Year 8 Curriculum Preferences for Year 9

Curriculum preferences for Year 9 (September 2020) and the pathway to making final GCSE Option choices over the next academic year for September 2021.

As a school we highly value our arts and languages provision. As a result, we are giving pupils a set of curriculum preferences for Year 9 to enable them to study these in more depth, as well as having the opportunity to choose German as a second language option. This is prior to the process of choosing GCSE Options process when pupils select their final subject choices for Year 10.

Pupils are asked to choose two subjects from each block, a first choice and a reserve, to study during Year 9. Choosing many of the subjects does not mean they cannot choose other options for their final GCSE selections, with the exception of Music and German. Pupils who are considering Music or German for GCSE would need to take these preferences in Year 9 and continue them through to Year 11. However, if they do choose either of these in Year 9 and find they would like to choose other subjects for GCSE they would be able to do so. Pupils will be allocated one of their two choices in each block.

Please choose two from each preference:

Preference 1

Preference 2

Art

Drama

Film Studies*

Classics**

Hospitality and catering

Art

Dance

Music

German

Hospitality and catering

*Film Studies

Film is an important part of many people’s lives. Those who choose to study it characteristically bring with them a huge enthusiasm and excitement for film which constantly motivates them in their studies. They experience a powerful medium which inspires a range of responses from the emotional to the reflective as they are drawn into characters, their narratives and the issues films raise. The root of that power is the immersive audio-visual experience film offers – one which can exploit striking cinematography, composition and locations as well as powerful music and sound. It is not surprising that many consider film to be the major art form of the last hundred years and that many feel it is important to study a medium which has such a significant influence on the way people think and feel.

The academic study of film aims to develop knowledge and understanding of:

The ways in which meanings and responses are generated through film
A contrasting, culturally diverse range of films from different national contexts
Film as an aesthetic medium
How films reflect the social, cultural and political contexts in which they are made
The relationship between film and film technology over time.
The ability to draw upon knowledge learnt in KS3 drama, music and English study.
To enable learners to apply their knowledge and understanding of film to filmmaking or screenwriting.

**Classics

Studying Classics is an exciting tour through the ancient civilisations of Greece and Rome by learning about the art, architecture, language, literature and philosophy of the times.

At Castle Newnham, pupils will learn Latin at beginners level following the Cambridge Latin Course and will have the opportunity to take the OCR Entry Level qualification at the end of the year. Through the course pupils will also learn about Roman society as they discover details about the lives of real Roman citizens in Pompeii.

By investigating some of the aspects of society above, pupils will uncover the stories of these great civilisations by learning about some of the tales of the Siege of Troy and the myths of religion and origin for good measure.

Pupils with an interest in either Ancient Greece or Rome will be fascinated by this curriculum choice as would those with an interest in myth and storytelling as well as working out how language has evolved across Europe and the wider world.