Welcome to Year 7
Welcome to Year 7, our school motto, created by students, is ‘Enjoy – Learn – Succeed’. We are totally student centred. We expect every Beckfoot learner to enjoy school, be successful academically and become self-determined, outward looking and selfless young adults. Our culture is celebratory and aspirational. We want each young person to make a valuable contribution and in doing so, we hold the highest
expectations of them. We understand that starting secondary school can be daunting, which is why we work to ensure all students have a smooth start at school.
Communicating with you
Our Family Communication App is Class Charts and it is available on IOS and Android, we will send you an invitation to download the app in September to Priority 1 contacts. This app will:
- Allow you to view information and keep up to date with what’s going on in school.
- Allow you to view key information about how your child is doing in school.
- Inform you about your child’s activity, including school letters, attendance, visits and events in school.
- Allow you to send and receive free messages to and from school via your mobile device.
We will also send home progress reports three times a year, this will give you information about your child’s attendance, punctuality and application to learning for each subject.
Transition
Transition events will take place before your child starts at Beckfoot so students can meet staff and peers and learn more about their school community.
Form tutors at Beckfoot are central to caring for students and monitoring their progress socially and academically. Groups will be mixed up to ensure primary school intakes are spread out so students have the opportunity to make new friends.
Support is always there for students struggling with transition, and should they have any worries or concerns we encourage then to discuss these with our Head of Year 7, their tutor, or Year 8 buddies.
Your Team
Our team will be here to support Year 7 students through their transition to secondary school and their first year at Beckfoot.
- Mr White – Head of Year 7
- Mrs Jeffrey – Pastoral Manager
- Mr Midgley – Head of Key Stage 3
- Mr Wade – Headteacher
- Mrs Denham – Deputy Headteacher and Designated Safeguarding Lead
- Mr Barnes – SENDCO
Should you ever have concerns or queries, please contact the school on 01274 771444.
Wider Opportunities
Year 7 Enrichment – We are committed to providing as many enrichment activities as possible for our students.
Trips and experiences run throughout the year and can range from residential trips, subject-specific trips and reward trips.
Enrichment Week is the final week of school before Summer, where students will have the opportunity to take part in an activity of their choice.
Beckfoot University provides students with a passport to learning that they will keep for the year to record extra-curricular events and experiences inside and out of school, if students complete 30 hours of extra learning they will attend our June graduation event.
Year 7
| Subject | Cycle 1 | Cycle 2 | Cycle 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art | Drawing – Elements of art Abstract art – sculptural form | Day of the Dead – Embossed metal sugar skull Assemblage – Wall hanging | Cultural masks – design and relief sculpture |
| Computer Science | Internet Safety: Students will learn how to collect and use digital images using appropriate software, they will explore responsible online behaviour, including understanding what is right and wrong when using technology and online services | Algorithms thinking: Students will develop their problem-solving skills by learning how to design and analyse algorithms, they will explore how algorithms are sequences of steps used to complete tasks and how they differ from computer programs | Small basic programming: Students will understand how to control movement using commands and explore key computational thinking concepts such as sequencing, repetition and user input |
| Design Technology | Product Design – Gadget Stand Students will be introduced to the basics of product design and making with an end product of a gadget stand. Students will work with a range of marking our and practical equipment to produce an end outcome. They will learn about design styles, types of wood and environmental issues in product design. | Food – Healthy Breakfast Students are introduced to the basics of food technology in view of making a final dish of a breakfast quesadilla, students will work with a range of equipment and oven features as they earn about food miles, nutrition and hygiene. | Textiles – Pencil case Students are introduced to the basics of textiles in view of making an end product of a pencil case, students will work with a range of marking out and practical equipment to produce and end outcome, they will learn about different types of fibres and Fairtrade issues. |
