Curriculum & Subject Overview

"Arts education supports cognitive development in children, improving English, language acquisition, and maths. Evidence shows that children are more willing to apply themselves in all subjects and engage in independent learning if arts education is a prominent part of the school day." (Cooper, 2018)

Art and design offers numerous opportunities for students to demonstrate creativity, self-expression and to develop an understanding of other cultures, time periods and ways of life.

The art curriculum also aims to provide students with opportunities to improve confidence and self-belief. They accomplish this by realising ideas to produce objects, artworks and other creative responses of which they can be proud and from which they can gain a tangible sense of achievement.

"Many students linked this experience - and the opportunities the arts give them for self-expression - to their own well-being and mental health; they saw their art work as a valve for releasing pressures they experienced elsewhere in their lives (including in school)." (Hall and Thompson, 2018)

The design of our KS3 curriculum is intended to provide students with time and opportunity to develop skills in the four key areas of assessment required to succeed at GCSE and A-level in this subject. Students will be able to: explore and understand examples of art history and culture and to discuss these using visual language; develop ideas in response to this knowledge using a range of materials and processes; record observations by drawing and other means, and to produce a meaningful personal response using traditional fine art media including drawing, painting, printmaking and sculpture. Additionally, students will be provided with opportunities to learn about and reflect on traditions of different cultures and the values and arts of other time periods, both in the context of their time and in comparison to our own.

"In arts lessons they have more agency, responsibility, independence and freedom to make decisions. They enjoy and are motivated by this" (Time to Listen Report, 2018)

Throughout the art and design curriculum, there are frequent planned drawing activities to strengthen and build students' ability to record from observation the things they have observed. This key skill underpins the majority of activity in all four assessment strands at exam level and helps students to exercise important skills of manual dexterity and fine motor skill control.

Lessons are designed to be delivered as a sequence of activities which form an extended project along selected visual themes. This is intended to implement the key aims of the national curriculum while mirroring the way students would work at examination level with aspects of each of the four exam assessment areas forming part of all KS3 activity.

At examination level, students follow the AQA GCSE and A-level fine art pathways which offer a flexible and respected structure where students can further develop and personalise the nature and content of creative work. This enables our students to undertake personally expressive acts of creativity, enjoying their learning and becoming confident and effective visual communicators.

During KS3 students receive one, hour long lesson per week of art and complete three extended projects during the school year, separated by structured drawing activities from still life.

The department is predominantly fine art based in focus, drawing on the specialisms of our art staff. We aim to provide students with a variety of experiences in drawing, painting, printmaking and sculpture including clay modelling and basic ceramics and all KS3 projects are linked to a recognised aspect of art and design history. Homework to accompany projects at KS3 focuses on drawing, art research and development sketches.

At exam level, the department follows the AQA Fine Art pathway for both GCSE and A-level Art for which the specifications can be downloaded below:

There are no defined limits on media, techniques and materials that students can use within reason and budget. However, staff will direct students accordingly to ensure that their work satisfies the examination assessment objectives and this includes a significant amount of drawing.

Students will be provided with starting point themes and more direction at GCSE level as staff help students to learn new approaches, techniques and ideas.

At A-level, following a series of introductory exercises, students must identify a personal investigation theme and produce an extended project lasting throughout Year 12 until February of Year 13.

All homework and classwork activities at both GCSE and A-level count directly to the final examination grade and there is a clear expectation that students look after and are accountable for their work.

Both the GCSE and A-level courses have a 40% weighted externally set assignment where the project theme is provided by the exam board from a list of possible directions / starting points. The culmination of this unit is a period of time under controlled conditions to produce a personal response relevant to their intentions in response to the assignment brief.

During the routine school year we aim to ensure students at GCSE and A-level have frequent opportunities to experience Art and Design enrichment activities. These may be gallery and museum visits, drawing workshops, visits to places of interest and visits to special exhibitions and events that are relevant and appropriate to their course of study.

In the recent past these activities have included:

• International study visit to Berlin including the Gemäldegalerie, the Alte National Galerie, the Berlin Wall, Neus Museum, the Stasi Museum, the museum of the DDR, The Holocaust Memorial
• London - Tate Modern and the Thames Riverside walk
• London - Royal Academy of Arts - Jasper Johns
• London - Royal Academy of Arts - Matisse in the Studio exhibition
• London - National Portrait Gallery
• London - National Gallery and Trafalgar Square
• London - The Design Museum "Ferrari Under the Skin" (KS3)
• Nottingham - Graypaul Ferrari and the Donnington Grand Prix Collection (KS3)
• Lincoln - Usher Gallery
• Lincoln - Lincoln Cathedral drawing workshop
• Heckington - Viewing a facsimile of the Luttrell Psalter and workshop from Newcastle University

We continually seek opportunities for students to experience artwork directly and encourage students to engage with primary sources. Such connections help students to broaden their awareness of Art and Design history and practice, which in turn underpins their developing work and helps them to succeed.

In KS3, ongoing assessment takes the form of grades from 'emerging' through to 'outstanding' according to progression through project-based work outlined in the departmental progression plan and following the whole school marking policy.

Each project has four areas of assessment to mirror the approach taken at exam level with the intention of familiarising students in KS3 with a way of working that they will encounter at GCSE level.

The four areas of assessment used in KS3 are:

• AO1 Contextual, historical and artists research
• AO2 Developing ideas in a range of materials and processes
• AO3 Recording observations through drawing and other means
• AO4 Producing a personal response

These four areas are used to determine an overall grade for resulting work. Utilising the same language terms used in the GCSE and A-level assessment criteria, grades are differentiated by the following terms:

• Emerging - 'Limited' skills - students are new to this knowledge/skill area(s) and still in early stages of development.
• Developing - 'Moderate' skills - students have shown some development improvement in this area of knowledge/skills.
• Secure - 'Consistent' skills - students have shown consistent application of knowledge/skills to produce consistently good work in this area.
• Achieving - 'Highly effective' skills - students have shown application of knowledge/skills to produce highly effective outcomes in this area.
• Outstanding – 'Exceptional' skills - students have applied knowledge/skills to produce outcomes that are exceptionally skilful for students of that age group.

These grades are used to inform 'AG' decisions by staff when grades are communicated to parents three times per year.

Students will also receive feedback in the form of strengths identified and short-term targets to strengthen work and strive for continued improvement. Grades are specified for a range of homework tasks that encourage them to develop and practice drawing skills, which underpins all areas of assessment in KS4.

Assessments by teaching staff are verified internally to ensure that standards between groups and teaching staff remain consistent.

At GCSE and A-level we use the criteria for assessment set out by AQA in the specification documents.

In both A-level and GCSE, students' ongoing coursework is assessed periodically by staff during the school year with raw scores out of 96 being given to students - up to 24 marks for each of the four assessment areas.

When students are awarded their raw scores for each of the four areas, the marks are differentiated in both A-level and GCSE by descriptors using the terms as follows:

• 'Exceptional' - 21-24 marks, Grade 9 GCSE, A* at A-level
• 'Confident and Highly Effective' - 17-20 marks, Grade 7/8 GCSE, A/B at A-level
• 'Consistent' - 13-16 marks - Grade 5/6 GCSE, B/C at A-Level
• 'Moderate/Reasonably Consistent' - 9-12 marks, Grade 3/4 GCSE, D/C at A-level
• 'Limited/Some Ability' - 5-8 marks, Grade 2 GCSE, E grade at A-level
• 'Minimal Ability' - 0-4 marks, Grade 1 GCSE, U Grade A-level (failed)

Students also receive frequent written and verbal feedback to help them to improve in line with whole school marking policy. This includes strengths identified in the work, and short-term targets to strengthen submissions and thus overall marks. 'AG' grades communicated to parents are based on the raw scores that students have attained up to that point, and are influenced by the teacher's understanding of expected progress from that point, knowledge of prior grade boundaries and knowledge of the individual student.

Assessments by teaching staff are standardised to ensure consistency by a) external standardisation training provided by AQA and b) external moderation visit by an AQA moderator. As with KS3, assessments are internally verified by departmental staff to ensure consistency between groups, staff and students as appropriate.

In May of Year 11/13, students' raw scores are finalised and entered into the AQA exam system, at which point grades are calculated in readiness for results day in August.

The department draws on pupil premium funding to ensure that all students in receipt of the pupil premium are equipped with a range of materials, canvases and sketchbooks for use at home, and in order to cover the cost of any excursions and enrichment activities.

Students who have high prior attainment (able, gifted and talented) will be challenged with adventurous coursework and extension activities which push them towards the standard for top grades. This may include larger format work, more complex starting points requiring higher caliber drawing and painting ability, more detailed and demanding sketchbook development and any other suitable work appropriate to the student's intentions for their developing work.

In Art and Design, student input and feedback about course content, their experiences of learning and areas for improvement are sought regularly. This is done via survey, questioning and verbal and written feedback.

A recent example includes the subject leader in discussion with the Year 13 cohort about their experiences of the A-level course as it is delivered currently. Students were asked a range of questions, including:

• How do you feel that staff support you in your A-level work?
• Do you receive written feedback and is this useful to you? If so, how is it useful?
• Do you feel you have been challenged by staff on the A-level course? How? Give an example.
• How do you feel you have improved and developed your Art and creative skills during the course? Give an example.

Example responses from students included:

• "I receive written feedback and it is very useful. It allows me to be organised by knowing what to do next and what I'm currently working on. It's a good way to keep track."
• "In A-level Art we do get challenged and are persuaded to come out of our comfort zone to create work you wouldn't have done before."
• "I feel like I have improved tremendously throughout my time here, my skills have definitely widened and I've tried things I used to not want to ever, but now I enjoy."
• "What I like about A-level Art is that you get a lot of freedom with what to create and you get to explore lots of different media."
• "In A-level Art we receive written feedback and this is really helpful as it gives you an idea of what level you are working at and how you can improve your work."
• "I would really recommend the A-level at BGS because I have really improved with the things I am producing and I am being pushed to create the best pieces that I can."
• "I feel constantly challenged in a good way because I've tried things I originally never would have and it helps me to discover…."
• "I feel I have improved mainly due to the teachers showing me new skills and helping to fuel my creativity."
• "My work has improved so much since joining BGS. I have created pieces that I wouldn't have had the confidence for in the past…"

Sixth Form students in Art and Design follow the AQA Fine Art pathway, which we feel provides an open platform for creativity in any medium, and an excellent preparation for any pathway in creative degree routes or traditional Art and Design foundation courses.

Students are encouraged to explore a range of historical and contemporary contextual sources to support the development of an extensive personal investigation project, which constitutes 60% of the final grade awarded. Importantly, this project is identified by the student, giving them the opportunity to follow personal interests and passions to create work with a real meaningful personal connection to their own experiences and ambitions, including career ambitions. For example, two students in the current cohort are exploring architecture and the architecture of the home, while learning about traditions in domestic architecture from other nations and the key developments of modernist architecture. This places both in an advantageous position at interview as they finalise applications for architecture undergraduate degree courses later in the year.

Other popular themes students have selected include: portraiture; exploring and responding to the visual expression of human emotions; mental health and the taboos of well-being in modern society; humour and caricature in historical and contemporary fine art; traditional landscape and innovations of modernism in the 20th century; portraiture and hyper-realism in still life.

The course syllabus has been chosen for its flexibility, which enables students to utilise any medium, materials and processes that the department is realistically able to offer, while providing a sound grounding in relevant aspects of Art and Design history.

Over the past four years, the number of students in the cohort has risen significantly yet class sizes are a healthy and sociable size, enabling all students to receive personalised written feedback each week to guide them towards higher grades and to experience the challenge of working alongside likeminded, creative and competitive students to create a strong and successful learning climate.

The course is supplemented wherever possible by enrichment visits to galleries, museums and relevant exhibitions. Students are also actively encouraged to visit sites of interest independently to further strengthen their learning, and to develop recording skills using photography and digital media in addition to traditional drawing, painting and 3D materials, to adapt to the ever changing creative technologies they will encounter in higher education and working life.

Students are encouraged to push themselves, to take on adventurous and challenging work, often in larger formats usually seen in further education settings. This is reflected in year on year improvements in grades, pass rates and student take-up numbers.

Business Curriculum Intent

Our Business curriculum empowers students to explore the dynamic world of business, developing a strong understanding of how organisations operate and adapt in changing environments. Through studying key areas like marketing, finance, operations, and human resources, students gain both theoretical knowledge and practical insights. We aim to inspire entrepreneurial thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills, preparing students to confidently pursue higher education, careers, or their own business ventures.

Economics Curriculum Intent

Our Economics curriculum promotes curiosity about global and societal issues, equipping students with the tools to analyse topics such as inequality, sustainability, and economic growth. By engaging with real-world problems like healthcare funding, unemployment, and global trade, students develop critical thinking and data analysis skills. We aim to nurture informed, ethical thinkers who are ready to understand and challenge the economic forces that impact our world.

