LOUGHBOROUGH HIGH SCHOOL Choices for Year 9 2018-19
Life in Year 9 Year 9 is undoubtedly hard work and requires skills in terms of time management and organisation but it is also a lot of fun. You will enjoy all of your usual form and year Year 9 is a crucially important year as it signifies a move towards the more senior part of the school and marks the end of a key stage in your education. You will consolidate earlier work and start to lay very important foundations for GCSE courses. In some subjects you will start to follow the GCSE syllabus. activities. You should certainly aim to participate in extracurricular activities and seize opportunities for trying something new, and taking on more responsibility within the school.
Careers You will be introduced to formal careers work which will form part of the PSHCE course. You will be given information about the GCSE subjects available and choose which subjects you would like to take forward into years 10 and 11 for GCSE. This happens in the first half term of the spring term and you will receive plenty of guidance when making your choices. What is this person s career? social media image consultant website designer app developer visual effects technical director wealth management advisor design engineer... What will you become?
Choices for Year 9 You are able to indicate a preference about some of the subjects you study during year 9. You will be studying two subjects from: Art and design Drama Food and nutrition ICT Music We hope you will all be able to do your first two choices but this will depend on set sizes, so you will be asked to give four subjects in order of preference. You will also decide, with advice from your classics teacher, whether to continue to study Latin or to take classical civilisation in its place. In addition to the language you have been studying since year 7, you will choose a second language to start in year 9. You may then decide to continue this language, alongside your existing one, for GCSE in years 10 and 11. The options are: Classical Greek French German Spanish The next part of this booklet is to provide you with some information about the courses available. If you have any questions which are not answered by the booklet, there are plenty of people to ask - your form teacher, your subject teachers, Miss Rees, Miss Standring, Dr Burnett and Dr Jackson. Guidance is given in each subject entry on whether the decision you make now will limit your choice for GCSE. Even if a subject does not require the year 9 course for GCSE, if you are already very drawn to the idea of studying it further, it would make sense for you to choose it.
Art and Design creative world, past and present. As the course progresses there will be the opportunity to work more independently, both Art is a creative, hands-on subject suiting visual and practically minded people. During the art and design course you will be introduced to many new materials, techniques, artists, designers and art movements. This will build on the alone and in small groups. At least one trip to a place of interest will be part of the course to enable the selection of resource material and experience live art and design. If you wish to take GCSE art and design you should take this course. skills you developed in years 7 and 8 to create a foundation of practical knowledge and resources and introduce you to the 4
Drama new knowledge, create new values and build self-esteem. Although this course will prepare you with the necessary skills for GCSE it is not compulsory to have taken it. The skills and qualities that you will develop in drama such as teamwork, creativity, leadership and risk-taking are assets in all subjects and all areas of life. Drama stimulates the imagination and will allow you to explore and reflect on The course will offer: Acting including improvisation and role-play as well as studying a scripted play The opportunity to develop your inter-personal and group working skills and your ability to communicate with others Creative skills in the technical aspects of the theatre including sound and lighting The chance to develop your spoken and written evaluative skills important subject matter, test and try out new ideas, acquire A trip to see a professional theatre production 5
Food and Nutrition There will be plenty of scope for practical work throughout the year which will allow you to make more independent choices and develop your culinary skills. During year 9 we will focus on the link between diet and health together with topics such as meal planning, food preparation and cooking, food safety and consumer education. This course is not required to take the subject at GCSE. 6
ICT internationally recognised qualification in computer literacy, with an introduction to computer science. The ECDL covers the basic ICT skills first taught in years 7 and 8: managing files, word processing, spreadsheets, databases, presentations, internet and email. The course is examined as four short tests, held during lesson time at the end of each section and has a four-tier grading structure. Please be advised that the additional cost of about 90 for this qualification will be added to the fee bill. Further information about the course can be found at: http://www.bcs.org/ server.php?show=nav.5829 The introduction to computer science includes both the theory of computing and some programming to provide a taster for the GCSE course. The year 9 course combines the opportunity to take the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL), an 7
