YEAR 9 SUPPORTING SUCCESS EVENING Wednesday 28 November 2018 ‘A Marathon not a Sprint’

MATTHEW VELLENSWORTH ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL – YEAR 9 LINK

AIMS To provide information regarding core subjects To provide access to specific course guidance

ATTENDANCE 90% Attendance is equal to 1 day missed per fortnight. 1 school year at 90% - 4 weeks of lessons missed. 5 years of secondary school at 90% is half a school year missed. Research shows that 17 missed days per year = 1 GCSE grade dropped in every subject. A student with 95% attendance would have a 73% chance of achieving 5 A*-C grades at GCSE. A student below 90% attendance would have a 27% chance of achieving 5 A*-C grades at GCSE. Any student under 95% is a concern. If you achieve 100% attendance – 190 days, a student still gets 175 days off!

Learning Lost Each Year LATENESS=LOST LEARNING Minutes Late Each Day Learning Lost Each Year 5 Minutes Late 3 Days Lost 10 Minutes Late 6.5 Days Lost 15 Minutes Late 10 Days Lost 20 Minutes Late 13 Days Lost 30 Minutes Late 19 Days Lost

MAKING ROUTINES Start now! Homework – create a routine about when to complete it Use the 5 revision techniques Be organised – work done in Y9 is preparation for GCSEs

MRS LINDSEY GOODE HEAD OF ENGLISH

AIMS To offer support to you (parents/carers) in helping your child to achieve their potential in English To provide further information and guidance for parents/carers regarding English GCSEs in Year 9 To answer any questions you may have

THE COURSE Two GCSEs – English Language and English Literature Everything studied in Year 9, Year 10 and Year 11 will be examined at the end of Year 11 Revision, organisation and an early start are key aspects in achieving success

ENGLISH LANGUAGE Two papers both lasting 1 hours and 45 minutes Section A will deal with analysis of fictional and non-fictional extracts Section B Involves descriptive, narrative writing and functional writing More exam-specific teaching will start in Y10, but all of the skills work done in Y9 will help with the understanding of these papers

ENGLISH LITERATURE There are two papers Copies of the set texts we study for GCSE English Literature will be able to purchase from School over the coming weeks There are two papers Paper 1 lasts 1 hour and 45 minutes and students answer questions on ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare and ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens Paper 2 lasts 2 hours and 15 minutes. Students answer one question on ‘An Inspector Calls’ by J.B. Priestley, one on poetry from an anthology, and two on unseen poems

YEAR 9 COURSE CONTENT Detailed study of 19th Century Fiction and Non-Fiction Texts – This helps develop skills and prepare them for A Christmas Carol, Macbeth and Language Paper 2. Macbeth – This is long and complicated text and starting in Y9 and then revisiting the text allows for skills to be taught, the plot to be embedded and the development of characters and themes to be explored. Approaches to Poetry – students have to study 15 poems and tackle an unseen poem for GCSE English Literature. These have to be remembered and understood. By learning a few poems at a time they can be explored in detail and fully understood. Writing Skills – Students will develop their skills in creative writing and writing with a viewpoint in preparation for their English Language exams at the end of Year 11.

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT YOUR CHILD? Talk about texts your child is studying at school – Revision guides, film/on-stage interpretations and online revision videos are readily available Encourage your child to read (and re-read) the texts for the exams Encourage a wide range of reading (newspapers, fiction, magazines – anything!) and talk to your child about what they have read Practise writing at speed

USEFUL WEBSITES https://www.senecalearning.com https://www.bbc.com/bitesize https://www.senecalearning.com https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/gcse

We are always here to answer any questions and to listen to important information about your child. Thank you very much for your continued support

MR MICHAEL STEER HEAD OF MATHS

GCSE MATHS HAS NEW CONTENT! Many of the old Grade B higher GCSE topics are now part of foundation GCSE and will be Grade 5. For example: Standard form 4.3 x 102 Trigonometry SOH CAH TOA Factorising quadratics! x2 - 5x + 6 = (x-2)(x-3) Sector area and arc length

YEAR 9 OVERVIEW 5 lessons per week Approximately 40% of content taught for first time Regular assessment in class and through weekly homework Formal assessments termly, in a style that mirrors GCSE All results will be analysed to determine whether students are on track to succeed Full feedback given to students to identify strengths and development areas

SUPPORTING STUDENTS Thursday night study club Maths office Equipment Homework completion A positive environment to study Revision Guides Websites and Apps

WEBSITES & APPS Studymaths.co.uk MrBartonmaths.com Hegartymaths.com Revisionmaths.com BBC Bitesize PiXL Maths App

MRS BELINDA SMITH HEAD OF SCIENCE “A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” Charles Darwin

YEAR 9 SCIENCE Every student in Year 9 must take GCSEs in Science. There are two alternative courses that your child is already following: GCSE Combined Science (Trilogy). It is equivalent to 2 GCSEs. The course has components of all three science subjects Or separate science which will lead to GCSEs in Biology, Chemistry and Physics i.e. 3 GCSEs. (Triple)

TRILOGY vs TRIPLE There is no coursework for either route The only form of assessment will be exams at the end of Year 11. This is not a race You will have to complete 6 exams in each route The content is very similar for each route. The triple route contains more detail about the same topics From both courses you can progress to Science A-level and sit either HT or FT papers.

GCSEs in chemistry, Biology and Physics HOW DO THEY DIFFER? GCSE Trilogy GCSEs in chemistry, Biology and Physics How many GCSEs? 2 3 How many hours of Science will I have per week? 4 6 How many exams will I sit at the end of Year 11? How long is each exam? 1 hour 15 minutes 1 hour 45 minutes How much does each exam contribute to my final grade? 16.7% 50%

THINGS TO NOTE – THE MARATHON The maths content has increased in all subjects. The physics papers have 23 equations to learn and use. Having a calculator is vital There are required practical experiments. Being present in school when these take place to learn the techniques is also essential. The students will be given links to resources and video clips demonstrating these competencies The content has increased and has become harder. Revise right from the start of year 9. All subsequent exams will revisit work completed in previous years

FURTHER HELP Your teachers Specification and revision guides WTM (walking talking mocks) Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X53rAvNLcQ Subscription to my-GCSEscience – if this has been missed, it will be relaunched in year 10 Primrose Kitten hour long video clips covering the whole of the GCSE

OTHER USEFUL WEBSITES AQA current specification papers (Trilogy) https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse/combined-science-trilogy- 8464/assessment-resources AQA Biology current specification papers https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse/biology-8461/assessment- resources AQA specification http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse Edmodo Apps e.g. https://www.educationalappstore.com/best-apps/best-5-revision-apps Free science lessons (youtube) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S45_3wWL-Xk

MORE INFORMATION If you need any more information please a member of the science faculty or Mrs Smith.

MATTHEW VELLENSWORTH ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL – YEAR 9 LINK

PiXL INDEPENDENCE PIXL Independence is a bank of student booklets that you can use for a wide range of subjects to support your revision and areas identified for development in class. It’s independent work so you can complete as much as you like outside of lessons. https://students.pixl.org.uk PIXL school number: 904915 Ossett student password: Indep163 Select ‘Years 10 & 11 GCSE’ and then select your subject(s)