Our students are encouraged to become independent learners who actively engage with and explore the world of business and economics. From the very start of their courses, they begin to see how much they already understand about these subjects through their everyday experiences. Students develop a strong grasp of real-world examples and are encouraged to stay informed about current events and their impact on businesses and economies around the world. Keeping up with news articles and current affairs is an essential part of their learning journey.

To enrich their studies, we invite a range of guest speakers, including representatives from the Bank of England and successful local business owners, who share their valuable insights and experiences. Last year, we were fortunate to host Kathryn Burns, a finalist from The Apprentice, who delivered an inspiring talk to our Sixth Form students about her journey as an entrepreneur and business owner.

Our Entrepreneur Club gives students the opportunity to explore entrepreneurship further and even start developing their own business ideas. The school also takes part in the Young Enterprise national programme, which enables students to experience what it's like to set up and run a real business, developing essential skills in teamwork, leadership, and innovation.

Students also take part in exciting enrichment activities beyond the classroom, such as the Model United Nations competition at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) in Lincoln and the Entrepreneur Day at the University of Lincoln. These experiences help them build confidence, communication, and analytical skills while deepening their understanding of global business, economics, and leadership.

During your time on the course, you will experience a variety of assessment methods designed to develop your understanding and application of business and economics concepts. These include:

1. Testing - assessing your knowledge of key course content such as formulas, diagrams, and core concepts.
2. Case Studies - analysing real-life business and economic scenarios, interpreting data, and proposing practical solutions.
3. Exam-Style Questions - developing your familiarity with exam language and structure to build confidence and exam readiness.
4. Presentations and Projects - showcasing your understanding through applied learning opportunities. For example, Year 12 Business students take part in the Empty Shop Project, which runs throughout the year. In this project, students identify an empty shop in Boston and apply their business knowledge to develop a realistic plan to revitalise it. Similarly, Year 12 Economics students undertake a creative project where they design their own island economy, applying economic theories to build and manage a functioning economic system.

There is also the clear expectation that homework is completed to a high standard and submitted on time to support progress throughout the course.

An example of students' previous work on the Island Project can be found below.

Students are stretched in every lesson through challenging materials, extension activities, and opportunities to apply their learning to real-world situations.

GCSE

Challenge is embedded in every lesson through the use of targeted higher-order questioning and challenge tasks that focus on the higher assessment objectives of analysis and evaluation. This approach encourages students to think critically, justify their ideas, and apply their knowledge to complex Business scenarios.

A-level

At A-level, students are challenged through in-depth analysis, application of theory to current business and economic issues, and independent research. Regular use of feedback sheets allows students to engage actively with teacher feedback and take ownership of their progress, ensuring they understand how to improve their performance and achieve higher grades.

We also encourage students to undertake wider reading to deepen their understanding of key economic and business concepts. To support this, we provide access to a selection of recommended texts, including Why Can't We Print More Money? by the Bank of England, which helps students connect classroom learning to real-world economic challenges.

The department values pupil voice and believes strongly that students should have a say in the direction of their learning. Throughout the year, small groups of pupils are invited to share their feedback on Business and Economics lessons. This helps us ensure that lessons remain engaging, relevant, and responsive to student needs.

Recent feedback shows that pupils enjoy their Business and Economics lessons. They feel that teaching is engaging, appreciate the variety of topics covered, and value the range of assessments used, which help them develop a broad set of skills and demonstrate their understanding in different ways. Pupils also commented positively on the wide range of enrichment opportunities available, which allow them to explore business and economics beyond the classroom and link their learning to the real world.

With the pace of technology increasing at such an incredible rate, it's hard to predict what the future will bring. The incredible world of Computer Science will let pupils take control and drive their future, instead of being a consumer of the future technologies. Put simply, Computer Science prepares pupils for jobs that haven't been created yet, and teaches them how to create programs and hardware that doesn't exist yet. Computer Science is unique in the way that it gives pupils 'super powers' to create something that can be in the hands of thousands of people in a matter of days, changing everybody's lives for the better in the future.

Computer Science is unique and awesome as it develops pupils' overall skills of problem solving, creating, programming and logic. The aim for pupils taking Computer Science gives pupils the skills they need for the future to be able to make their own software through programming, be able to keep themselves and others safe and secure from the potential threats of technology, know how computers work and solve logical problems. Pupils will develop practical and theoretical transferable skills such as programming skills in a modern language, an understanding of how computers and networks work, and knowledge of cyber-security and how to defend systems against attacks from hackers.

Following the school values of care, achievement respect and excellence (CARE), in lessons pupils are given opportunities to achieve without any ceiling or cap to their potential. For pupils that want to experiment more due to the love of learning, clubs are available at break, lunch and after school. Pupils are encouraged to flip learn lessons and get a lesson ahead of time so they have the opportunity to be independent learners, share their new found knowledge and lead a group, provide demonstrations, help other pupils and challenge themselves beyond the normal expectations of a standard curriculum.

Taking this further, some pupils have managed to start up their own Computer Science / IT related small businesses due to this and have come up with their own innovative inventions by stretching their understanding of combining hardware knowledge and programming skills together in order to change the world around them.

Would you like to have a career in systems engineer, design, robotics, future careers, electronics, games, web, cyber-security, data analysis, entrepreneur, app, programming, or be a consultant?

The world needs you to help develop the future. Are you in?

"Coding is today's language of creativity. All our children deserve a chance to become creators instead of consumers of computer science."

Maria Klawe, Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Princeton University

The traditional way of learning is where a teacher introduces a new topic before pupils are given a task to apply it in lesson. This gives hardly any time in lessons to fully review and properly apply what was learned (which is where the learning is secured and helps with their long term memory).

Because of this, by flip learning the lessons work (having pupils prepare for a lesson in advance by starting to learn about a topic outside of the classroom) it gives more time in lessons where pupils can apply and review their understanding so that any misconceptions can be dealt with and the good foundations of learning can be built on to develop an understanding at a much harder level.

Basically by flipping the learning in the classroom, instead of pupils covering the foundations in lessons and having homework to test if they understood it or not (with no opportunity for instant feedback or ways to improve), pupils instead have homework to learn the basic foundations before the lesson, then check if they understood it in lessons where there's much more support to help with the harder aspects, to learn at a deeper level and reinforce their understanding to help secure their understanding for longer.

This is something we do for all Y10-13 as their main homework, but it is also expected that pupils do this in Y7-9 as their secondary homework who are the more able pupils which choose to seat themselves on the blue row in lessons.

We also promote the learning and improving of pupils reading comprehension outside of the classroom by setting vocabulary homework. This is set each term and is focussed on the keywords and language used in the lessons for each topic. Pupils can also open up their literacy keyword homework in lesson to remind them of what any words mean when they encounter them in the lessons topics and tasks. Simply, the pupils need to understand the meaning behind all the words they read and talk about in discussion in lessons in order to understand what they are reading and discussing. Without this some of the more in-depth conversations and deeper thinking questions in written knowledge checks will be lost on pupils.

This is something we do for all Y7-9 as their main ongoing homework each term, but is also set as additional secondary homework for Y10-13 pupils to reinforce what they've learned and understood already from their flipped learning.

In addition to this, for Y12-13, additional retrieval work is set for private study time.

After pupils have worked so hard understanding the sub topics at the highest level, pupils often forget it over time if they don't go over it again to remind themselves. To help partly with this, for Y10-13 pupils, both aspects of the Computer Science course (computer Systems & Programming) are taught at the same time by 2 different specialist staff to help ensure pupils are not learning in set blocks. They are then given end of unit tests to retrieve all lesson work done previously, and pupils are also given mock exams and end of year exams to mix up the lessons and topics again to check pupils are retaining the information. In regard to homework to support this, all pupils are to flip learn and revise for each lesson, and end of unit assessments and mock exams. In addition, in order to help combat the "forgetting curve" the sixth form also have specific private study time homework set so pupils keep refreshing their understanding in order to retain their knowledge. This ensures pupils go over topics pupils have covered, 1 week, a month, 6 months and a year ago, which also helps pupils be better prepared for their interleaved end of unit assessments, mock exam papers and end of year exam papers.

Finally, we believe that in order for pupils to truly achieve their potential at GCSE and A level, wider reading is essential. There is wider reading for GCSE and A level pupils to help take them to the next step of understanding. This currently covers areas such as (but is not limited to) "Artificial Intelligence & Deep Learning", "Break into the Game Industry", "Degree level Computer Science", "Full-Stack Web Development", "Game development", "Learn Game Development", "Makerspace", "Microcontrollers (Raspberry Pi & Arduino)", "OOP, C, Ruby, & SQL programming", "Programmable Boards", "Python 2019", "Robotics & IoT", "System security", "White Hat Hacking 2.0".

This is something we do for all Y10-13.

KS3 assessment in Computing looks at the application of knowledge in pupils' lesson work, Knowledge Organiser and Computing literacy keyword vocab definition homework (approximately every 2 weeks) using a number of different activities to arrive at assessment grades. The lesson work / keyword definition homework / end of unit tests are all marked using the KS3 Computing badge system on the Pupil Assessment Trees to show what knowledge pupils can understand and apply consistently. The badges needed each term are on a flight path, which raises proportionately with the expectations of the pupils' progress based on what has been covered.

Low stakes tests are also used at the start and end of each unit (to check that pupils are knowing more and remembering more, in order to support their learning). These are approximately done every half term (6 weeks). To try and encourage pupils to revise for these assessments, we encourage the production of a revision aid, using the Knowledge Organisers and/or the Computing literacy keyword vocab definition homework that is distributed at the start of every term. Pupils can also use their revision aids to reinforce their understanding of the core learning for each topic over longer periods of time, in preparation for their end of year exam, checking that they can remember the knowledge over several months/years. Revision aids can take a number of forms and should be bespoke to each pupil (as demonstrated on the first page of the pupils Knowledge Organiser). Pupils are shown how to produce a variety of specific lesson and broader topic mind maps as a revision aid (specifically in mock exam preparation revision lessons) and should use these revision techniques each year.

Additional notes for KS4 & KS5:

• Pupils' work is also marked by their teacher with feedback regularly: every lesson (with verbal feedback), and marked on the group tracker.
• KS4/5 also have end of unit assessments, roughly every 6 lessons, with feedback built into the test. After it's marked by their teachers, pupils have a follow-up lesson to reflect on which areas went well, what could be improved, and then to make those improvements in order to correct any misconceptions.
• The use of KS4 KOs are also checked through low stakes KO tests. These are checked at the start and end of each topic, to check if pupils are knowing more. Pupils are also retested again as surprise low stakes tests during other topics at a later date, to check if they are also remembering more.

1 - Pupils check their own work and decide what homework they need to set themselves to make progress

2 - Pupils check their own work, their current grade and target and work out what lesson they need to cover next in order to make further progress

3 - Pupils summarise the lesson work at the start and demonstrate to other pupils what they need to do

4 - Pupils work out what the LO's should be after seeing the start to the lesson

5 - Pupils research online to find out what a good piece of work for today's task would look like. Pupils then research how to achieve the work to a professional standard for themselves. The 'Blue' row then start to create their own task learning resources to be used to teach this to the class using a wide range of learning styles.

6 - Pupils help other students on the 'Yellow', 'Orange' and 'Red' rows with 1-on-1 additional support if needed, supporting them and seeing how others are getting on with the task (checking they know what to do and how they can achieve it). Pupils can explain to other students but not touch their keyboard or mouse to do it for them.

7 - Pupils check their progress on their Pupil Assessment Tree by looking at 'where I am now', 'where I want to be' and 'how many badges needed to get there'.

They look at any badges they haven't achieved yet, look at the success criteria for the badges, start to research what the success criteria and keywords mean, work out what new work they can do to prove they can achieve the brand new additional badge and start the additional new piece of work.

8 - Pupils may also take any of the extra challenges in the "extra challenges" folder, testing pupils on today's topic, and also covering GCSE online quiz game challenges on www.teach-ICT.co.uk.

9 - Other challenges pupils can choose to stretch themselves include the next KS equivalent for:

KS3, 4 & 5 theory - appropriate revision books, computing literacy and keyword tasks

KS3, 4 & 5 practical - programming and hardware tasks such as writing programs on BBC micro:bit, setting up and programming a computer game or 'hacking' Minecraft through Python programming using the Raspberry Pi, building and/or taking apart desktop PCs or laptops

Entering one of the promoted national competitions

10 - Pupils invited to provide demos and share good examples of their produced task work with the whole group. When showing a pupil's good example, use questioning with the thinking dice and ensure that it is asked how it could be even better.

Based on the latest trial of pupils suggested methods of support with their progress on understanding of Computer Science topics… 100% of pupils stated that the following trialled methods put in place helped them:

· The flipped learning classroom techniques so pupils developed their understanding of exam topics at home first.

· The bespoke lessons that were specifically focused on GCSE Computer Science exam techniques.

· Having the group tracker openly available so all GCSE students are aware of what they need to do to improve on different CS topics.

· Going over the lesson worksheets and tests answers in lessons so pupils are reminded of the best modelled examples on how to achieve the grade 8-9 criteria for all questions in lessons. (As a method of being both challenged and supported).

