Year 8

Welcome to Year 8

Communicating with you

Our Family Communication App is Class Charts and it is available on IOS and Android. This app will:

Allow you to view information and keep up to date with what’s going on in school.
Allow you to view key information about how your child is doing in school.
Inform you about your child’s activity, including school letters, attendance, visits and events in school.
Allow you to send and receive free messages to and from school via your mobile device.

We will also send home progress reports three times a year, this will give you information about your child’s attendance, punctuality and application to learning for each subject.

Your Team

Our team will be here to support Year 7 students through their transition to secondary school and their first year at Beckfoot.

Miss Sears – Head of Year 8
Mr Mehmood – Pastoral Manager
Mr Midgley – Head of Key Stage 3
Mr Wade – Headteacher
Mrs Denham – Deputy Headteacher and Designated Safeguarding Lead
Mr Barnes – SENDCO

Should you ever have concerns or queries, please contact the school on 01274 771444.

Wider Opportunities

Year 8 Enrichment – We are committed to providing as many enrichment activities as possible for our students.

Trips and experiences run throughout the year and can range from residential trips, subject-specific trips and reward trips.

Enrichment Week is the final week of school before Summer, where students will have the opportunity to take part in an activity of their choice.

SSAT Awards, the Student Leadership Accreditation is an innovative way of recognising students’ leadership skills and the impact that they have in the classroom, across the school, and in the wider community.