Music chants, concerto, world music, music and media and writing a piece of music to accompany a cartoon. The music course for year 9 enhances the skills already acquired during years 7 and 8. These include listening to and appraising music, composition and performance. You will expand your ICT skills through the use of Sibelius and Ableton Live software which will allow you to undertake more complex tasks and further develop your understanding and ability. This course is designed to challenge those who already have instrumental experience whilst also being accessible to those who have a general interest and appreciation of music. It is not a requirement for you to already have instrumental or notation skills although these aspects will be necessary for GCSE. Composition is an important part of this course, both in researching existing music and being able to create your own work using specified forms and techniques. Topics include music built on a bass line (ground bass and riffs), vocal It is expected that those wanting to study GCSE music will take the year 9 course. 8
Classics Everyone in year 9 will continue to study a classical subject either Latin or classical civilisation. Both Latin and classical civilisation are available at GCSE; it is essential for anyone wishing to study Latin in year 10 to follow the year 9 Latin course. However, the GCSE classical civilisation course is available ab initio, so anyone can select this subject in year 10, no matter which classical subject(s) you have studied previously. LATIN Most of you will continue to study Latin, the course having moved away from Pompeii to Roman Britain and then onto Egypt and the vibrant city of Alexandria, home to the fabulous Pharos lighthouse one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. As well developing your knowledge and understanding of the Roman Empire and its values, you will develop your linguistic skills further, so that by the end of this year you will have learnt about two thirds of the words required for GCSE and have increased your reading and translation speed, as well as your analytical skills, enormously. We would strongly encourage anyone wishing to take Greek to continue with Latin in year 9 as the structure of the two languages is very similar. CLASSICAL CIVILISATION For those of you who find your skills and interests are less linguistic and more humanities-based, in year 9 we also run a parallel classical civilisation course which engages with the classical world through the study of its archaeology, art, literature, politics, social history, religion and philosophy. The course examines aspects of both Greek and Roman culture; previous areas of study include the mythology of Minoan Crete, heroes and quests in classical literature, the Trojan War, tales from Ovid s Metamorphoses and Greek drama. 9
This course will also help you to develop your analytical and evaluative skills as well as providing an excellent basis for studying classical civilisation at GCSE level by developing your appreciation of literature and history. 10
Languages CLASSICAL GREEK The legacy of the ancient Greeks is all around us, from their art, architecture and literature to their philosophy, language and even their alphabet, which features in the notation of numerous mathematical and scientific equations. In the year 9 Greek course you will learn the Greek alphabet, investigate the wide array of English words which derive from Greek roots, and start getting to grips with the grammar and vocabulary prescribed for the GCSE syllabus. In addition to this, you will learn about ancient Greek culture and society, particularly Greek religion, daily life, sport and entertainment. The Greek language works in a very similar way to Latin, so similar skills are required to study it successfully. As well as developing these analytical, linguistic and communication skills you will also have the opportunity to participate in a variety of extra-curricular activities such as theatre trips, the annual Latin and Greek reading competition and the biennial LES Classics trip. It is expected that those wanting to study Greek at GCSE will take the year 9 course. FRENCH France. Swimmable from England - if you re a good swimmer! but a whole different and fascinating world. Breathtaking scenery, white beaches, deep blue Mediterranean skies, the Eiffel Tower, the Mona Lisa, skiing in the Alps, endless culture, high fashion, delicious food, and Astérix. French is your passport to all this and makes you part of it. Did you know, though, that most people who speak French have never been near France? They re all round the world, from the frozen north of Canada to the deserts of Africa, from the jungle of Sénégal to 11
the coconut islands of the South Seas knowing French opens all this to you. You probably already know a few words of French, maybe more than just a few words, but year 9 will give you the basics and a real taste of this brilliant language, and let you know if you want to carry it on through years 10 and 11 to GCSE and who knows? - beyond. GERMAN German has it all! From chocolate and cherry cake through Haribos to The Sound of Music, it s all German. Not only is this the language of Europe s Number 1 nation, and the ski-slopes of Austria and Switzerland, it s also a language that won t require you to learn a new accent - just say what you see. Plus, you won t have to learn too many new words: German works by just clicking little words together to say what you mean! SPANISH In year 9 Spanish we use the new Mira text book, learning how to speak and write about yourself, family and friends, your home life, your free time and your local area. In addition to the speaking, writing, reading and listening we do in the text book, we also enjoy role plays, presentations, an exciting BBC video (mi Vida Loca), games and songs from the likes of Shakira, Christina Aguilera and Enrique Iglesias. Spanish is fast becoming one of the world s most spoken languages. We rap, we sing - in our lessons we do everything, including having Christmas three times every December. Willkommen in eine neue Welt! Welcome to a new world - the world of German! 12