After further trials based on pupils further suggestions of support with their progress on understanding of Computer Science topics… 100% of pupils stated that "the ongoing formative assessment tests in lessons to check pupils understanding on each CS sub-topic" method put in place, helped them a lot.

When asked - "Do you have any other ideas, which could help with your progress on understanding Computer Science topics?"

For the comments that were added here, 75% centred on more revision resources and revision time with teachers. A student also wanted to learn more about "physical aspects of I.T. in general - soldering and electrical components."

Additional time is now provided with Y11 finishing the course content early (before December) so that there is more time to revise. Additional revision resources have been purchased as well as tailor made Knowledge Organisers focusing on the core knowledge for the pupils at BGS. A Raspberry Pi club also runs for pupils interested in both the hardware and software aspects of Computer Science.

Design and Technology introduces students to and helps them to develop key skills that can be applied well outside of the subject. Problem solving, creative thinking and communications skills lie at the heart of the curriculum along with the acquisition of practical hands on skills. In a world that is fast developing technologically bringing with it the inherent opportunities and problems this can cause, the need for creative thinkers who can see, understand and solve problems has never been more necessary.

As a subject, Design & Technology sits at the heart of STEM and allows students the opportunity to explore key principles in a practical and hands on way, whilst also contributing to the development of important life skills and personal qualities such as team working, risk taking and enterprise.

"Design and Technology is a phenomenally important subject. Logical, creative and practical, it's the only opportunity students have, to apply what they learn in Maths and Science - directly preparing them for a career in engineering...."

Sir James Dyson, Founder and Chairman of Dyson and Patron to the D&T Association

The Design and Technology curriculum:

Delivers a breadth of knowledge and understanding of a wide range of materials, their properties/application and the skills to form these into quality products.

Trains students to use a wide range of hand tools/equipment, machinery and state-ot-the-art CAD/CAM equipment such as Laser Cutters, 3D Printers and CNC machines.

Introduces core theory/skills through engaging projects that allow students to explore real-world problems and create unique solutions. Creating high quality products.

Prepares students to progress onto further education or employment and is ideally suited for those wanting to pursue careers in:

Engineering (General, Mechanical, Electrical, Systems & Control…)

Design (Product, Graphic, Automotive...)

Can be an asset to students who choose to follow the route into a trade, who require practical hands-on skills.

Promotes independence requiring students to take on an ever-increasing responsibility managing their projects. From year 7 where students are kept under close control, through KS3 where they take more of an active role, to KS4&5 where students are required to manage their time to meet tight deadlines and select from a range of suitable skills during project work.

Delivers focussed theory and assessment from Y7-13. With progression of knowledge from one term to the next, and one year to the next.

Following last year's success, we are pleased to announce that Cooking & Nutrition is being delivered at BGS as part of the Design & Technology curriculum to all KS3 students. Theory is delivered during timetabled DT lessons commencing in the spring term. The curriculum enables students to:

• Understand and apply the principles of nutrition and health
• Become competent in a range of cooking techniques
• Understand the source, seasonality and characteristics of a broad range of ingredients

In addition, we have again partnered with Haven High's Marion campus, to offer practical cooking lessons to all Year 7 and 8 students. Students cook a repertoire of predominantly savoury dishes so that they are able to feed themselves and others a healthy and varied diet, during a school funded whole-day cooking experience. This is supported with resources to encourage and help them to continue cooking at home. Year 9 students, who took part in the experience day last year, also receive this support.

Below you can see some of the examples of this wonderful learning from last year:

Across KS3/4 key learning each term is captured in a Knowledge Organiser. These focus on core knowledge across the current project/theory topic being covered and enable students to home in on key issues and concepts. Fortnightly homework enables DT staff to check learning and to offer additional support where needed.

At both GCSE and A Level theory is delivered using the flipped learning model, where students are given access to full course resources from the very start of their study and are then set pre-work, to be completed prior to lessons. This approach in addition to helping students to become more responsible for their studies, more importantly enables those who require more than a lesson to grasp key knowledge, to work at their own pace whilst at the same time offering more capable students to cover content ahead of the class.

Clubs

Thursdays after school is DT Club night where the department is open as a 'HackSpace', allowing students from all year groups to access the department staff & facilities for personal or group project work. In addition to a full range of CAD software, CAM Machines, 3D Printers and an extensive workshop, students can engage in robotics projects using our Vex Robotics Kit donated to the school by the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Top tips for high achievement in your subject

• Continual drawing practice
• Generate a keen interest in the latest product/technological developments
• Thoroughly explore the theory topics covered and read around each topic area
• Set yourself design challenges and generate creative solutions
• Attend the DT Club after school to work on your own projects

Places to go

• The Design Museum
• Centre for Alternative Technology
• Business Design Centre
• Disabled Living Foundation
• Inspired by Design
• Victoria and Albert Museum

Ongoing assessment is at the heart of the Design & Technology curriculum. From the baseline test taken by new year 7 students, which checks their prior understanding of core skills such as analysis, evaluation, maths, creativity and practical dexterity, to past paper practice towards the end of Y13.

Core skills and knowledge based around the Design Process, Materials and Processes and Maths for DT run through each project, with interim assessments at key stages with formative strengths and targets set to help students improve. At KS3 the department runs a three-round carousel, meaning students tackle 3 projects throughout each year with clear skills and knowledge progression. End of project assessment and feedback is used by students and staff to guide targets for improvement and highlight strengths. The criteria for assessment are shared with students from the very beginning and a self-check sheet is used to allow students to see clearly what has been achieved and where they need to focus their efforts. Where work is completed below standard, following teacher feedback, students are required to complete/improve work.

Formal assessments take place at the end of each project, which focus on the core content along with specific project content including materials, tools and processes. In this way by the end of the year every student will have covered three material areas.
Every two weeks students are quizzed on Knowledge Organiser content, which are written to work hand-in-hand with the specific project they are completing. Core knowledge features across all Knowledge Organisers which ensures that at any one time a whole year group will have covered this.

At KS4/5 the same core areas of theory are explored in greater detail, both through practical activities and also specific theory lessons. Theory is delivered using the flipped learning model with weekly in-lesson assessments to check students understanding of each topic. These are marked as a class, with students required to complete/improve/extend their answers. At the end of each full unit there is a more formal assessment which is taken under exam conditions and marked centrally to ensure consistency. The marks from all assessments are tracked with students who fall below their expected grade required to retake the assessment within 2 weeks.
To ensure that students retain the knowledge gained over the term, mini quizzes are used to keep the content fresh in their minds, and these are repeated over the duration of the course, with past unit quizzes being taken again later in the term/year.

At KS3 stretch and challenge can be seen in the ability of students to access and apply skills beyond their specific key-stage and year group projects. This could be in the creation of work which demonstrates greater detail and understanding of materials and processes, or could simply be exploring a more advanced drawing style.

Three times a year, students tackle two-hour design challenges, which introduce them to real-world problems and require them to think creatively in formulating solutions. With limited teacher support students have to analyse the problem, specify criteria for success, develop a range of creative solutions, evaluate their outcomes and finalize a chosen design.

During regular lessons students are regularly required to evaluate their own work, and set themselves and their peers specific targets for improvement. They may be asked to justify their choices and even give advice and demonstrations to their peers.

At KS4 and KS5 theory content is made available to students covering the entire course, and students who are able are expected to work independently ahead of their peers. A flipped learning approach to theory provides the opportunity for students to demonstrate self-discipline, independence and resilience as they prepare for lessons ahead of time. The added responsibility also prepares younger students for progression into Sixth Form and beyond.

In all aspects of the subject, the level of support is gradually reduced in order to allow students to take greater responsibility for their learning. Throughout KS3, projects are designed which offer greater scope for student exploration and personal direction. The outcomes of year 9 projects are less pre-determined than those delivered during year 7 and 8, allowing students to take greater responsibility/risks with their designing, in preparation for GCSE. At GCSE and A Level, the focus on quality and quality are paramount, requiring students to demonstrate a high level of workshop skill as they manufacture their design outcomes.

When asked what one thing students would change to improve Design & Technology at BGS:

Y9 - "I don't know if you do this but when we use CAD software I would like to use a more in depth one allowing for more complicated designs, like blender."

As a result, we are now introducing Autodesk TinkerCAD as part of the Y9 CAD project and have now introduced Autodesk Fusion360 in Y10.

Y7 - "To have more DT lessons per week."

Y8 - "Being able to go in the workshop often and create a project out of our mind."

Unfortunately offering such a wide and varied curriculum means that we are unable to offer more lessons per week, but in response the we have introduced a new HackSpace style after-school club, which allows keen students of all years to use the workshop facilities for their own projects.

Y9 - "Allowing us more freedom to decide what to make."

In response we have looked again at the Y9 curriculum and have redesigned the projects to bring them more in line with the GCSE style contextual challenges, where student have a more open brief to work from and greater control of their project outcome. This has the added benefit of better preparing those students who opt for the subject at GCSE.

When asked to select a favourite project that they had completed during their time at BGS and to explain why they chose this project:

Y8 - "I think it was how much free reign we had over what we wanted to do with said projects."

Y8 - "I really like creating models and especially models that do stuff like the y8 buggy."

Y7 - "Helpful teacher, the result looked great and it was fun working with the tools."

Y7 - "I love getting treated like a grown up and being trusted to use a saw."

Y7 - "Learning how to use the tools and being able to use them myself."

Y9 - "I really enjoyed the freedom I had when I was designing and creating the projects."

Y10 - "They had specific and exact measurements (like a final design would) which makes it enjoyable as I enjoy perfecting my projects."

Y12 - "Learning new skills in the workshop."

When asked why they chose DT at GCSE/A LEVEL:

46% stated that they selected the subject because they enjoyed it, while 25% specifically said that they needed the qualification to progress in their studies and to help with their future career aspirations.

When asked how they would rate the DT teacher's subject knowledge the response was a very favourable 4.63/5.

Students rated the level of academic challenge in their DT lessons as 3.89/5.
In response the DT curriculum across all years has been reviewed to increase the level of challenge in both practical work and theory.

When asked to describe their relationship with their DT teachers 99% of students indicated that they believed they had a positive/supportive relationship with 72% stating it was (Great! - a positive working relationship).

DT support sessions are available Monday - Thursday 3.25pm-4.25pm
A portion of your PST (Personal Study Time) should be booked in with the DT department

Advanced Design & Technology, Longman, 582 32831 4
Product Modelling, Oxford, 19 832761 7
Design in Society, Oxford, 19 832779 X
Human Factors, Oxford, 19 832783 8
Product Design, Hodder, 19 832784
Advanced Manufacturing D&T, Hodder, 340 70528 0
The Sustainability Handbook, Practical Action, 1853396702

English is a subject committed to individuals' intellectual and emotional growth as well as to their ability to communicate effectively - an essential part of social being. English has the power to inspire creativity, encourage analytical thinking and enrich a student's cultural capital. The texts that we study can challenge stereotypes, tackle current affairs and open the doors and windows of our psyches. Fundamentally, the lessons that are taught in English aim to stay in the hearts and minds of our students - with the hope that the language and literature will live with them well beyond their school days.

We group texts and tasks around the 'big ideas' in English at BGS; the 'big ideas' are united by the ethos of a termly inspirational quote for each year group. Our curriculum sequence and assessments are ordered to enable students to progress in terms of their skills and knowledge and to ensure that the lessons taught are complemented with social and cultural enrichment opportunities.

Clubs

• Drama Club - Room E - Friday Lunchtimes
• Theories of Everything - Critical Debate Club - Room F - Friday Lunchtimes

In English, we assess our students' progress in a variety of different ways in order to help us achieve the highest quality provision for our students at all times: data is used to try to identify where students may need additional help - or challenge - and we have a plethora of different methods/resources that we use to work towards ensuring that all students' needs are met, and that they achieve to the highest possible standards in English.

First, in lessons, teachers use questioning as a means of gaining formative feedback on the progress of students' individual and collective learning; teachers are skilled in using questioning to further develop students' knowledge and understanding of the specific topic - and this Socratic method helps ensure that our students know more about the topic, and gives teachers vital information on what students have remembered from previous learning as well. Also in lessons, students learn from each other - and assess each other's progress - by listening carefully to each other and questioning each other's ideas. Students are also adept at praising each other's knowledge and understanding as well, using other students as a means of inspiration and cultivating a friendly competitive spirit in the classroom or when joining Teams lessons at home.

As part of our new curriculum design, we have created schemes of work that are set around the 'big ideas' in English; such things as philosophy, psychology, religion, technology, politics and all manner of other 'big ideas' are explored within each scheme of work in order to develop students' world knowledge and their ability to conceptualise that knowledge. Key elements of the schemes of work in association with the 'big ideas' are tested every other week each term through our knowledge organiser quizzes, which are based on our termly knowledge organisers and learning in lessons. This gives us rich information regarding students' level of knowledge and understanding of the topic that they are studying and enables us to identify particular strengths and weaknesses within that knowledge and understanding. We can then differentiate as appropriate for our students, ensuring that they have access to materials needed in order to improve their knowledge and understanding for future recall. Students are given exemplar responses to this end in order to help them see how to improve their responses - they know and understand what they need to do next time to achieve to an even higher standard.