Subject	Cycle 1	Cycle 2	Cycle 3
Art	Scultpture: ‘Anibot’ design – Introduction to surrealism and Fabric Lenny’s ‘Rabbots’ Sculpture: ‘Anibot’ sculpture – Recap fo Fabric Lenny’s techniques	Surrealism: Clay monster designs and sculpture – introduction to surrealism, Salvador Dali and James Derosso Cubism: 3D cubist portrait – introduction to cubism and Pablo Picasso	Cubism: Mask design and low relief mask – introduction to Kimmy Cantrell Cubism: Mask embellishment – recap the work of Kimmy Cantrell
Computer Science	Data Representation: Students will be able to convert 8-bit binary numbers into denary, as students understand how data can be represented and manipulated digitally in the form of binary digits.	Small basic: Students will be able to solve a variety of computational problems and can successfully debug their code.	Hardware and Logic Gates: Students will develop a good understanding of hardware components and are able to understand simple noolean logic for example AND, OR and NOT.
Design Technology	Food technology: Healthy Multicultural Festival Food Expanding on skills learnt in Y7 as they create their own recipe from scratch and create it. This will be done by making pizza, pasta salad, Bolognese, fajitas, savoury rice and pitta bread.	Design Technology: Container box Pupils will design and make their own container box, beginning with creating their own 2D model and then utilising a range of fabrication models to bring their design to life and identify ways to improve it.	Textiles: Selfie art Students will research the work of existing artists and recreate their own pieces as they expand on their skills such as using a heat press, using CAD, weaving and embroidery.
English	Remarkable lives: Students will develop their understanding of the autobiographical form and use their knowledge to produce their own written piece. Macbeth-tragedy: Students will deepen their understanding of the tragedy form as they begin to understand what makes Macbeth a tragic play and the contextual backdrop of it.	War poetry: Students will learn about war poetry, exploring why soldiers chose poetry to express their experiences and feelings. Letter writing: Students will learn about the importance of letters and produce their own to voice an opinion in a letter to the council.	Ghosts and ghouls: Students will be introduced to Gothic conventions and be exposed to a range of Gothic texts. The Woman in Black: Students will build on their prior knowledge of the Gothic and analyse the supernatural conventions in the modern novel and consider the protagonists development throughout the novel.
Geography	Volcanoes: Students will gain an introduction to plate tectonics and natural hazards, as they focus on the cause and impacts of volcanic eruptions. They will be able to identify constructive and destructive plate boundaries and describe how movement can cause volcanic eruptions.	Urban geography: Students will understand the concepts of urbanisation and growth in UK cities and compare opportunities and challenges of urbanisation in HIC’s and LIC’s. Students will also look at sustainable urban living. Environmental issues: Students will look at global warming and extreme weather and begin to assess sustainable solutions. They will also assess the impact of human activity in ocean ecosystems.	Development in the Horn of Africa: Introduction to the concept of development, development gaps and inequality, as students learn about concepts of poverty and the promotion of economic development. They will be able to explain the causes of inequality in development and suggest strategies to reduce inequalities.
History	How revolutionary was the French revolution? Students will be able to explain concepts like monarchy and democracy and explain why the English Civil War and the French Revolution happened and assess how much impact they have on the way in which their countries were ruled. How far did life change in the Industrial Revolution? Students will be able to explain the concept of industrialisation and analyse sources to explain how the revolution changed Britain and affected different groups.	How did the British Empire change the world? Students will be able to explain key concepts such as imperialism and independence as they explain how Britain formed it’s empire and assess its impact on different places. Why did the slave trade last so long? Students will be able to explain how the Transatlantic Slave Trade began and make links to how it helped the Industrial Revolution. They will also form judgements on why it was abolished and how it continued to affect the lives of freed people and the modern world today.	Why was WW1 called the ‘war to end all wars’? Students will explain why both world wars started and explain the significance of key turning points in each war and their impacts on consequences. How did ordinary people protest for their rights in Britain? Students will be able to explain how ordinary people fought for their rights in the 19th and 20th centuries and how effective these campaigns were.
PSHCE	Living in the wider world: careers – Career choices, study skills, pathways to your future, types of work, challenging stereotypes, factors affecting financial decisions and managing emotions and risk Health and wellbeing: Physical healthy – Road safety, weight, immunisations and vaccinations, healthy eating, vaping, knife crime, bone, muscles and joints	Health and wellbeing: Mental health – Defining stigma, nutrition and exercise, positive relationships, bereavement and coping strategies and know your selfie Relationships – Stable relationships, strong emotions, roles in a family, sexism in the media and adoption	Relationships – Oversharing online, cybercrime, online risks to consent, discrimination and prejudice, cyberbullying, upholding your right and those of others online Living in the wider world: Beckfoot, Britain and beyond – Year 9 options, rule of law, role of citizens, parliament and monarch, SMSC: Define spiritual, moral, social and cultural
Maths	Number – negatives, rounding Geometry and measure – draw lines and angles, area, perimeter and volume, Pythagoras Algebra – expanding and simplifying expressions, equations Ration, proportion and rates of change – scales Statistics – scatter graphs	Number – BIDMAS and decimals, fractions, percentages Algebra – sequences, inequalities, simultaneous equations Statistics – data types, averages, data representation Geometry and measure – Transformations 1 Ratio, proportion and rates of change – ratio	Algebra – linear graphs Geometry and measures – 2D and 3D shapes Probability
Performing Arts	Film Trailer: Students will be introduced to working in a group to devise their own performance of a film trailer montage utilising techniques to persuade an audience. World War 1: Students will begin staging more complex devised work as they use their skills to create mood, atmosphere, and communicate more detailed characters.	Melodrama and pantomime: Students will be introduced to the techniques used in pantomime as they perform exaggerated characters in the style of slapstick and melodrama. Styles of dance: Students will develop their dance performance skills to engage and audience as they perform three dances in three different styles.	Romeo and Juliet: Student will develop their stagecraft skills through staging a Shakespearean classic text and bring together all of their performance skills, stagecraft skills, drama and dance techniques to stage a scene from the play, as they explore mood and atmosphere.
German	Oracy: Revision of adjectives and opinions to describe a photo and give opinions on it to allow students to speak with increased confidence and better pronunciation. Die Ferien: Students will gain a cultural insight into places in Germany while using new vocabulary and grammatical concepts.	Bist du ein Medienfan? Pupils will express views and opinions about books, TV shows, films and the internet. Bleib gesund! Pupils will express opinions on a healthy lifestyle and what one should and shouldn’t do.	Klassenreisen machen Spaβ: Students will learn key vocabulary to do with the house and home. Berlin – cultural capital: Pupils are able to explore the sights of modern day Berlin and become familiar with key features of the city while discussing the cities complex history.
Music	Music and advertising: Students will understand the power of music and its links to the industry as they develop their knowledge of more complex melodic parts. they will then compose their own jingles and underscore. Blues: Students will gain an introduction to improvisation and further composition, while making links to history and the morals of slavery. Introduction to dotted rhythms, triplets and syncopation.	Pop music: Students will be engaged through relatable pieces to make links to the industry. Students will understand more complex chord patterns and work on their own arrangement task to develop their creativity. Film music: Use of popular film motifs to once again develop melodic playing with the addition of more complex chords, students will learn to play the first 16 bars of Pirates of the Caribbean and compose their underscore.	Latin America: Link to world music as students use chords, melody and bass lines together to compose a tango chord sequence. Hip hop: Students will introduced to lyric writing as they understand the impact of music technology. Students will compose their own rap to introduce their crew and discuss a topic important to them.
French	Oracy: Revision of adjectives and opinions to describe a photo and give opinions on it. Students to revise questions words and take part in role-play situations T’es branché? Students will discuss use of the internet and social media amongst young people	Paris: Students are able to build upon their cultural capital through the study of Paris Mon Identité: Students will discuss their own characteristics and what they like/dislike	Chez moi, chez toi: Students will learn key vocabulary to do with the house and home Francophponie/Cultural capital: Discovering different francophone countries and comparing cultures. Using the imperative, superlative adjectives and vouloir + infinitive.
PE	Athletics: Consolidation of core skills at faster pace/using more challenging equipment and developing further technical and tactical knowledge Badminton: Continue to expand on core skills and techniques Basketball: Consolidation of core skills and tactical awareness in isolated practices, conditioned and larger/full sided games Dance: Consolidation of core skills, basic choreographic devices and development of some advanced devices applied to different themes/styles	Fitness: Exploring different core skills and embedding techniques safely Football: Consolidation of core skills and tactical awareness in isolated practices, conditioned and larger/full games Gymnastics: Consolidation of core skills and choreographics devices on the floor and large apparatus Invasion games	Netball: Students will master the correct techniques for passing, footwork attacking skills, defending skills and shooting Rounders: Consolidation of core skills and tactical awareness in isolated practices, conditioned games and full sided games Rugby: Consolidate basic rules and introduce more rules, develop core skills and introduce more core skills in larger games Striking fielding – cricket: Consolidation of core skills and tactical awareness in isolated practices, conditioned games and full sided games
RE	Evil and suffering: Students will explore the question if whether evil means God cannot exist Atheism and Humanism: Students will explore atheist arguments and humanist values to learn how people can place meaning without religion	Science and religion: Students will learn that science and religious beliefs about truth, creation and evolution can be conflicting Hinduism: Students will know key Hindu beliefs about the nature of God and how this is manifested in the form of different Gods and Goddesses	Sikhism: Students will know key Sikh beliefs about the nature of God, pilgrimage and equality, students will know about the lives of two gurus and how they influence Sikhs today Rights and religion: Students will know that humans and animals have rights and what the main six religions trach about this
Science	Chemistry – climate: The human impact on the world Biology – Earth’s resources: How we can make use of resources available to us in a sustainable way Physics – electromagnets and magnetism Physics – energy, work, heating and cooling: Real-life examples of where we need to think about the use and efficient transfer of energy	Science – enquiry process: Further opportunity to think about how science works Physics – forces, constant forces and pressure: Building on the basics of forces and applying ideas to different situations Biology – genes, evolution and inheritance: Developing ideas of reproduction and variation Biology – breathing and digestion	Chemistry – reactions: Looking at specific types of reactions Chemistry – matter, elements and periodic table: Ideas about the structure of matter and different types of material Physics – wave effects and properties: further developing ideas about waves Biology – ecosystem, respiration and photosynthesis: Biological processes that keep plants and animals alive

