Year 9
Welcome to Year 9
Staff
| Assistant Head Teacher |
Ms H Oakes (hoakes@dartfordgrammarschool.org.uk) |
| Year 9 Head of Year |
Mr P Brooks (pbrooks@dartfordgrammarschool.org.uk) |
| Administration |
Mrs J Bennett (jbennett@dartfordgrammarschool.org.uk) Mrs P Buckley (pbuckley@dartfordgrammarschool.org.uk)
|
Form Tutors 2024-2025
9A – Mr A Wells
9B – Mr W Harbert
9C – Ms J Heath
9D – Mr R Taylor
9E – Mr R King
9F – Ms E Doherty
Key Stage 3 Admin Manager
Mrs J Bennett (jbennett@dartfordgrammarschool.org.uk) is the Admin Manager for KS3 and deals with Key Stage 3 letter reply slips and general administration.
Absence
To report absence, please ring 03122 223039 ext. 106 or email: absence@dartfordgrammarschool.org.uk
The Key Stage 3 Curriculum – Year 9
In September, many of our students began three year GCSE courses. All students follow a broad and balanced curriculum following the requirements of the National Curriculum and the IB Middle Years Programme. This ensures our students preserve the widest possible range of options for the Sixth Form and beyond.
In the spring term of Year 9, students will make selections to determine their final GCSE line up.
In Year 9 students study two out of the three subjects Computing, Design & Technology and Sports Science, as selected in Year 8.
The curriculum is wide-ranging, challenging and exciting. The balanced structure of the MYP enables students to make links between their individual subjects and provides the best preparation for the Sixth Form. The Y9 Community Project is a great example of this.
The Global Contexts of the MYP
As with the Diploma there are areas which draw together the programme extending the students’ experiences. These are the 6 ‘Global Contexts’ which further build upon learning experienced during Years 7 and 8.
The key points of each Global Context are as follows:
Identities and Relationships – students will explore identity; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities and cultures; what it means to be human.
Orientation in space and time – students will explore personal histories; homes and journeys; turning points in humankind; discoveries; explorations and migrations of humankind; the relationships between, and the interconnectedness of, individuals and civilizations, from personal, local and global perspectives.
Personal and cultural expression – students will explore the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.
Scientific and technical innovation – Students will explore the natural world and its laws; the interaction between people and the natural world; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on communities and environments; the impact of environments on human activity; how humans adapt environments to their needs.
Globalization and sustainability – students will explore the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities; the relationship between local and global processes; how local experiences mediate the global; the opportunities and tensions provided by world-interconnectedness; the impact of decision-making on humankind and the environment.
Fairness and development – students will explore rights and responsibilities; the relationship between communities; sharing finite resources with other people and with other living things; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.
Through the environment provided by the Global Contexts, students will become more aware of the relevance of their learning to real-world issues, and shall come to see knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes as an interrelated whole. In this way, students will appreciate that their subject groups are not isolated but complement each other.
The final facet of the MYP is the ‘Community Project’ conducted in Year 9. During the project students will develop an activity that is beneficial to a community through the focus of one of the Global Contexts. The important point being that students go through the cycle - plan, research, deliver, evaluate - as they study a personal area of interest and so are better able to understand stages in the development of an idea.
Year 9 Creativity Activity & Service (CAS)
Core points in the 6th form IB Diploma are calculated by combining an academic element and a service element. The aim is to replicate this system in Key Stage 3 – with our Creativity, Activity and Service component - CAS.
For our new Y9 students the creativity element will be met by student engagement and performance in the Y9 Community Project looking at a Global issue, hopefully not the pandemic. The activity element will be met by 10 or more appearances at a school club and involvement in the MYP Graduation event. The service element will be evidenced by fundraising or volunteering, and progress in PHSE. Furthermore, we hope to build on the success of the Year 9 Christmas food bank appeal which was led by the Year 9 prefects and involved all Year 9 boys. These 3 strands will help all Y9s explore the wider world and form a CAS performance for a Y9 student.
Key Events in the Year for Year 9 Students
- School Photographs
- Inset Day
- Year 9 Parents' Welcome Evening
- House fund raising activities
- Year 9 Immunisations – February
- Year 9 Option Choices – May
- Year 9 Examinations – April
- Year 9 Full Report – May
- Year 9 Parents Consultation Evening
- Summer Grade Card issued to students - July
- Year 9 MYP Celebration Evening – July
- Sports Day – July