In addition, and also as part of our new curriculum design, we have created bespoke termly assessments that provide us (and our students) with higher quality feedback on knowledge and understanding of a topic so far: whether it is challenging enough, whether extra help is needed and so on. This is because, although students generally write using the essay style form (when appropriate) in lessons, we have moved away from traditional essay based assessments to a series of questions that break down the knowledge that is required from students into smaller chunks of information; these responses from multiple questions would comprise all of the information required in order to create a high level essay response on that topic, but because the required knowledge is broken down into smaller sections, teachers and students can more easily see where the gaps in students' knowledge and understanding are - and then work to ensure that those gaps are filled as far as possible prior to their next assessment where knowledge of the elements of that particular topic are required. These new style assessments also readily reveal the appropriateness of the level of challenge for our students - there should always be something that could be improved upon and we aim to make sure that the exemplar answers to the assessment questions that we provide as part of our marking, reflection and improvement programme inspire students to think even more deeply and critically about a topic.

Other activities that are undertaken as part of our on-going assessment process are paired/group discussions or debates, where students are then required to feedback to the rest of the class, and our fortnightly 200 Word Challenge activities; students create their own texts based on a set of criteria and have to use specific language/structural features and specified sophisticated vocabulary. At the beginning of the lesson, teachers share the list of requirements with the class and deal with any misconceptions around the learning. Also, students volunteer or are picked to read out their pieces of writing to the class and teachers and other students provide feedback.

Students placed high value on gaining greater knowledge and understanding of some of the 'big ideas' in English such as knowing and understanding more about the relevance of the historical context of a text, engaging with philosophical ideas associated with a text and exploring the impact of religious allusions within a text - to name a few.

Value was also placed on the development of literacy based skills such as being confident in their ability to correctly use punctuation and ensuring the grammatical accuracy of their work. Other skills mentioned were their knowledge and understanding of techniques for structuring their writing effectively and knowing how to produce high quality content. The learning of reading strategies such as skimming and scanning techniques were also commented on by students.

Students identified the following as being some of the reasons that they that made good progress in lessons: They have learnt new terminology/vocabulary/writing skills as a result of doing the 200 Word Challenges; they know and understand higher level concepts that are associated with writers' techniques - for example, how 'stream of consciousness' can be used for effect; interactions with their teacher were very useful in improving their knowledge and understanding; they enjoyed independent tasks where they could utilise their creativity - i.e. creative writing tasks in general - e.g. creating a poem on a specific theme; they appreciated lessons where their learning was tested (e.g. through knowledge organiser quizzes or where they had to find specific evidence in a text to support their points/ideas); teachers provided model answers so that students could gain a better understanding of what they need to know/be able to do to improve in future.

What we are doing to improve our provision further, based on feedback from Student Voice:

· Embed the 'big ideas' into the schemes of work even more overtly so that students can more easily articulate what they are - e.g. many students mentioned their understanding of concepts such as toxic masculinity, feminism and gender but were unable to relate those concepts to a specific 'big idea' in English.

· Several students are keen to see the return of group work in lessons but understood entirely that the decrease in group work during lessons has been the direct result of the pandemic. We are monitoring the situation closely and will be reinstating the more collaborative learning tasks as soon as it is safe and practicable to do so. In the mean time we, as a department, are developing our own skillset when using Teams for home learning in order to try and facilitate more collaborative learning amongst students.

· We need to continue working towards ensuring that ALL students feel sufficiently challenged in lessons and that they receive appropriate additional support to improve their knowledge and understanding of a topic as well.

Overall, a common theme amongst students was that they felt that English was interesting, engaging and useful for their future careers - with some specifically mentioning the importance of their exam results in English for opening further opportunities up for them later in life. Some final comments from students were that: 'English lessons are very consistent'; they felt a 'sense of achievement' in English; they were 'building confidence in knowledge or skills' in English.

English Language

The English language occurs in written, spoken and electronic forms and is used for many different purposes. Students are introduced to methods of language analysis to explore concepts of audience, purpose, genre, mode and representation. They will also explore language variety in relation to its wider social and geographical contexts.

This subject will help you in responding to a wide variety of texts. You will develop your knowledge of how to interpret and analyse texts effectively, and how to gather and assess the usefulness of evidence for your interpretations and analysis. The A Level specifications aim to develop and refine candidates' language knowledge and skills, providing progression towards university level work. We intend to further candidates' interest and enjoyment of the subject, through the study of language change, spoken language, child language and language variety.

English Literature

English Literature at A Level is the study of different forms of literature from the year 1300 to present. You will read and critically respond to a range of texts, including classic and modern novels, Shakespeare's plays and a range of poetry. You will be required to read the set texts during independent study periods as well as in class. Time will be spent developing your analytical and evaluative skills in preparation for the exam.

'Geography explains the past, illuminates the present and prepares us for the future. What could be more important than that?' - Michael Palin

At Boston Grammar School students study a broad geography curriculum delivering knowledge of locations, places, processes and geographical skills.

Geography is traditionally divided into physical and human topics and whilst we study these, for example, rivers, coasts, ecosystems, urbanisation, population and development, we also ensure that the links between them are explored and investigated. We believe that this knowledge and understanding will give the students the confidence and experience to help inform and shape their ideas, and therefore enable them to become global citizens with a high cultural literacy to enable them to be role models for the future. This is done through encouraging students to ask questions about the world around them, and study the interdependency of landscapes, features and processes to understand the causes and impacts of change.

Being based in Boston allows for students to investigate a variety of controversial issues, including migration, trade, flooding and urban sprawl. We endeavour to use local places and knowledge to allow students to deepen their understanding, trial and complete field work.

As well as studying the current physical and human environments, we provide opportunities and encourage students to look to the future, to find ways that we can be more sustainable and live in a more ethical and environmentally thoughtful way.

'The study of geography is about more than just memorising places on a map. It is about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating the diversity of cultures that exist across continents. And in the end, it's about using that knowledge to help bridge divides and bring people together.' - Barack Obama

The curriculum will have opportunities interleaved across the Key Stages to enhance the students understanding of the topics being studied as well as the links to their own surroundings and experiences.

Some of the out of classroom opportunities will also include virtual lessons using online software to provide development of place specific knowledge and understanding when logistically it is not an option to visit in person.

Knowledge Organisers are provided for all students to assist with their independent study and learning and these are assessed with regular quizzing on Show My Homework as well as in lessons.

Each unit of study is supported by an end of unit assessment which will include a mix of low and high tariff questions to assess the understanding and ability to apply to knowledge studied. These assessments will be reflected upon with students having opportunities to further their understanding.

GCSE and A-Level students will be assessed using exam questions from past series or exemplars from AQA or Edexcel and they will be marked according to exam marking criteria with feedback to students regularly to assist with their development.

Students are identified as gifted and talented in Geography based not only on academic written performance but on verbal abilities or general 'feel' for the subjects. Therefore, we have a number of strategies we use to further the learning of these students.

1) Targeted questioning within lessons.

Students identified as G&T will be targeted with more in depth and probing questions. Questioning for G&T within lessons should resemble a conversation with the student rather than a one off question, to develop deeper understanding.

2) Extension material

Additional tasks will be made available for G&T students which will extend and deepen understanding after the main lesson content has been covered

3) Graduated tasks

Tasks within a lesson will be graduated resulting in the G&T reaching the higher level tasks, whilst still covering the main learning objectives. For example, simple comprehension and understanding tasks will be set first building to more creative and discursive tasks towards the end.

4) Differentiated tasks

In some lessons G&T students will be set different work or grouped together to tackle higher level tasks. For example, in a debate on North Sea Pollution, G&T students are given the role of European MP who synthesises and summaries all the arguments given during the main debate. They also have to manage the scenario which develops leadership skills and confidence.

5) Enrichment

During the faculty enrichment activities, such as field trips, staff will take time to discuss the activities with the G&T students in an 'informal' way. Including students in the kind of discussions the subject staff have between themselves on the subject matter, modelling how specialists see their subjects.

Once a term students will receive a google form questionnaire to complete via Show my Homework to discuss their lessons and curriculum. This will provide an opportunity for feedback from the whole cohort. Individual teachers may also request student voice feedback within lessons on content or techniques in low stakes formats such as exit tickets.

Private Study Books

In Geography our students each have new allocated textbook and they have access to a library of A Level standard textbooks in Room J and the library, which they can access both in the room or sign out. They also have access to a wide range of lessons/resources/articles on the shared drive.

Private Study Activities

Students are set work beyond the classroom (an allocation of approximately one to one) so on average get 8-12 hours per fortnight. This work is set verbally and/or is summarised on SMHW so that students are aware of what needs to be achieved. This includes a range of broad and specific tasks that extend their Knowledge, Understanding and Skills using their textbooks/Geography library and ICT. In Year 13 specifically students will be completing coursework alongside.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

In a nutshell, History helps students to understand the world around us. Not only does the varied content in History at BGS allow students to assess what has driven change throughout the past, it enables pupils to consider how the past can influence the future-their future. It provides pupils with the knowledge to identify how institutions, trends, the economy and ideology shape the world. The variety of content, from 1066 to the present day, from Australia to Hussey Tower inspires curiosity and enthuses students to question the world and pre-conceptions. The school's long history and many traditions are embraced by the department which plays a significant part in ensuring that our students understand our Royal Charter from 1555, and remembrance of old boys who fought in both World Wars. Both of these are celebrated annually. There is a strong focus on British history including empire and migration which helps enforce British values and the school's "CARE" aims. History gives students the understanding to rationalise their decision making. Additionally, the skills in studying History, not only develop literacy first and foremost, but the analytical and evaluative side encourages students to solve problems, challenge texts and arguments and provide supporting evidence in their own personal judgments. These are qualities which will prepare students for future careers whatever their future brings.

A fundamental part of our intent in History at Boston Grammar School is to get students to understand the world around them and see how the past has influenced the future. This very much helps our students to understand the world in which they live. By studying diverse parts of the past we also promote tolerance and diversity in the past and present. We like to challenge preconceptions and myths about the past which develops our students to have enquiring minds. In addition, we are very lucky to have a wide degree of local History around us which we promote in our lessons. This enables students to look at change and continuity, but also enables them to see how local History can fit into the bigger picture of the nation but also the world. Students enjoy learning about how Boston used to be the second most largest port town after London and was very important. Students also see how Boston has had a tradition of immigration in the past. These small facts often make students think differently about their own town. In studying the variety of local and world History students also develop their skills of analysis, problem solving and evaluation. We also encourage students to pursue History as a hobby outside of the classroom. We promote wider reading and also suggest family days out to some of the many local places around us.

Trips

The History department run several school trips although these can vary based on cooperation with other departments and historic sites which can vary based on Exam Board specifications.

Clubs

There is a History Club on a Friday lunch.

All lessons have stretch and challenge opportunities and there are also stretch and challenge homework tasks.

There are various competitions throughout the year which are linked to History e.g. Creative writing for Year 7 on the History of Boston. These are part of our DIAL Awards.

We also encourage wider reading and fiction and several books are in the library and each term we promote books based on that particular point of the curriculum:

Year 7
Various Horrible Histories
The time Travellers Guide to Medieval England
The Normans by Marc Morris

Year 8
Various Horrible Histories
(For the Monarchy topic) White King by Leanda de Lisle
How to be a Tudor by Ruth Goodman
How to be a Victorian by Ruth Goodman
The Philippa Gregory series
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Year 9
Various Horrible Histories
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
Ellen's People by Dennis Hamley
Carrie's War by Nina Bawden
The Island of the Mad by Laurie R King (this book has Sherlock Holmes and his wife in and they visit fascists Italy)
Letters From The Lighthouse by Emma Carrol
Codename Celine by Jim Eldridge

GCSE
The Shardlake series by C J Sansom (based on a fictional lawyer in the Tudor era)
The Hourglass Factory by Lucy Ribchester (about votes for Women)

For A-level there is also wider reading which is published on Show My Homework and this compliments the topics which they are doing in class.

The main aim of assessment within History is not merely to assess students, but to promote learning and progress. The aim of our assessments are:

• Help pupils to know and to recognise the standards they are aiming for
• It involves pupils in self-assessment
• Provide feedback which leads to pupils recognising their next steps and how to take them (they respond in green)
• It involves both teacher and pupils reviewing and reflecting on assessment data
• Enhances future planning (such as dealing with common misconceptions which may not have been wholly apparent before)

On a formal basis, the department undertakes the same assessments for consistency and these occur at least once a term. These so called formal assessments are undertaken in assessed conditions, marked with a specific mark scheme, moderated as a department and the results retained. These assessment opportunities all have their own feedback sheets which are used for the students to see what they have done well and how to improve. To all of these assessments students will have dedicated improvement and reflection time. These formal assessments test a variety of skills and knowledge. In sixth form these formal assessments are usually in the form of 20/25 mark essays, or source analysis essays (25/30 marks) and these are both done in class (timed conditions) and at home. In addition to these formal assessments there are also ongoing assessments.