| English | Telling the story: Students will understand how a story is constructed as they learn about stock characters, form and structure of stories over time: Iliad to Dahl. Creatively Coraline: Students will learn to recognise story conventions as they examine how a ‘modern classic’ exemplifies the techniques they’ve learnt and apply them to their own ‘quest tale’. | Shakespeare – to laugh or cry? Students will learn to recognise the conventions of three types of Shakespearean plays (history, tragedy and comedy) as they develop their knowledge of the plot of several of his plays. The Merchant of Venice: Students will develop a deeper understanding of Shakespeare as they study this text to deepen their knowledge of the plot and characters and their relationships. | Sonnets: Students will learn about the origins of the sonnet form and learn to recognise, analyse and explain the form: Petrarch to the Romantics. Oracy – could my voice change the world? Students will read a range of speeches and analyse their use of rhetoric, and deliver their own speech using these skills. |
| Geography | Walls: Students will begin to develop their awareness of the wider world as they focus on tensions around existing borders so they can begin to formulate comparisons between countries. Geographical skills: Students will learn basic map skills so they can confidently read an Atlas Map and describe locations. Rivers: Students will look at the processes and landforms within a river system, how they’re formed and the causes and impacts of flooding. | Ice on the land: Students will learn about the changes in global ice coverage and the physical processes within a glacier that result in distinctive glacial landforms such as a corrie and glacial trough. Coasts: Students will gain an introduction to the landforms at a coastal landscape and be able to explain how processes of erosion create these. They will also look at how engineering can be used to protect coastlines. Life in Antarctica: Students will learn about the climate and the cause of the climate in Antarctica, receive an introduction to the concept of biodiversity and how humans threaten the environment. | Life in a hot desert: Students will understand the climate in a hot desert and continue to learn about biodiversity and how humans threaten the environment. Fieldwork: Students will learn how to carry out fieldwork and collect primary and secondary data and create graphs and tables to present their data. |
| History | How did the Normans take control of England? Students will be able to explain the causes and consequences of invasions in England in the 10th and 11th century, including why William the Conqueror was able to win the Battle of Hastings How did the Normans keep control of England? Students will understand how the Normans made changes to England in order to keep their power after the Norman conquest | How disastrously was the Black Death for the Medieval World? Students will be able to explain the causes and consequences of the Black Death and understand how Medieval beliefs about illness limited their response to the disease How did the world change with the Age of Exploration? Students will understand how exploration benefited Europe but had a negative impact on indigenous populations | Was Elizabethan England a ‘golden age’? Students will be able to explain how the Elizabethan age can be seen as golden age for different groups of people |
| German | Meine Welt und ich: Learning and using key sounds and letters of the German alphabet, numbers and days of the week. Learning to discuss your characteristics with others. Familie and Tiere: Exploring discussing families and pets. | Meine Freizeit: Students will learn to conjugate present tense verbs and express opinions about a range of free time activities. Mein Schule: Students will learn key vocabulary around the topic of school and give their opinion on subjects. | Gute reise: Students will discuss future and current holiday plans and gain insight into German-speaking tourist areas. Cultural capital: Students will have the opportunity to explore a German film. |
| PSHCE | Living in the wider world: Careers – Beckfoot transition, careers in English, Maths, Science, Creative Arts, Humanities , PE and Languages Health and wellbeing: Physical Health – Water, cancer, blood donation, tooth decay, drugs, personal hygiene, and common injuries | Health and wellbeing: Mental health – Defining mental health, change, diet and exercise, internal and external factors affecting self esteem and confidence, online safety Relationships – Marriage, safety, family on future relationships, defining sexism and parents | Relationships – Empathy, defining peer pressure, laws on consent, defining respect, types of bulling, rights and responsibilities Living in the wider world: Beckfoot Britain and beyond – Year 8 transition and individual liberty |
| Maths | Number – written methods, use of a calculator, types of numbers, faction arithmetic and FDP equivalence Algebra – sequences and simplifying and solving Geometry and measures – area perimeter Statistics – MMMR, averages Ratio, proportion and rates of change – ratio | Number – percentages, multiples, factors, primes and decimals Ratio, proportion and rates of change – scales Geometry and measures – area and circumference of a circle, geometry and surface area Algebra – equation, coordinates, straight line graphs | Geometry and measure – volume, angles Ratio, proportion and rates of change – ratio Statistics – graphs and charts |