Subject

Cycle 1

Cycle 2

Cycle 3

Art

Scultpture: ‘Anibot’ design – Introduction to surrealism and Fabric Lenny’s ‘Rabbots’

Sculpture: ‘Anibot’ sculpture – Recap fo Fabric Lenny’s techniques

Surrealism: Clay monster designs and sculpture – introduction to surrealism, Salvador Dali and James Derosso

Cubism: 3D cubist portrait – introduction to cubism and Pablo Picasso

Cubism: Mask design and low relief mask – introduction to Kimmy Cantrell

Cubism: Mask embellishment – recap the work of Kimmy Cantrell

Computer Science

Data Representation: Students will be able to convert 8-bit binary numbers into denary, as students understand how data can be represented and manipulated digitally in the form of binary digits.

Small basic: Students will be able to solve a variety of computational problems and can successfully debug their code.

Hardware and Logic Gates: Students will develop a good understanding of hardware components and are able to understand simple noolean logic for example AND, OR and NOT.

Design Technology

Food technology: Healthy Multicultural Festival Food

Expanding on skills learnt in Y7 as they create their own recipe from scratch and create it. This will be done by making pizza, pasta salad, Bolognese, fajitas, savoury rice and pitta bread.

Design Technology: Container box

Pupils will design and make their own container box, beginning with creating their own 2D model and then utilising a range of fabrication models to bring their design to life and identify ways to improve it.

Textiles: Selfie art

Students will research the work of existing artists and recreate their own pieces as they expand on their skills such as using a heat press, using CAD, weaving and embroidery.

English

Remarkable lives: Students will develop their understanding of the autobiographical form and use their knowledge to produce their own written piece.