Exercise books are usually seen at least once every two weeks. Assessment happens on an informal basis in the lesson on a daily basis by student teacher dialogue. Assessment also occurs frequently in the form of Knowledge organizer quizzes which occur several times a term. These can be done in class (verbally or on paper), or on SMHW. In addition to these specific knowledge organiser quizzes, there are also additional quizzes on SMHW.

Within assessments, low stakes testing will also feature spaced learning where bonus marks are available for modules that have been taught in the past. This approach encourages students to revise and resist old material and therefore further challenges them.

Our key priority for all students is to deliver a very good quality education, which challenges students and maximizes potential. Please note that ALL lessons in History have stretch and challenge extension tasks. Therefore, our more able students are challenged in lessons in a number of ways:

• Targeting higher order questions to more able students which are to be answered verbally/written
  Encouraging more able students to work together in order to "bounce" ideas off one another and challenge one another.
• Encouraging them to see how the lessons fit into the "bigger picture" looking at change and continuity.
• Encouraging students to also be independent learners and find additional view points and arguments. For this additional wider reading is available.
• Offering stretch and challenge homework which incorporate the above so that more able students can be challenged further outside of the classroom.
• Some more able students benefit from working with lower ability students by explain their learning in different ways.

Wider opportunities:

• Wider reading available for students (partly linked to stretch and challenge homework).
• The History Club which runs every week. This enables young Historians to widen their experience and develop specific skills. Some of these opportunities will be linked to the curriculum, whilst others will be 'one-off' where students can deliver their own sessions or have "specialist" guest speakers.
• Various competitions.

The department frequently undertakes pupil voice surveys in order to enhance teaching and progress. This is arranged on SMHW with the results then being collated and analysed. The use of graphs helps the department to identify key statistics and trends, and other more detailed answers are analysed. This will happen at least once a year on SMHW and staff can often undertake their own surveys within class.

The questions vary slightly depending on the key stage but they focus on the values and themes of:

• Whether the students feel challenged
• Whether and how the students know if they are progressing
• What progress looks like
• What outstanding work looks like
• How students use feedback from their teacher to aid their learning
• What lessons the students enjoy
• What lessons the students feel that they gain the most upon academically
• Behaviours

The results are then analysed and follow up action is taken if necessary. Students can also be interviewed and given the option to explain their feedback.

Supercurricular Activities

• There are stretch and challenge tasks in every lesson and also extra reading and tasks set on Show My Homework to compliment what the students are studying in class at a given time.
• Extra sessions are held in Year 13 for revision and to give allocated space to work on NEA (coursework).
• Sixth form students attend a workshop at Lincoln University to help prepare them for their NEA and links to careers in History.
• As part of Year 12 Word Experience there are opportunities in local History to explore History careers. These are things which can be arranged/assisted on request.
• From 2023 there will be a termly University Lecture Club.
• Students also have a Korean War veteran visit the school for a talk (this compliments what they do for their Cold War topic).

A high-quality mathematics education provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.

Mathematics is a highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history's most intriguing problems. It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. Its benefit within cross-curricular activities is unending.

At Key Stage 4, mathematics is taught in sets. The curriculum focuses on the key concepts and processes vital to the understanding of mathematics; these are the essential skills and processes that students need to learn to make progress. The programme of study for Key Stage 3 builds on Key Stage 2 to develop mathematical reasoning and competence in solving everyday problems.

All students will be entered for Edexcel's linear GCSE Mathematics course; it is hoped that all students will be entered for the Higher Tier, achieving grades 5-9. Students must take three question papers. All papers are an hour and a half duration, with two calculator papers and one non-calculator paper.

All students are fully supported throughout the course, although the department also insists that all students learn to take responsibility for their learning; an essential life skill. To this end, students are encouraged to attend after school revision drop in sessions throughout years ten and eleven, whilst also being directed to use resources that build upon lessons in school.

Those students who have yet to achieve their grade 4 in mathematics are able to re-sit their GCSE in Year 12. Students who achieve a grade 7 in their GCSE are highly encouraged to study A-Level mathematics in years 12 and 13 with the aim of going on to study mathematics, or a related subject at University.

Mathematics is the means of looking at the patterns that make up our world and the intricate and beautiful ways in which they are constructed and realised. Numeracy is the means of making that knowledge useful.

Mathematics contributes to the school curriculum by developing pupils' abilities to calculate; to reason logically, algebraically, and geometrically; to solve problems and to handle data. Mathematics is important for pupils in many other areas of study, particularly Science and Technology. It is also important in everyday living, in many forms of employment, and in decision-making. As a subject in its own right, Mathematics presents frequent opportunities for creativity, and can stimulate moments of pleasure and wonder when a problem is solved for the first time, or a more elegant solution to a problem is discovered, or when hidden connections suddenly manifest.

It enables pupils to build a secure framework of mathematical reasoning, which they can use and apply with confidence. The power of mathematical reasoning lies in its use of precise and concise forms of language, symbolism and representation to reveal and explore general relationships. These mathematical forms are widely used for modelling situations; a trend accelerated by computational technologies.

The subject transcends cultural boundaries and its importance is universally recognised. Mathematics helps us to understand and change the World.

All pupils are issued with Knowledge Organisers that are matched to each unit of the Long term plan. Pupils will be tested after each unit has been covered in lessons. Pupils are allowed to bring into unit assessments any work that they have done on their knowledge organisers to help them in the assessments. The better the revision aid that students produce, the more beneficial it will be in the unit tests. Advice and guidance on best ways to revise and use the Knowledge Organisers will be given during lessons.

We also subscribe to a number of websites that pupils can access:

These websites require pupils to log in to them; they will be issued with their login/account details by their class teacher.

Assessment in Mathematics takes an holistic approach using a number of different activities to arrive at assessment grades.

Traditional assessments, or tests, are still used after the completion of a unit. These will be approximately every three weeks. To try and encourage pupils to revise for these assessments we encourage the production of a revision aid, using the Knowledge Organisers that are distributed at the start of every term. Revision aids can take a number of forms - cue cards or mind maps being the most popular. Pupils are shown how to produce a revision aid and are actively encouraged to keep up with this process as they continue their journey through the school. Any revision aid that a pupil produces can be taken into the assessment to help them achieve as highly as possible. Major assessment take place towards the end of each larger term, and include material covered through the previous terms.

Skills Check homework are issued every week. These are a grid of 20 questions that are issued on a Friday (via Satchel One and in class) and need to be submitted to the class teacher for marking by the Thursday of the following week. They cover 10 topics each term and are designed to help students recall process and key skills more readily. Class teachers will help students with each topic to ensure progress can be made. At the start of each term, class teachers will produce worked solutions as a framework for students to follow. This homework is all non-calculator and full method is always required.

In the classrooms, teachers use Retrieval starters, matched to the Skills Check homework to assess pupil progress. This way we are reinforcing material that has been taught in the past, in the hope they will be able to recall facts and apply skills more readily. Teachers assess pupil progress every lesson. Questions are carefully chosen to allow student the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learnt and understood.

Dr Frost is also used by teacher to assess pupils. Dr Frost is an online learning platform. Each topic has a video to explain how to answer questions on that topic followed by a number of questions; the difficulty of the questions can be set by the teacher. Dr Frost is used as an online homework platform. It is adaptive and will help pupils make progress by encouraging pupils to work on weaker areas. Each student can have different questions as the platform will target different needs as required by individual pupils.

Other activities undertaken in class are used to assess pupil understanding. Activities such as Treasure Hunts, Bingo, Shoot-outs and relays are just a few used to encourage pupil engagement and progress.

In mathematics, more able pupils:

• Grasp typical content more quickly and at an earlier age than classmates
• Often skip steps when solving problems: use an unexpected method
• Will do problems abstractly, without concrete aids
• Look at patterns and relationships and can explain them
• Can concentrate for a long time on a problem
• Have exceptional mathematical reasoning, ability and memory
• Are capable of independent self-directed activities
• Enjoy maths, puzzles, games, etc.

However, it should not be forgotten that these pupils still need stimuli to further their ability, in particular when reasoning or modelling situations.

We aim to:

• Provide enrichment and extension activities to develop breadth of mathematics and depth of thinking
• Encourage a culture of 'What if…' and 'Give me two more examples of…'
• Identify appropriate activities and resources on schemes of work
• Direct pupils to relevant websites providing puzzles and challenges
• Provide textbooks & other resources containing a suitable level of challenge
• Enter all pupils identified as more able in one of the three levels of the UK Mathematics Challenge
• Encourage participation in relevant county initiatives for more able pupils
• Use setting to ensure that all pupils identified as more able are in the same group in each year, where possible
• Ensure that the 'more able' coordinator is made aware of any changes

The students are positive about their teachers and the marking and feedback. There is a strong feeling that Maths is important for their future lives either directly through future careers or through understanding finances and taxes.

Students in KS3 mainly valued learning specific skills like multiplication, they also valued the subject's connection to real life issues such as finance and that it will be useful to them in the future. Responses in KS4 fell into themes which included being useful for the future, specific content such as algebra, the quality of the teaching and skills. They mentioned that it was one of the more challenging subjects and this was seen as a good thing. Some mentioned their teachers and the resources provided. Others said that they found Maths fun or enjoyable.

Mathematics and Further Mathematics

What's it all about?

Good at mathematics? Find mathematics fascinating? Then studying Mathematics could be the very thing for you providing you have taken Higher level GCSE Mathematics and achieved at least a grade 7.

A point to bear in mind is that whilst relatively few Higher Education courses insist on Further Mathematics, for courses that require Mathematics the study of Further Mathematics is likely to give you a head start.

The Mathematics department also caters for those students who wish to take SMC (UKMT Senior Maths Challenge) and STEP (Sixth Term Examination Papers). We can also support students needing to take TMUA (Durham), MAT (Oxford) and ENGA (Cambridge Engineering) entrance exams.

Mathematics

Course content: A Level Mathematics encompasses a number of different topics throughout the two year programme of study. Along with a wide range of Pure Mathematics topics, students will also study Statistics and Mechanics. Pure Mathematics topics are: Proof, Algebra and functions, Co-ordinate geometry, Sequences and series, Trigonometry, Exponentials and Logarithms, Calculus, Numerical Methods and Vectors. Statistics topics are: Sampling, Data presentation and interpretation, Probability, Distributions and Hypothesis testing. Mechanics topics are: Quantiles and units in mechanics, Kinematics, Forces and Newton's laws and Moments.

Assessment: Edexcel Specification 9MA0. There is no coursework involved in this specification. There are three examinations with each examination paper being 2 hours in duration. The papers are all out of 100 marks and are equally weighted, with each paper being worth 33⅓%. Papers 1 and 2 are Pure Mathematics only. The Statistics and Mechanics is assessed only in Paper 3.

Further Mathematics

Course content: For A Level Further Mathematics several combinations of modules are possible, but Further Pure Mathematics 1 and 2 which consists of Proof, Complex Numbers, Matrices, Further Calculus, Further Vectors, Further algebra and functions, Polar co-ordinates, Hyperbolic functions and Differential equations are compulsory. Two optional modules are chosen from a range of Further Pure Mathematics (2 options), Further Mechanics (2 options), Further Statistics (2 options) and Decision Mathematics (2 options).

Assessment: Edexcel Specification 9FM01. There is no coursework involved in this specification. There are four examination papers and each examination is one and a half hours long. All examination papers have equal weighting and are marked out of 75.

Minimum entry requirements: Due to the high algebra content, all students are required to have achieved at least a Grade '7' at GCSE Mathematics to embark upon the course.

Additional information: Mathematics is highly thought of by many universities as it demonstrates logical thinking and analytical skills.

Preparation for this course: It is worth ensuring that the algebra met at Higher Tier GCSE has been revisited before the start of the A Level in September. The following text is recommended: Maths Head Start Published by CGP Workbooks ISBN:9781841469935

Related career opportunities

Accountancy, Actuarial Mathematics, Aeronautical Engineering, Astrophysics, Building Science and Technology, Business Management, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computational Science, Computer Systems Engineering, Control Systems Engineering, Cybernetics, Economics, Electrical/Electronic Technology, Engineering Science, Ergonomics, Geophysics, Management Science, Materials Science and Technology, Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgy, Meteorology, Mining Engineering, Naval Architecture, Nuclear Engineering, Operational Research, Physics, Quantity Surveying, Statistics, Systems Analysis, Telecommunications Engineering, Textile Engineering.

The Maths department recently organised a trip for a group of Year 7 students to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, which was so successful we will be repeating this annually going forward.
Students spent the day exploring the stunning historical site, which is set high above London city. The original buildings where astronomers lived and worked are now full of interactive displays, working telescopes and artefacts.

