop scientific thinking, experimental skills and strategies, analytical and evaluating skills and develop the use of scientific nomenclature and understand how they are determined.

Our approach helps our students grow in confidence to make links between different sciences and beyond science subjects through our curriculum, dissect scientific questions about the world around them and be equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of Science, today and for the future. As teaching progresses, students acquire new knowledge (Assessment Objective 1) to fully develop their scientific understanding (Assessment Objective 2) and confidence to engage in discussions about how science has evolved and its application in the 21^st century and beyond (Assessment Objective 3).

We understand the importance of providing students with varied context therefore encouraging resilience and rigour in their approach to problem solving and we achieve this by:

• Organising visits and events to science centres
• Collaborations with 6th form schools and College
• Collaborations with a number of department across the school
• Organising STEAM focus events and enrichment activities
• Organising science clubs for KS3 students
• Encouraging Science mentors
• Appointing Science Ambassadors and Middle leaders

In doing these, we continue to strengthen, secure and enrich students’ scientific understanding, uses and applications of Science today, at KS5 and for their future STEAM careers.

Year 8 students will enhance and strengthen their knowledge & skills in order to develop a deeper understanding of a range of scientific ideas in Science through a broad and balanced curriculum. Students will make links across all three Science disciplines for example, looking at the connections in energy in food chains in biology, thermal energy in chemistry and energy transfers in physics. Students are encouraged to link scientific explanations to everyday life examples, use modelling and abstract ideas to further enhance and evaluate their explanations. Students will be working scientifically throughout the curriculum delivered to them, understand how scientific ideas have developed historically to reflect modern developments in science. The curriculum delivered to them will ensure that learning is rich with a range of knowledge and mastery skills.

Students will continue developing their use of scientific vocabulary, including the use of scientific nomenclature and units and mathematical representations. They will be encouraged to develop their scientific and critical thinking skills, gather new evidence and ideas through practical investigations, research and peer review to modify explanations and scientific ideas. Students will be challenged on deciding the appropriate type of scientific enquiry to undertake to answer their own hypotheses/theories and consider the factors to be taken into account in collecting, recording and processing data. From this, students should evaluate and conclude their findings as well as recognise further questions arising from their investigations. To prepare our year 8 for GCSE, the year 8 science curriculum and assessments focus on students (at any level) mastering their practical skills, critical thinking/scientific skills, literacy/numeracy/graph skills, application of knowledge to real life contexts. This will allow a smoother transition into KS4 and provide sufficient learning & skills for future learning & employment.

By the end of year 8, students will have studied the following: 

• Biology – Getting the Energy your Body Needs
• Biology – Looking at Plants & Ecosystems
• Chemistry – Explaining Physical Changes
• Chemistry -Explaining Chemical Changes
• Physics – Exploring Contact &  Non-Contact Forces
• Physics – Magnetism & Electricity

Be Proud: “A language is not just words. It’s a culture, a tradition, a unification of a community.” Noam Chomsky.

The diversity of languages offered reflects the rich cultural and linguistic heritage of our community. Languages at Sarah Bonnell offer students the opportunity to gain cultural capital through a wide range of extra-curricular enrichments, international and London based visits and opportunities to work with our native speaker language assistants.

Aim High: “Knowledge of language is the doorway to wisdom”, Roger Bacon

We offer a challenging and supportive curriculum that empowers all students to be able to communicate effectively in the languages they are studying. Students master a range of grammatical structures from year 7, allowing them to manipulate language for a range of purposes and become independent, confident linguists.

Work Hard: “One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.” Frank Smith

Enthusiasm, engagement and enjoyment are at the heart of language learning at Sarah Bonnell. The importance of languages is emphasised through a curriculum that links to the wider world. We aim to foster self-motivated students with a lifelong love of language learning.

Be Kind: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.” Nelson Mandela. 

Learning a language develops understanding, empathy and solidarity. It allows us to see the world from a different perspective.

No excuses: “The limits of my language mean the limit of my world”, Ludwig Wittgensteign. 

In the 21st century, living in a global community, English is not enough. Learning languages will open the door to our students to global employment, social and educational opportunities.

All year 8 students continue with the two languages they have studied in year 7 from French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Urdu or Mandarin to build on student’s previous learning. In year 8, the curriculum is sequenced so that key structures are frequently reused and recycled, embedding them in student’s long term memory. This empowers students to communicate using three tenses and express opinions with justifications across a range of topics with increasing fluency, preparing them for the foundations of the GCSE course that begin in year 9.

Arabic – expressing opinions with justifications in three tenses on a range of topics such as music, food and celebrations.

French – expressing opinions with justifications in three tenses on a range of topics such as music, technology and food.

Italian – expressing opinions with justifications in three tenses on a range of topics such as music, food and celebrations.

Spanish – expressing opinions with justifications in three tenses on a range of topics such as media, technology and festivals.

Urdu – expressing opinions with justifications in three tenses on a range of topics such as music, food and celebrations.

In addition to student’s linguistic knowledge, they are also exposed to the culture of the language they are studying through enrichments such as the SOAS Languages Challenge, Chinese Club, French bingo club and an ELD dedicated to the cultural aspect of language learning. There are also a number of target language books and magazines available for students to use in the Learning Hub to enhance their linguistic skills and cultural knowledge.