Core Subjects
English
At Blackminster we aspire to create and enthuse pupils to become writers and readers. We want their natural style and flair to be evident in their creations by giving them to tools to do so. Within this subject, it is imperative pupils can read and write. Without this ability pupils will struggle to function within other curriculum subjects and, more importantly, it will prevent access to opportunities within the outside world.
Maths
Mathematics provides our students with a curriculum that expands their way of viewing and makes sense of the world. Our maths department strives to give students the confidence to acquire and use the mathematical knowledge and skills that will stand them in good stead throughout their lifetime. We seek to achieve excellence in the teaching and learning of mathematics, in order for the students to make significant progress, irrespective of their prior attainment in this interesting and varied subject.
To do this, we strive for our students to:
- Foster positive attitudes, fascination and excitement of discovery through the teaching and learning of mathematical concepts;
- Encourage confidence, enjoyment and challenge to all students in the learning of mathematics;
- Develop a ‘can do’ attitude in our children, where we develop students’ ability to solve problems in a variety of contexts, building their confidence to tackle unfamiliar problems in new situations;
- Broaden children’s knowledge and understanding of how mathematics is used in the wider world by making rich and varied real life connections
- Help our students to confidently reason about mathematics, using a suitable range of mathematical language, recognising its importance for communication and deep thinking;
- Make students aware of the use of mathematics in everyday life and to build awareness and skills related to the financial matters that are important to them to try as they develop into young adults
- Provide a curriculum that builds on prior knowledge, consolidates previous work and in small steps of sequences in order to maximise long term recall of information and processes and build on strong learning.
Science
Science is taught over the 3 years with 6 lessons per fortnight. These are taught in our fantastic state-of-the art laboratories which ensure the students the opportunity to use high school standard equipment. The topics taught over the 3 years include all 3 sciences, including Particles and Solutions, New Beginnings, Electricity and Magnets, Forces, Elements and Ecosystems. The lessons are designed to be fun and engaging and can vary from using skittles as electrons to tell us about the Periodic Table through to investigating which is the ‘best’ biscuit! You can see how the topics are linked through our curriculum plan which shows you what each year is taught but also how the topics build on each other over the three years. The overview shows you which topics are taught when. This leads onto our impact, where we are dedicated to ensuring our students leave our school with a solid foundation of knowledge, the skills and confidence to make decisions and the ability to challenge themselves in their own learning.