Years 7 & 8 - Subject List

You'll develop skills and understanding in reading, writing, speaking and listening, and you'll learn how to communicate effectively and respond to a range of information, media and texts.

This course creates confident communicators who are able to apply all four core skills effectively in everyday situations, readers who can engage with a range of texts for information and for pleasure, and writers writers who can use the written word clearly and creatively for a range of different audiences and purposes.

This curriculum is for students who have English as a first language.

Maths

Cambridge Lower Secondary

Maths helps us to think analytically and improve our reasoning abilities. This course encourages life-long enthusiasm for analytical and rational thinking.

You'll develop a holistic understanding of the subject, focusing on principles, patterns, systems, functions and relationships. You'll become mathematically competent and fluent in computation, which can be applied to everyday situations.

‘Thinking and working mathematically’, a unique feature of our curriculum, encourages learners to talk with others, challenge ideas and provide evidence that validates conjectures and solutions. When you think and work mathematically, you actively seek to make sense of ideas and build connections between different facts, procedures and concepts. This supports higher order thinking that helps you to view the world in a mathematical way.

Science

Cambridge Lower Secondary

Our exciting new lower secondary science curriculum helps learners develop a life-long curiosity about the natural world and enables them to seek scientific explanations to the phenomena around them.

What will students learn?
Students will think scientifically and develop practical skills alongside knowledge and understanding, which is vital for explaining the world around us. Improving learners’ awareness of science in the world around them develops their sense that ‘science is for me’, helping to connect themselves to the subject.

This approach provides them with the knowledge and skills they require to excel at science in later stages of education and to make informed choices, including considering sustainability issues and meeting the challenges facing our environment.

Global Perspectives

Cambridge Lower Secondary

The programme develops the skills of research, analysis, evaluation, reflection, collaboration and communication. It strengthens the links across English as a first or second language, mathematics, science and ICT Starters.

Research says that the earlier students start to develop and practise their skills, the greater the impact on their learning. Making Cambridge Global Perspectives available to younger students will develop and embed cross-curricular skills at an earlier age, supporting them in their studies as they progress to Cambridge Upper Secondary and beyond.

History

Independent Schools Examinations Board

Digital Literacy

Cambridge Lower Secondary

Digital literacy is an essential skill for learners of all ages, including lower secondary students. The digital world allows us to connect, collaborate, innovate and discover new information on an ever-broadening scale, and learners must be able to effectively use technology from the very beginning of their educational journey.

What will students learn?
Students develop the digital skills that will help with many aspects of their future learning and development. They will:

understand their place, and the place of others, in an interconnected world and make educated decisions about the information that they encounter online.
develop knowledge and understanding that will allow them to respond to, and evaluate technology of the future
develop skills to create increasingly sophisticated documents and presentations
learn how to become positive contributors to the digital world
use digital technology safely and protect their own physical and emotional wellbeing.

One language from: French, German, Spanish

Independent Schools Examinations Board

Our foreign language syllabus aims to help pupils develop the skills to understand the written and spoken language and use the language effectively across a broad range of linguistic activities while encouraging positive attitudes towards the use of foreign languages and towards speakers of foreign languages.

Candidates may use a standard English-French / English-German / English-Spanish (depending on the course) dictionary during the preparation period for speaking exams only. Candidates whose first language is not English may have access to a bilingual translation dictionary, but not in the target language (French, German, Spanish - depending on the course).

Wellbeing

Cambridge Lower Secondary

Cambridge Lower Secondary Wellbeing supports learners through a critical period of development, marked by rapid cognitive and emotional changes. By promoting and supporting a positive sense of wellbeing, learners are more likely to feel motivated, engaged and resilient in their learning.

Our Cambridge Lower Secondary Wellbeing curriculum encourages learners to be active participants in the development of their own and others’ wellbeing. This is done by reflecting on and understanding themselves, fostering positive relationships with others, and being safe and active participants in an ever changing world.

What will students learn?
In Cambridge Lower Secondary Wellbeing, learners:

develop their understanding of factors that contribute to their emotional and physical wellbeing
practise a wide range of strategies for managing their emotional and physical wellbeing
explore a wide range of interpersonal relationships, including friendships, family, the importance of community and social responsibility
demonstrate positive expressive and receptive communication skills when interacting with others
are empowered to manage their own safety and respond to change in a wide range of situations
explore how they can contribute to the wellbeing of others.

Art & Design

Cambridge Lower Secondary

Art & Design gives learners a platform to express themselves, sparking imagination, creativity and developing transferable skills. Students explore and push boundaries to become reflective, critical and decisive thinkers. They learn how to articulate personal responses to their experiences.

Students develop creative skills that will help with many aspects of their future learning and development. They will:

learn to see themselves as artists and become increasingly reflective and independent
develop the skills needed to express creative ideas and to communicate visually
understand their place and the place of others in a creative, innovative and interconnected world.

Classical Civilisation

Independent Schools Examination Board

The paper is designed as an attractive option for those who are interested in the rich civilisation of the Greeks and the Romans and their colourful mythology.

Computing

Cambridge Lower Secondary

Our new computing curriculum helps learners understand how computers work. This stimulating course gives students the opportunity to look inside a computer to understand the purpose of different components. They will develop coding skills in text-based programming languages, such as Python, and learn that computers can only perform actions that humans ask them to do.

Students develop the computational thinking skills and vocabulary they need to:

extract key information from a set of instructions, break down problems into smaller parts and recognise patterns within sequences of instructions
present sequences of instructions both verbally and visually, with increasing precision
think logically to identify and solve errors in increasingly complex computing scenarios
see themselves as computer scientists and understand how skills such as programming and logical thinking help in local and global industries
understand the role that computers, other machines and data play in their lives.

Music

Cambridge Lower Secondary

Music fosters creativity and builds confidence. It helps learners to express themselves and shows them the importance of communication as they learn to connect with other musicians and with audiences.

Learners explore music as performers, composers and informed listeners. They make, understand and appreciate music from different cultures, times and places, helping them to develop leadership and collaboration skills as well as self-confidence.

Cambridge Lower Secondary Music learners:

cultivate a joy of music through participating in meaningful and enjoyable experiences
develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to contribute as musicians
collaborate with others in purposeful and expressive ways through singing and playing instruments
nurture their individual and collective creativity
use their growing knowledge to explore and generate music that is unique, relevant and valuable.
Students develop creative skills that will help with many aspects of their future learning and development.

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