The students stood in the room where Sir George Airy first envisioned the idea of the Greenwich Meridian, upon which hundreds of years of navigational charts and methods have been based. They looked through original telescopes used by some of the first modern-day astronomers, discovered why pendulum clocks do not work on ships rocking on the ocean waves and explored more contemporary scientific exhibits such as how we are currently using cutting-edge technology to explore Mars in the hope that humans might visit one day.

Students ended the day with an immersive planetarium show, taking them on a journey through the solar system, the galaxy and the universe, showcasing the incredible scale of our world and encouraging students to contemplate the probability of life on other planets.

MFL forms part of the English baccalaureate subjects and is highly regarded by many employers and universities as a facilitating subject. Furthermore, learning one foreign language makes learning another easier, an important issue when one considers the wide ranging ethnic background in Boston. Indeed, the whole of the UK has a diverse ethnic background, hence learning skills that equip to understand other cultures is vital. MFL does this. Not only will you develop vocabulary knowledge and understanding of grammar, but you will explore different cultures and languages, both in the classroom and on trips abroad.

MFL is a facilitating subject because it is one of the most challenging to learn, due to the required ability to learn new words quickly, the way they are pronounced and the grammar that underpins the language. To achieve this, you will immerse yourself in memory recall strategies to cope with large quantities of unfamiliar language effectively. Deepened by the energising entertainment of reading fairy tales and book extracts, listening to music and watching film clips all in the foreign language.

Through the study of MFL you will develop the ability to solve problems logically, which is a transferable skill. Other skills you will learn are the accurate use of dictionaries and grammar books, independent learning, synthesis of information and the use of different registers (language of law vs language of engineering).

You will find MFL particularly suited if you have an interest in Business, Finance, STEM, Intelligence (MI6, MI5 and Porton Down), The Armed Forces, History, Law, Medicine, Publishing or The Arts.

Quote: "If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart." Nelson Mandela

MFL uses Edexcel for both languages and GCSE and A-level.

At GCSE, pupils are assessed in four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. All four skills are equally weighted (25%) and therefore equally important.

There are 5 themes pupils need to be able to understand and write/ talk about which are:

1. Identity and culture
2. Local area and holiday and travel
3. Future aspirations, study and work
4. International and global dimensions and
5. School

For further information please visit the exam board's website.

At A-level, similar to GCSE, pupils have to prove competency in listening, reading speaking and writing. However, they are also expected to be able to discuss the following themes fluently using higher level language:

In addition, students study at least one book/play and one film in the target language and develop the skills to answer essay questions in the target language.

For further information please visit the exam board's website.

We can also enter pupils with proven additional language skills for Polish, Spanish and Russian (GCSE and A-level).

Throughout the year, there are activities run by either French, German or both languages for students to engage in such as poster and writing competitions. In September, the MFL department organizes special events throughout the week surrounding European Day of Languages, where pupils get the chance to try different food in the canteen, dress up or learn about other European Countries.

At least once a year we invite our year 10s with a gift in languages to attend a workshop/ competition in languages. Similarly, we run the Language Leaders Award for pupils in year 9 and above. Pupils opting for languages at 6th form have the opportunity of attending workshops in Nottingham to prepare them for exams.

It is always our aim to bring the languages to life and the best way of doing so, is by visiting the country they are spoken in. We endeavour to run trips to France and Germany on an annual basis. Similarly, we host visiting teachers from a whole host of European countries, including Germany, France and Belgium on a regular basis making the languages come to life.

For ten years we have been hosting an exchange with our partner school in Saarbrücken (Germany), which is open to pupils from year 9 and above. This enables our boys to experience life in Germany firsthand and learn about day-to-day living in another country.

With Boston Grammar School holding the International School Award from the British Council, working with schools outside the UK is a regular occurrence, providing once in a lifetime opportunity, especially for pupils in years 10 and above.

Year 8 and 9 students had the opportunity to take part in a residential trip to France during July 2022. The trip provided an amazing opportunity for students to practise their French speaking skills, and also to experience a different culture. We stayed at Chateau D'Ebblinghem, near St Omer, Calais on a full board basis and travelled by coach and ferry.

Outings included visiting a snail farm, La Coupole Second World War rocket museum, the Memorial Museum Passchendaele, Tyne Cott and Langemark war cemeteries, Ypres and the Menin Gate, the Bécasuc sweet factory, Bellewaerde theme park, as well as various French cultural activities at the Chateau and a town visit to Boulogne. We also visited an underground city.

Language Leaders - Learning to lead and leading to learn

We are running a joined-up approach to developing leadership and language skills. Student leadership is one of the whole-school themes that reaches across the Every Child Matters Agenda, student voice and citizenship.

Students at all levels of the leadership programme are enjoying the challenge of using their foreign language skill for a real communicative purpose. Research shows that we retain what we have learnt much more effectively if we use it actively to teach others.

Linguists working at GCHQ play an important role in keeping the country safe. In their working lives, they are expected to demonstrate: strong language skills, teamwork and good communication, research and analysis skills, an interest in the language and culture of foreign countries and confidence in presenting findings to an audience.

Our students received language lessons in Arabic and Korean on the day of the event to help them with various code breaking activities. They presented important information in a foreign language on the history of their chosen area, geographical situation, cultural and sporting highlights, current political and economic situation, any notable festivals or events, religious and cultural background and any particular challenges the town/region is currently facing.

In MFL we start most lessons with a translation, that builds on the vocabulary and grammar from the previous lesson and the vocabulary pupils were expected to learn from the knowledge organizer. This gives us the chance to identify those pupils who repeatedly struggle and therefore provide them with encouragement and support. Additionally, we draw on unannounced vocabulary tests, homework and spoken participation for our grading.

However, the most important factor is always the end of unit test that is sat at the end of each unit. These tests usually comprise a mixture of either listening, reading, writing and/or translation. This gives us a clear understanding of where pupils are in their language learning journey.

In addition to the formal assessment we offer pupils a chance of demonstrating their cultural understanding in project-based work that is sometimes run in the classroom and sometimes set as an optional piece of homework. Pupils are usually awarded house points and/ or small prizes for their effort. Quite often, these projects allow those with an interest in societal and/ or cultural studies to flourish as the projects are on a plethora of German related aspects such as history, film, music, sport or commerce and do not have to be in German.

The nature of languages always allows pupils to go above and beyond. How? By learning more vocabulary and by trying grammar pupils have researched for themselves. Especially writing and speaking give those with the skills, curiosity and creativity the chance to show what they are capable of. As mentioned above, we also set occasional work that allows those with an interest in the wider culture to shine.

For those who find languages more challenging we offer drop-in sessions and workshops as support.

We run questionnaires, focus groups and talk to pupils with lessons on a regular basis to ascertain how we can improve our delivery in languages. Feedback is positive about the changes we have made to the curriculum and its delivery over the past couple of years.

Introduction
Our A Level qualifications in German and French are designed to be engaging to students, while preparing them for future study and work. An inspiring and culturally relevant course that has a clear structure, which enable students to develop advanced-level, transferable language alongside a deeper appreciation of Germany and France as well as other German- and French-speaking countries. You will also be able to take part in competitions and trips to universities to deepen your knowledge and take part in competitions, e.g. GCHQ, Business Language Champions and Language Leaders, the Silver Award.

Studying a language is highly respected by universities and colleges as a life skill, not just an academic qualification - one, which you will be able to draw on later in life as highly desirable in a global market. Learning languages makes you smarter by improving your reasoning and problem solving skills. This supports academic achievement in other subjects and it improves your scores on standardised tests, particularly Maths, Reading and Vocabulary (whether it is medical, legal or technical).

Why should you choose A Level German and/or French?

• French is spoken in over 5 continents from Canada to Vietnam and from Switzerland to Senegal, by more than 400 Million people.
• German speaking countries are among the leading industrial nations and often influence events in Europe and the wider world. German is the second most commonly used scientific language and Germany's book market is the third largest in the world right after the Chinese.
• Knowing German gives you access to 15 Million websites. .de is one of the most popular top-level domains.
• Many companies have come to expect their employees to know more than one language which can benefit your career chances but also makes you more perceptive to your surroundings. You will be better at spotting misleading information. It is not surprising that Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot were both polyglots.
• Knowing how to speak a language is a skill which makes studying and working abroad much easier.

Boston Grammar School Music Department aims to deliver a high-quality music education that 'engages and inspires students to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement' (National Curriculum in England; Music programmes of study, 2013).

As students progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the many genres of music. Our curriculum is designed to allow students to build on their previous knowledge and skills through performing, composing and listening. They should develop their instrumental fluency, accuracy and expressiveness; and understand musical structures, styles, genres and traditions, identifying the expressive use of musical elements. They should listen with increasing discrimination and awareness to inform their practice as musicians, and should appreciate and understand a wide range of musical contexts and styles. Our curriculum is also designed to support the development of strong subject specific skills and our curriculum also supports and reinforces transferable skills. We also aim to provide high quality opportunities to allow students to develop their musical skills through experience.

Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. A high-quality music education should ensure that the curriculum is accessible to all groups of students, including those from vulnerable groups and SEND students. We challenge all our students to think musically and in depth.

The music department aims to nurture musical creativity and understanding through a holistic approach to music in all of its forms. In addition, we aspire to provide an inclusive and high-quality musical experience for all students and are committed to the provision of high-quality education in music, enabling students at all ages and stages to progress according to their capabilities and goals, and develop a love of learning. We hold this aim and intent in mind as we deliver and interpret the National Curriculum and the Eduqas GCSE and A Level specification, and as we devise activities and ensembles outside the classroom.

In order to achieve our intent, we consider the following:

• Cross Curricular Links in particular with Art, and Performing Arts
• Lunchtime intervention sessions
• Listening and appraising examination skills
• Key themes including: performing; composing; appraising; problem solving; critical thinking; confidence; decision making skills and teamwork.

Curriculum enhancement - which fosters personal development, offers enriching opportunities and experiences for all, promotes academic progress and develops soft skills and cultural capital. This includes:

• Contribution to Music Ensembles for those who play an instrument
• Pantomime Production
• Whole school Charter Day Service
• Visits to residential care homes to sing Christmas Carols
• Creative Arts London residential trip
• Prize giving ceremony
• Remembrance
• Autumn Concert
• Christmas Concert

Together, these elements provide not just a broad and balanced academic experience but also a wealth of treasured and enriching experiences for all of our students.

Our schemes of Learning are structured to build subject knowledge and skills, revisiting and building upon information to enhance recall and help all students to learn well.

In Key Stage 3 learning journeys introduce students to the knowledge, skills and understanding that they will need at GCSE, A Level and beyond. Across our curriculum each year is designed to build to the next. Curriculum planning focuses on performing, composing and appraising skills to aid students' musicianship, knowledge recall, subject fluency and to deepen their understanding. Our teachers effectively adapt Schemes of Learning to meet the needs of students in their classes, including vulnerable groups, SEND and those who require extra challenge. Staff follow department Schemes of Learning, which are continually reviewed and developed. Our curriculum includes strong literacy and numeracy skills as all students require these core skills to achieve. We operate a skills-based curriculum approach, believing subject knowledge, both theoretical and practical, supports and strengthens the development of subject skills.

The music department is passionate about involving students in extra-curricular music making. We have a variety of clubs and groups including:

• Mixcraft Club (a Music Technology club)
• Vocal group
• Concert Band
• Theory Club
• School pantomime (an annual production showcasing the musical and acting talents of our students)

We also have a range of peripatetic teachers available to teach instrumental lessons in Drums, Guitar, Voice, Piano, Woodwind, Strings & Brass. If you are interested in instrumental lessons, please speak to Mrs Bannister.

Students are welcome to book a practice room at lunch time These can be used to practice their instrument or develop their skills in their classroom performance work.

What can students do to develop their skills in this subject area?

Music is not just learning to play an instrument or singing. Music links to every curriculum subject and naturally the subject itself encourages students to stretch and challenge themselves daily when they engage with it.

• There are lots of lunchtime and extra-curricular clubs available in the Music Curriculum Area for all tastes and genres (see extra-curricular timetable).

• There are opportunities for students to lead aspects of rehearsals within extra-curricular ensembles. These skills not only develop musicianship, but also leadership skills.

• Students do not just contribute musically to our concerts; students will also be given the opportunity to help with the logistics of putting on a concert: lighting, sound desk, etc.

• Inter-House Music Competition: Students may enter this as solo artists and as larger House ensembles. This is an opportunity for students to socially stretch themselves, as there will be students from different year groups and of varying abilities, whilst again initiating leadership skills.

• The Music Curriculum Area has a wealth of instruments that students can explore. They range from common instruments, to rarer instruments.

• As well as our instruments we have a large collection of scores (sheet music) and CDs from genres ranging from the Renaissance period right up to Contemporary music.

Community Music

In Lincolnshire there is lots of music making taking place.

• The area has lots of established musical groups that you can join, meet new people, and make music together. These groups include Lincolnshire County Groups, Boston Sinfonia orchestra, Boston Youth Jazz Orchestra, Boston Operatic Society and Boston Youth Pop Choir.

• As a department, we encourage students to take part in musical activities outside of the curriculum that we feel they would enjoy, helping them to engage in the wider music scene of our local area. This opens doors for our students into many other musical activities, which consequently benefits their learning within school, through development of musicianship.