| Performing Arts | Superheroes: Students will be introduced to key physical skills and basic stagecraft and vocal skills as they work to develop their own superhero character and analyse their own performance. | Physical Theatre: Students will be introduced to stagecraft in physical theatre as they work in a group perform choral movement, shapes and balances and a physical theatre performance. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Students will develop their skills of explorative and storytelling techniques as they communicate the mood and emotions of characters in the script. | Bollywood – dance: Students will be introduced to dance performance skills as they develop performances in a larger group. They will use choreographic techniques to devise their own routine and perform the piece to an audience. |
| Music | Elements of music: Students will learn the fundamental building blocks of music through DR SMITH (Dynamics, Rhythm, Structure, Melody, Instrumentation, Texture and Harmony) Gamelan: Students will be introduced to world music, focusing on rhythm, pitch and ensemble performance using a simple five-note scale | Chords: Students will learn basic harmony, playing C, F and G major chords and using block, broken and “oom-pah-pah” techniques, as they learn to play a melody for a popular piece of music Riffs: Students will explore repeated musical patterns, playing rhythmically complex riffs and composing their own | Caribbean Music: This unit will focus on syncopation and offbeat rhythms, incorporating melody, chords and baselines, bringing together all the skills they’ve developed over the year. |
| French | Mon auto portrait: Learning and using key sounds and letters of the French alphabet as well as numbers and days of the week. Learning to talk about the characteristics of yourself and others Mon collège: Learning to describe what we learn at school, express opinions, apply adjectives and talk about our timetable. Talk about what we eat at lunch and compare French/English food | Mes Passetemps: Discussing your usage and opinion of different technologies. Learning sports vocabulary and giving your opinion on what you like doing in your free time. Using temporal adverbs and the verbs jouer and faire accurately | Ma zone: Saying what’s in your town and giving an opinion on where you live, learning how to dive directions and how to address people correctly in French (using tu and vous) – using prepositions and modal verbs Partez/cultural capital: Learning new vocabulary linked to countries and holiday destinations, discussing holiday activities. Students will be introduced to the perfect tense, conditional and future tense to discuss holiday plans |
| PE | Learners will develop teamwork, orienteering and problem-solving skills. They will develop core skills and tactical awareness in a range of isolated practices and conditioned games, while developing knowledge of basic rules and leadership skills in: Basketball, rugby, badminton, football and netball. Learners will develop core skills on the floor and low level apparatus, while developing knowledge of choreographic devices and leadership skills in gymnastics. | Learners will develop teamwork, orienteering and problem-solving skills. They will develop core skills and tactical awareness in a range of isolated practices and conditioned games, while developing knowledge of basic rules and leadership skills in: Basketball, rugby, badminton, football and netball. Learners will develop core skills on the floor and low level apparatus, while developing knowledge of choreographic devices and leadership skills in gymnastics. | Athletics: Development of core skills and basic technical and tactical knowledge of events. |
| RE | Sacred Six: Students will encounter the big six religions to develop religious literacy and learn about these religions in chronological order | Judaism: Students will understand Jewish beliefs and practices and know that the covenant influences all parts of life, such as Jewish identity, clothing and festivals Christianity: Students will know that the Trinity is the core Christian belief and the characteristics of each person in the Trinity and apply this knowledge to parables | Islam: Students will know key Muslim beliefs and practices and learn about the Sunni/Shia split, how Muslims are portrayed in the media and the difference between personal faith and institutional What is wisdom? Students will learn about Ancient Greek Philosophy from Plato on wisdom |
| Science | Chemistry: Particle model and atoms, elements and compounds Biology: Cells Physics: Energy | Chemistry: Pure and impure substances Biology: Skeleton and organisation Physics: Forces and speed | Chemistry: Chemical reactions and energy changes Biology: Digestion Physics: Pressure in fluids |