Macbeth-tragedy: Students will deepen their understanding of the tragedy form as they begin to understand what makes Macbeth a tragic play and the contextual backdrop of it.

War poetry: Students will learn about war poetry, exploring why soldiers chose poetry to express their experiences and feelings.

Letter writing: Students will learn about the importance of letters and produce their own to voice an opinion in a letter to the council.

Ghosts and ghouls: Students will be introduced to Gothic conventions and be exposed to a range of Gothic texts.

The Woman in Black: Students will build on their prior knowledge of the Gothic and analyse the supernatural conventions in the modern novel and consider the protagonists development throughout the novel.

Geography

Volcanoes: Students will gain an introduction to plate tectonics and natural hazards, as they focus on the cause and impacts of volcanic eruptions. They will be able to identify constructive and destructive plate boundaries and describe how movement can cause volcanic eruptions.

Urban geography: Students will understand the concepts of urbanisation and growth in UK cities and compare opportunities and challenges of urbanisation in HIC’s and LIC’s. Students will also look at sustainable urban living.

Environmental issues: Students will look at global warming and extreme weather and begin to assess sustainable solutions. They will also assess the impact of human activity in ocean ecosystems.

Development in the Horn of Africa: Introduction to the concept of development, development gaps and inequality, as students learn about concepts of poverty and the promotion of economic development. They will be able to explain the causes of inequality in development and suggest strategies to reduce inequalities.

History

How revolutionary was the French revolution? Students will be able to explain concepts like monarchy and democracy and explain why the English Civil War and the French Revolution happened and assess how much impact they have on the way in which their countries were ruled.

How far did life change in the Industrial Revolution? Students will be able to explain the concept of industrialisation and analyse sources to explain how the revolution changed Britain and affected different groups.

How did the British Empire change the world? Students will be able to explain key concepts such as imperialism and independence as they explain how Britain formed it’s empire and assess its impact on different places.

Why did the slave trade last so long? Students will be able to explain how the Transatlantic Slave Trade began and make links to how it helped the Industrial Revolution. They will also form judgements on why it was abolished and how it continued to affect the lives of freed people and the modern world today.

Why was WW1 called the ‘war to end all wars’? Students will explain why both world wars started and explain the significance of key turning points in each war and their impacts on consequences.

How did ordinary people protest for their rights in Britain? Students will be able to explain how ordinary people fought for their rights in the 19th and 20th centuries and how effective these campaigns were.

PSHCE

Living in the wider world: careers – Career choices, study skills, pathways to your future, types of work, challenging stereotypes, factors affecting financial decisions and managing emotions and risk

Health and wellbeing: Physical healthy – Road safety, weight, immunisations and vaccinations, healthy eating, vaping, knife crime, bone, muscles and joints

Health and wellbeing: Mental health – Defining stigma, nutrition and exercise, positive relationships, bereavement and coping strategies and know your selfie

Relationships – Stable relationships, strong emotions, roles in a family, sexism in the media and adoption

Relationships – Oversharing online, cybercrime, online risks to consent, discrimination and prejudice, cyberbullying, upholding your right and those of others online

Living in the wider world: Beckfoot, Britain and beyond – Year 9 options, rule of law, role of citizens, parliament and monarch, SMSC: Define spiritual, moral, social and cultural

Maths

Number – negatives, rounding

Geometry and measure – draw lines and angles, area, perimeter and volume, Pythagoras

Algebra – expanding and simplifying expressions, equations

Ration, proportion and rates of change – scales

Statistics – scatter graphs

Number – BIDMAS and decimals, fractions, percentages

Algebra – sequences, inequalities, simultaneous equations

Statistics – data types, averages, data representation

Geometry and measure – Transformations 1

Ratio, proportion and rates of change – ratio

Algebra – linear graphs

Geometry and measures – 2D and 3D shapes

Probability

Performing Arts

Film Trailer: Students will be introduced to working in a group to devise their own performance of a film trailer montage utilising techniques to persuade an audience.

World War 1: Students will begin staging more complex devised work as they use their skills to create mood, atmosphere, and communicate more detailed characters.

Melodrama and pantomime: Students will be introduced to the techniques used in pantomime as they perform exaggerated characters in the style of slapstick and melodrama.

Styles of dance: Students will develop their dance performance skills to engage and audience as they perform three dances in three different styles.

Romeo and Juliet: Student will develop their stagecraft skills through staging a Shakespearean classic text and bring together all of their performance skills, stagecraft skills, drama and dance techniques to stage a scene from the play, as they explore mood and atmosphere.