• If there is nothing already out there that takes your fancy, why not make your own band?

In the Music department, student voice surveys are regularly set on SMHW to allow for student input and feedback on the subject. The results are then analysed and used to inform further teaching. Once the analysis has taken place, follow up action takes place verbally, with the students, to allow them to discuss their feedback further.

In a recent survey some pupils raised the issue of the lack of technology in the department. They also felt that they wanted to explore the topic of Music Technology within the curriculum. As a result, the school have recently purchased a class set of laptops and Music Technology forms a key part of our music curriculum.

At Boston Grammar School, the A-level course in Music offers a broad and coherent course of study which encourages learners to:

• engage actively in the process of music study

• develop performing skills to demonstrate an understanding of musical elements, style, sense of continuity, interpretation and expression

• develop composing skills to demonstrate the manipulation of musical ideas and the use of musical devices and conventions

• recognise the interdependence of musical knowledge, understanding and skills, and make links between the integrated activities of performing, composing and appraising underpinned by attentive listening

• broaden musical experience and interests, develop imagination and foster creativity

• develop and extend the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to communicate effectively as musicians

• develop knowledge and understanding of a variety of instruments and styles, and of relevant approaches to both performing and composing

• develop awareness of music technologies and their use in the creation and presentation of music

• appraise contrasting genres, styles, and traditions of music, and develop understanding of musical contexts and a coherent awareness of musical chronology

• develop as effective, independent learners and as critical and reflective thinkers with enquiring minds

• reflect critically and make personal judgements on their own and others' music

• engage with, and extend appreciation of, the diverse heritage of music to promote personal, social, intellectual and cultural development.

The A-Level is designed to allow learners to pursue their own musical interests. Learners develop skills in the three distinct but related disciplines of performing, composing, and appraising, whilst having flexibility to specialise in either performing or composing. Learners may choose to apportion 10% of their assessment to either performing or composing as an in-depth study.

Boston Grammar School is able to offer its students a high quality music experience via the Lincolnshire Music Service (part of the Education and Cultural Services division at Lincolnshire County Council). The Lincolnshire Music Service offers lessons on flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, horn, tuba, euphonium, percussion/drums, violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano, guitar and keyboard. Vocal lessons are also available.

For more information, including how to register, see our instrumental tuition page below.

At Boston Grammar School, we recognise the importance of PE and the role it has to play in promoting long term, healthy lifestyles and making a positive impact on physical, mental and social health. The intent of our PE curriculum is to provide all students with high quality PE and sport provision, not only as a participant but in leadership roles such as a coach and official. It is our vision for every child to succeed and achieve their potential as well as lead physically active lifestyles beyond their years at secondary school. We strive to inspire our students through fun and engaging PE lessons that are enjoyable, challenging and accessible to all. We want our young people of Boston Grammar School to appreciate the benefits of a healthy active lifestyle. Through our teaching of PE, we will instill our core values and transferable life skills such as resilience and mutual respect as well as providing them with opportunities to take part in competitive sport through our extensive extra-curricular programme. We aim to provide all students with knowledge of the skeletal, muscular, respiratory, cardio-vascular system and nutrition.

Our extra-curricular programme is open to all students to attend on a competitive and social basis which is run throughout the academic year in the form of House competitions. For those wishing to play competitively Boston Grammar School provides a multitude of further sporting opportunities to represent the school locally, regionally and nationally.

Assessment in Physical Activity takes a holistic approach using a number of different activities to arrive at assessment grades.

Traditional assessments, or tests, are still used after the completion of a unit. Each unit test will include 50% of past unit content to encourage students to look back and not isolate single units. These will be approximately every three weeks. To try and encourage pupils to revise for these assessments we encourage the production of a revision aid, using the Knowledge Organisers that are distributed at the start of every term. Revision aids can take a number of forms - cue cards or mind maps being the most popular. Pupils are shown how to produce a revision aid and are actively encouraged to keep up with this process as they continue their journey through the school. Any revision aid that a pupil produces can be taken into the assessment to help them achieve as highly as possible. Major assessment take place towards the end of each larger term, and include material covered through the previous two terms.

In the classrooms, teachers use Go for 5 to assess pupil progress. Retrieval starters are five questions to focus pupils on previous content. The five questions are based on topics covered: in any of the previous lessons with specific reference to content that may be deemed more difficult or has been highlighted on the QLA as an area for development. This way we are reinforcing material that has been taught in the past, in the hope they will be able to recall facts and apply skills more readily. ExamPro is used in every lesson and is a bank of GCSE and A-Level questions that are used to demonstrate how a question may be assessed and also how it will be marked.

Everlearner is also used by teacher to assess pupils. Everlearner is an online learning platform. Each topic has a video explanation of how to answer questions and the key content. These are set fortnightly at GCSE with a 20 question quiz. The pass mark is 80% and multiple retakes are allowed. At A-Level and BTEC, Everlearner is used for recapping key topics, revising key topics and flipped learning.

Boston Grammar is committed to the principle of developing the best possible learning opportunities for all of its students. The Physical Education curriculum offers work that extends our students with activities that enrich and promote high achievement and good progress.

Specific tasks are set at a higher level than that of their peers and use a wider range of contexts and resources for learning. These students will be encouraged to move through their learning at a faster rate than their peers. The Physical Education Department will work cooperatively with external partners to cater for those students who have a high level of demand made upon their time as a result of their involvement in high level sporting activities outside of school.

Aims

• To identify the needs of the individual student and provide a challenging, stimulating and innovative learning environment within and beyond the PE curriculum.
• To encourage and develop quality and excellence using appropriately set targets which realise potential.
• To encourage students to take responsibility for their education, becoming confident and independent learners.
• To provide an environment in which students experience success, which in turn is recognised and celebrated.
• To provide students with opportunities for accreditation through examination PE
• To help students develop their personal qualities which will enable them to maximise their sporting potential and be transferable to other areas of their education.
• To provide appropriate enrichment activities through our extra-curricular timetable
• To provide students with exit routes to further development of their sporting talents.
• To encourage a partnership between students, school, parents and other relevant agencies.

More Able Students

In order to aid with the identification of more able students it is important that we have a clear vision of the characteristics we are likely to observe:

• Perform exceptionally well at one sport or to a good standard in many.
• Good spatial awareness.
• Good understanding of movement quality such as weight and time.
• Skilful body management showing a high degree of control and coordination.
• Able to combine movements fluently, precisely and accurately.
• Learn, understand and adopt technical aspects of a sport very quickly.
• Able to make correct decisions in pressure situations and adapt their technique accordingly.
• Creative, original and adaptable; able to respond quickly to new challenges and situations,often finding new and innovative solutions.
• Able to reflect on processes and outcomes in order to improve performance, taking into account the relationship between skill, fitness and tactics or composition.
• Able to work independently and with initiative. Show a high degree of motivation to practice and performance.

Staff in PE strongly believe in the importance of student voice in creating the right learning experience. Feedback on the learning is routinely collected during lessons, especially when we introduce something new, and through questionnaires, feedback sheets and focus group conversations.

Feedback is overwhelmingly positive, particularly at KS4 & 5 where we have 100% satisfaction at GCSE, BTEC and A Level.

"PE has been a great subject for me as it has helped me to develop my interests in key topics in which has allowed me to find the best university course for me" - Year 13 student

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind, how it works, and how it dictates and influences human behaviour. It is a multifaceted subject which includes many sub-fields of study, and at Boston Grammar School students have the opportunity to engage in eleven separate aspects of Psychology, gaining an appreciation of the theories and studies within each field. Through Psychology, students are able to develop and demonstrate a deep appreciation of the skills, knowledge and understanding of the scientific methods that underpin psychological studies, and plan and conduct several ethically sound and scientifically valid experiments. They develop confidence and excellence in a variety of practical, mathematical and problem-solving skills. They develop essential knowledge and understanding of different areas of the subject and how they relate to each other, enhancing their interest, achievement and evaluation skills. Through their understanding of human behaviour, the psychology students can recognise how to address many of the problems and issues in society today while being respectful of all individuals, and appreciate how this science contributes to the success of society and the economy, knowledge they can take on into their career or higher education. Psychology challenges the students to go beyond the classroom and engage in further research into the different aspects of study, encouraging a love of learning and the development of a better understanding not only of themselves, but of society in general.

"Education is not preparation for life, education is life itself."
John Dewey, one of the fathers of functional psychology

AQA exam board

Textbooks

• We will be using an interactive student book which you can access online on tablets, phones and computers in your own time.

Revision

• School SharePoint
• Range of revision guides available
• Simply psychology - the A-level psychology section
• Tutor2u has a comprehensive psychology section

Support

• Tuesday and Wednesday 3:30-4:30pm, revision sessions
• Thursday lunch time, drop-in clinic for years 12 and 13

Wider reading

• BPS digest
• Original journal articles
• The Psychologist - magazine produced by the British Psychological Society

Key websites

Research tasks

• Read around the subject to find studies that support/oppose theories we have looked at
• Independent study guidance provided for Year 12 and 13

Supercurricular Activities

Wider reading:

• Original journal articles - available on SharePoint
• BPS digest
• The Psychologist - magazine produced by the British Psychological Society
• Bad Science - Ben Goldacre
• Behind the Shock Machine - Gina Perry
• Opening Skinner's Box - Lauren Slater
• The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat - Oliver Sacks
• 50 Ideas You Really Need to Know: Psychology - Adrian Furnham
• Welcome to Your Brain - Sandra Aamodt & Sam Wang

Podcasts:

• All in the Mind Podcast by the BBC
• Mind Changers - BBC Radio 4
• PsychCrunch Podcast, by the BPS

Watch:

• Crash course Psychology (YouTube)
• The Brain: A Secret History - Michael Mosley (documentary)
• The BBC Prison Study (documentary)
• Stephen Fry - the Secret Life of a Manic Depressive (documentary)
• 3 Identical Strangers - Channel 4 (documentary)
• A Beautiful Mind - film
• 12 Angry Men - film

Assessment in Psychology occurs in a variety of different ways.

At the end of each major topic there is an end-of-topic test. These happen approximately twice / three times a term. For the longer topics there may be a test at the midpoint, to ensure effective revision and understanding of material. These tests consist of past exam questions so that the students become adept in the way to address the questions. In class and as homework, short and longer-answer exam questions are also set regularly. This is to ensure that the students are comfortable with both types of questions in the examinations.

In year 13, revision work is set weekly. There is a list of topics that have been previously covered in class, and students take 2 sections a week to prepare revision material on. The manner in which this is completed is down to individual student choice, with popular options including cue cards / notes / mind-maps / posters etc. These then inform the timed essays that are answered once a fortnight, based on an aspect of the revision material that was competed over the past 2 weeks. This ensures that the students become accustomed to addressing the longer-answer questions within the time limit that is present in the examinations. Additionally, there are fortnightly small tests that are based on the revision that has been completed. These are not exam-based questions, but are short-answer, detail-based questions. These enable the students to appreciate the level of detail that they need to include in the examinations, and allow them to check that their revision is comprehensive.

Within each topic, small-scale practical investigations are carried out. Students conduct an ethical experiment, and then address exam questions on their investigation. They occasionally write them up in the appropriate, report-like manner. Statistical tests are also performed on the data. The report and exam questions are assessed.

Other activities are undertaken in class to assess student learning. These include verbal questions and answers, quizzes and presentations, among a range of activities.

Top tips for high achievement in Psychology

• Practice past paper questions
• Complete essays etc. under timed conditions
• Read the examiner's reports
• Familiarise yourself with mark schemes, banded marking tables etc
• Learn the definitions of the examination command words
• Learn subject specific terminology, and how to effectively use it
• Develop good revision techniques (flashcards, memory clocks, mind-maps etc), start revising early, and track your revision
• Be organised, keeping all notes and handouts in logical orders using the checklists given at the start of the year
• Ask questions to expand and confirm your knowledge

G&T approach and wider opportunities

• Full journals are available for all studies we look at
• Mentoring opportunities available for Year 13 to Year 12

Student voice is collected every half term in different ways, including surveys, to obtain their opinions on the course.

Students appreciate/enjoy:

• the guidance on independent learning tasks and the fact that they could work more independently than at GCSE
• the structure provided to ensure effective revision
• the regular timed essays for improving their structure and content of their work within the time constraints of the examination
• the use of shorter questions building to more detailed past paper questions helping them structure their responses
• the feedback sheets, stating exactly what they had done well, and targets as to how to improve
• the regular small tests, valuable in informing them of the effectiveness of their revision, and to ensure they knew the details of the studies and theories of the course
• the detailed marking, mainly through corrections, paragraph re-writes or entire re-writes of pieces of work, using this to inform their future progress
• the actual learning within psychology
• looking at the past through psychological perspectives
• the connection to real life issues and up to date events and how psychology can help them consider their own lives
• the fact that there was some choice within the topics they could choose.