German

Oracy: Revision of adjectives and opinions to describe a photo and give opinions on it to allow students to speak with increased confidence and better pronunciation.

Die Ferien: Students will gain a cultural insight into places in Germany while using new vocabulary and grammatical concepts.

Bist du ein Medienfan? Pupils will express views and opinions about books, TV shows, films and the internet.

Bleib gesund! Pupils will express opinions on a healthy lifestyle and what one should and shouldn’t do.

Klassenreisen machen Spaβ: Students will learn key vocabulary to do with the house and home.

Berlin – cultural capital: Pupils are able to explore the sights of modern day Berlin and become familiar with key features of the city while discussing the cities complex history.

Music

Music and advertising: Students will understand the power of music and its links to the industry as they develop their knowledge of more complex melodic parts. they will then compose their own jingles and underscore.

Blues: Students will gain an introduction to improvisation and further composition, while making links to history and the morals of slavery. Introduction to dotted rhythms, triplets and syncopation.

Pop music: Students will be engaged through relatable pieces to make links to the industry. Students will understand more complex chord patterns and work on their own arrangement task to develop their creativity.

Film music: Use of popular film motifs to once again develop melodic playing with the addition of more complex chords, students will learn to play the first 16 bars of Pirates of the Caribbean and compose their underscore.

Latin America: Link to world music as students use chords, melody and bass lines together to compose a tango chord sequence.

Hip hop: Students will introduced to lyric writing as they understand the impact of music technology. Students will compose their own rap to introduce their crew and discuss a topic important to them.

French

Oracy: Revision of adjectives and opinions to describe a photo and give opinions on it. Students to revise questions words and take part in role-play situations

T’es branché? Students will discuss use of the internet and social media amongst young people

Paris: Students are able to build upon their cultural capital through the study of Paris

Mon Identité: Students will discuss their own characteristics and what they like/dislike

Chez moi, chez toi: Students will learn key vocabulary to do with the house and home

Francophponie/Cultural capital: Discovering different francophone countries and comparing cultures. Using the imperative, superlative adjectives and vouloir + infinitive.

Athletics: Consolidation of core skills at faster pace/using more challenging equipment and developing further technical and tactical knowledge

Badminton: Continue to expand on core skills and techniques

Basketball: Consolidation of core skills and tactical awareness in isolated practices, conditioned and larger/full sided games

Dance: Consolidation of core skills, basic choreographic devices and development of some advanced devices applied to different themes/styles

Fitness: Exploring different core skills and embedding techniques safely

Football: Consolidation of core skills and tactical awareness in isolated practices, conditioned and larger/full games

Gymnastics: Consolidation of core skills and choreographics devices on the floor and large apparatus

Invasion games

Netball: Students will master the correct techniques for passing, footwork attacking skills, defending skills and shooting

Rounders: Consolidation of core skills and tactical awareness in isolated practices, conditioned games and full sided games

Rugby: Consolidate basic rules and introduce more rules, develop core skills and introduce more core skills in larger games

Striking fielding – cricket: Consolidation of core skills and tactical awareness in isolated practices, conditioned games and full sided games

Evil and suffering: Students will explore the question if whether evil means God cannot exist

Atheism and Humanism: Students will explore atheist arguments and humanist values to learn how people can place meaning without religion

Science and religion: Students will learn that science and religious beliefs about truth, creation and evolution can be conflicting

Hinduism: Students will know key Hindu beliefs about the nature of God and how this is manifested in the form of different Gods and Goddesses

Sikhism: Students will know key Sikh beliefs about the nature of God, pilgrimage and equality, students will know about the lives of two gurus and how they influence Sikhs today

Rights and religion: Students will know that humans and animals have rights and what the main six religions trach about this

Science

Chemistry – climate: The human impact on the world

Biology – Earth’s resources: How we can make use of resources available to us in a sustainable way

Physics – electromagnets and magnetism

Physics – energy, work, heating and cooling: Real-life examples of where we need to think about the use and efficient transfer of energy

Science – enquiry process: Further opportunity to think about how science works

Physics – forces, constant forces and pressure: Building on the basics of forces and applying ideas to different situations

Biology – genes, evolution and inheritance: Developing ideas of reproduction and variation

Biology – breathing and digestion

Chemistry – reactions: Looking at specific types of reactions

Chemistry – matter, elements and periodic table: Ideas about the structure of matter and different types of material

Physics – wave effects and properties: further developing ideas about waves

Biology – ecosystem, respiration and photosynthesis: Biological processes that keep plants and animals alive