Changes this year as a result of feedback:

• more specificity for Year 12 students in the success criteria of independent learning tasks
• further scaffolding support for students working at the lower grades

Many students commented that psychology was "very interesting" and/or "fascinating".

Students also discussed how they saw psychology in their everyday life, e.g. one student stated that, when watching a television programme with his parents, he recognised a theory in the actions of the characters, which led to a discussion with his parents about the theory.

Religious Education has a key role to play in the overall purposes of the curriculum, to enable pupils to develop their spiritual, moral, social, cultural, mental and physical capacities to the full, and to prepare for the experiences and opportunities of adult life. Our 'core' curriculum for RE aims to ensure that all learners know about and understand a range of religions and worldviews.

Our core curriculum roughly follows the GCSE syllabus meaning the students undertake studies in philosophy and ethics as well as learning about religious belief and practice. By the end of the course we would expect that they will be able to describe, explain and analyse beliefs and practices, recognising the diversity which exists within and between communities and amongst individuals. They will identify, investigate and respond to questions posed, and responses offered by some of the sources of wisdom found in religions and worldviews. Learners will recognise the significance and impact of different ways of life and ways of expressing meaning.

We also expect students to reflect on the significance and impact of religions and worldviews, thus allowing them to explain their ideas about how beliefs, practices and forms of expression influence individuals and communities. In order to help them in their journey through the wider world they will be encouraged to express with increasing discernment their personal reflections and critical responses to questions and teachings about identity, diversity, meaning and value, including ethical issues. Learners will gain and deploy the skills needed to engage seriously with 'real world' ethical and moral debates.

Even though this course is not examined our intention is still to provoke challenging questions about the ultimate meaning and purpose of life and reflect the different ways that people view the world. Our principle concern is the education of the whole child through the provision of appropriate learning experiences. There is also a natural involvement in the pastoral care of pupils, which may from time to time involve awareness of the spiritual domain. Religious education is not concerned with the nurture of a particular faith or the acceptance of a particular way of life.

The study of ethics, philosophy, religion and culture will prepare the learner to take their place in the modern world.

"I don't think religious education should be abolished. I think that it is an important part of our culture to know about the Bible after all so much of English literature has allusions to the Bible, if you look up the Oxford English Dictionary you find something like the same number of quotations from the Bible as from Shakespeare. It's an important part of our history. So much of European history is dominated by disputes against rival religions and you can't understand history unless you know about the history of the Christian religion and the Crusades and so on.

"Comparative religion is very valuable partly because the child learns that there are lots of different religions not just the one they were brought up with. They learn they are all different and they can't all be right, so maybe none of the are right. Critical thinking is what we need."

Richard Dawkins

Religious Education and Life Skills are an exciting mix of issues surrounding religious belief and practice, Philosophy, ethics and contemporary studies. Learning each term is captured in a Knowledge Organiser which is used differently to other departments. These focus on core knowledge across the current topic thus enabling learners to home in on key words, relevant issues and basic concepts. Short term homework and longer project work, coupled with quizzing enables us to check both learning and the application of skills.

At all levels of study learners are given access to course resources from the very start of their study and are often set prior learning or research. Each unit contains a variety of additional home learning options including reading, podcasts and relevant videos. We will also convert up to date media articles to PDF and make them available via the shared areas. This approach encourages our learners to become more responsible for their studies and hopefully take an interest in wider world issues. Availability of a variety of resources enables those who have a deeper interest in an area of study to find out more whilst offering other students the chance to cover content ahead of the class. For those who require more time or extra resources access to additional material proves to be invaluable.

Students will find books on many subjects available to borrow from the department. We also pass on many of our own books to the library. The RE department set up and curates the Holocaust section within the library.

R.E Be A Star runs every Tuesday after school. Here students can seek extra help and support or take the opportunity to extend their learning. We also run the Quiz Club.

We are proud of the contribution that we make to the wider life of the school. We are responsible for teaching and learning about the Holocaust at BGS in which we work closely with H.E.T. and H.M.D.T. Many of our students and teachers have benefited from taking part in Lessons from Auschwitz. We also organise our annual act of remembrance on or around January 27th, Holocaust Memorial Day. The department also organises the Harvest Festival and other charity events during the year. We aim to instil the values of good, proactive citizenship in a non-partisan manner so that all members of the school feel included. We also take part in many International Schools activities. You will often find members of the department on trips and exchanges. Recently, we completed the national 'Polish Project' and were invited to the Polish Embassy in London. We would like to continue and extend this work in the future.

Top tips for high achievement in this subject!

Watch the news and read reputable newspapers or current affairs magazines.

Think in a cross curricular manner. You will find links to religion, philosophy and ethics in all areas of study.

Thoroughly explore the topics covered and read around each topic area using suggested resources.

Work on your literary skills. Writing essays in RE will help you in other subjects and vice versa!

Have an open mind and use it to make synoptic links between topics and subjects.

Places to visit either in person or on line.

The Stump! Why not climb the tower?

The local mosque holds an open day every year.

We have a number of local museums which relate to our learning. Visit the Guildhall and see where the Pilgrim Fathers were held in jail. Or, take a trip to the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre to link in with our learning about conflict.

A little further afield in Lincoln you can visit the Castle, Cathedral and the old prison including the burial place of executed criminals.

When you travel outside Boston, keep your eyes open for evidence of religion, history and culture. Our Head of Subject can often be found photographing monuments and war memorials.

Online, take a virtual tour of Jerusalem or Makkah.

During Lockdown our department suggested many different activities, we will try to continue this practice as time goes on.

Follow us on Twitter to find out about the eclectic world of RE and Life Skills at BGS.

The main aims of assessment within Religious Education are to inform both student and teacher of progress made and to identify any gaps in knowledge and understanding. This should promote deeper learning, thus facilitating progress.

Students will be made aware of the standards required and how to reach their target. Students will undertake peer and self-assessment. Teachers will provide feedback that enables students to understand their next steps to progression. Stakeholders can review and reflecting upon assessment data. Continued assessment allows us to enrich future lesson planning.

At KS3 formal assessment takes place at regular intervals driven by the needs of the curriculum. There will be a variety of formally assessed pieces including long term project work and shorter response activities. There are opportunities to be creative and test both skills and knowledge. Most activities contain cross curricular links or wider world application. Teachers will mark the work using a mark scheme which the students will be given. Moderation will be undertaken. A feedback sheet is usually provided to the student with a space for their own self-assessment and next steps.

At GCSE and A level students undertake longer exam style questions which are marked against the specification of the examination board. Again, written feedback is given. Exercise books are usually seen at least once every two weeks whilst this may not be 'deep marking' teachers will look for evidence of understanding as well as effort made.

Informal assessment takes place during all lessons via Q and A and discussion.

In RS, Knowledge Organisers are provided and students should use these to enrich their written work and create their own revision materials.

Our aim is to provide high quality lessons to all students. Lessons and tasks are designed to challenge all students. 'Take it further' tasks are written into all lessons and higher order vocabulary and thinking tasks are utilised.

Challenge may include targeted questioning and the varying of sources. Students are encouraged to see how their learning fits into a wider world perspective. We encourage students to learn independently and to share their findings with others.

We provide wider learning opportunities by downloading relevant articles, overviews, videos and podcasts which students may access via the school systems.

Listening to other people's viewpoints is a fundamental part of RE and we certainly practice that when it comes to the students. We regularly seek feedback from students in lessons about what activities help them to learn best and which they enjoy most. It is important to know which of our various activities they like and what works less well for them. As well as verbal responses we work with other departments to run voluntary questionnaires. If need be, we follow these up to seek clarification and further feedback.

Our most recent questionnaire gave pleasing feedback. Students were most happy about the fact that they knew what was expected of them in RE lessons. Those who responded stated that they could manage their workload and that teachers were helpful in enabling them to make progress.

Although all areas on the questionnaire were positive, the area students felt least positive focused around always trying their best and getting rewards. We will work with other subjects and the school community to see what we can do to add value to our rewards scheme at all levels. We are looking at this area carefully and hope to see even more students happy next time we collect their feedback.

15 reasons why studying RS is important

• RS encourages philosophical thought.
• RS improves decision making skills.
• RS develops your collaboration and independent working skills.
• RS encourages you to search for compromise and conflict resolutions that work.
• RS develops interpretation and analysis.
• RS makes a unique contribution to understanding British heritage.
• RS helps you understand values and beliefs.
• RS plays a key role in creating social cohesion.
• RS develops your literacy skills.
• RS raises awareness and allows you to engage with contemporary contentious issues.
• RS reduces intolerance and social unrest.
• In RS you learn to respect others.
• RS does NOT tell you what to believe but lets you make up your own mind.
• In RS you learn to respect yourself and understand your own identity.
• In RS you improve your understanding of your own, and others', rights and responsibilities.

Explain, Predict, Analyse

Studying Science at Boston Grammar School provides the foundation for understanding the material world. We develop young scientists who are confident, reflective, innovative and intellectually engaged to achieve excellence in Science. Our students have; a better understanding of the technological world, with an informed interest in scientific matters; a recognition of the usefulness (and limitations) of scientific method, and how to apply this to other disciplines and in everyday life; relevant attitudes, such as a concern for accuracy and precision, objectivity, integrity, enquiry, initiative and inventiveness; a better understanding of the influence and limitations placed on scientific study by society, economy, technology, ethics and the community. Through acquisition of knowledge, we expect our students to gain a deeper understanding, respect and sense of duty to care for the environment. Students should gain appreciation of how the complex and diverse phenomena of the natural world can be described in terms of a small number of key ideas, built upon throughout the curriculum, that relate to the sciences and are both inter-linked and of universal application. Above all, our intent is to instil the awe and wonder of science into young people whilst equipping their enquiring minds with the knowledge, skills and awareness of careers available to them, to go beyond the classroom, make a positive difference and shape the future. The students will leave, able to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave and analyse causes.

A diamond is simply a piece of coal that did well under pressure.

Opportunities for learning outside the classroom available for all students

All Key stage three students have an opportunity to participate in an after school STEM club, which runs as a series of three different projects between January and May. This includes opportunities to study topics such as optics beyond the constraints of the curriculum.

The Science department run a series of trips throughout the school year, including:

• A Year 7 trip to the Lincolnshire Wildlife Park.
• A Year 10 trip to Gibraltar Point to conduct ecology fieldwork.
• A Year 12 A Level Biology and BTEC trip to Norfolk, to conduct ecology fieldwork.
• A Year 12 and 13 trip to 'Biology Live'.
• We are currently in the planning stages for trips to CERN Switzerland for Sixth Form Physics Students.

Homework

In Science, homework alternates between use of knowledge organisers and tasks set by class teachers. These may include research projects, specific revision, practice questions or written tasks. Students in Years 9 to 11 are provided with a revision guide to assist with these tasks.

Students may also find the following websites useful to help with their studies.

In lessons, Science teachers will use a range of informal assessment methods to assess student's knowledge, identify areas for improvement to inform their planning for future lessons to help students through the learning process. This will include short quizzes at the beginning of lessons, which may assess learning from current topics, as well as topics that students may have studied earlier in the year, or even previous years.

At the end of each unit of work, students will usually be given an end of unit test, for which they will receive feedback on their answers. These will be used to assess students' progress over time.

Students in Years 7-10 and Year 12, will complete end of year exams to assess progress over the year, whilst students in Years 11 and 13 will complete mock exams, to help them prepare for GCSE and A Level exams in the summer.

The Science department offers opportunities for more able students to attend trips and take part in challenges that allow them to explore and be inspired by Science beyond the requirements of exam specifications.

• Year 10 students participate in the Biology challenge competition

• Years 9 to 11 take part in the 'Top of the Bench' Chemistry competition

• Sixth Form students participate in the Biology and Chemistry Olympiads

• Sixth Form Students participate in the UK Space Design competition

• Y8 students participate in the annual Science Challenge at the Lincolnshire Show

Trips for more able students include the Salters Festival of Chemistry for Years 7-9 and the University of Cambridge Physics experience for Years 9-12.

Qualifications in Science can lead to exciting careers, with opportunities to make scientific breakthroughs, make a difference in areas such as healthcare or the environment, and to work in a range of settings including laboratories, clinics, offices, factories, hospitals or outdoors.

Whilst careers linked to medicine, pharmaceuticals or engineering certainly do require qualifications and experience in science, there are alternatives including: scientific journalism, medical sales, consultancy, publishing and manufacturing and teaching.

GCSE, A Level and Btec Sciences lead to a range of careers and university courses. Some that you may wish to consider are listed below.

• Academic research
• Chemistry
• Food Science
• Forensic Science
• Geoscience
• Healthcare Science
• Life Sciences
• Marine Biology
• Materials Science
• Meteorology
• Nuclear
• Oil and gas
• Polymers
• Toxicology

Many of the UK's biggest employers recruit Science graduates, including the NHS, pharmaceutical industries, the Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), universities, petrochemical industries, the armed forces and engineering companies.

Each of these career paths will of course require specific qualifications and experience. You may wish to visit the Prospects website, the National Careers Service or specific company or university websites for further advice.