The Lower School Team

Head of Lower School (7) – Mr P Taylor
Head of Lower School (8) – Mr C Durkin
Key Stage Leader (7) – Mrs C Townsend
Lower School Pastoral Support Leader (8) – Mrs M Clarke
Lower School Project Lead – Mr R Amphlett

Introduction

The transition to Secondary school can be a daunting experience for any young person.  The OLSC Lower School Team aim to make this as comfortable, positive and exciting as possible for each and every student.  Preparations for the next year begin in September with Open Evenings through to Transition Days and Parents Evenings in June and July; visits with House Tutors in July and the gradual support into normal school life in September.  However, transition doesn’t end there.  All of the way through Year 7 students take part in a variety of activities aimed to give them the very best start in their education and formation in our Catholic Academy.

Transition Activities

May-June of Year 6 OLSC teachers visit ALL Year 6 students in their primary school
June of Year 6 Meet the House Tutor evening at OLSC
June of Year 6 Parents’ Information Evening
July of Year 6 Outdoor Adventure Activity Day
July of Year 6 A Day in the Life – a taster day of lessons and activities at OLSC
September of Year 7 Day one Year 7 start one day early to allow them to settle
Week 1 of Year 7 Taken to all lessons by teachers
Early break and lunch
Own play area at break and lunch
Early leave at the end of day
First Term of Year 7 Star Student of the Week – Hot Chocolate Wednesdays
Wednesday Word – weekly Gospel resource to take home
Academic Mentoring with P16 students every Wednesday – Reading and Numeracy
Peer Mentoring with P16 every Wednesday – 1 to 1 and in House Tutor groups
Optional Retreat Day at Alton Castle

Intervention Activities

 All students will receive targeted support in-line with their individual needs.  This will include a combination of the following:

Intervention Activity Planned Date Lead
Maths Mentor – small group support October onwards RW/AB
English Mentor – small group support September onwards RW/SD
Science Mentor – small group support October onwards RW/PB
Peer Mentors – 1 to 1 support September onwards RW
Academic Mentors September onwards RW/MB/DM
HA Project – Business Enterprise January 2020 – Valentine’s Day RA/RW
University Project October onwards RA/RW
Lower School University Challenge October onwards PT/ZM
CLAS October – December RW/RA
Spelling Bee January 2020 PT/CM
Bake-off 4 October 2020 PT/RW
Poetry  Slam May 2020 RW/SD/CM
Active Mind October onwards RW
Sports Leadership October onwards RW/PC
Student Council January onwards PT/RW

Student Support

House Tutors provide a daily contact for all Lower School Students as well as delivering Numeracy Ninjas, Accelerated Reader support and the Wednesday Word Catholic Gospel resource.

Peer Mentors from the Sixth Form attend House Tutor time each Wednesday to support with literacy and prayer and worship.  At the same time, 1 to 1 Peer Mentors treat their mentees to a Hot Chocolate in the dining hall.

Academic Mentors support on a Wednesday with students requiring help with reading and numeracy skills.

All students have access to BASE 25 mentoring if they require extra support with any particular issues, and specialised counselling is offered for more targeted support to those who may require help at certain times of their life.

Regular assemblies focus on safety and well-being during Year 7.  The Police are regular visitors, giving talks on safety to and from school and appropriate information on potential risks outside of school and online.

Curriculum

The Academy is embarking on a new curriculum across all subjects during the academic year 2019/2020. We will update this curriculum page by September 2020.

For additional information for each subject please contact the Head of School – Lower: Mr. Taylor.

All Year 7 students study English, Maths, Science, RE, PE, Geography, History, a Modern Foreign Language, Computing, Music and Creative Media.

Art

Mark Making Project

  • Tonal shading

  • Mark making

  • Texture

  • Observational drawing

Colour Theory project

  • Primary, Secondary & Tertiary colours

  • Mixing colours

  • Tints and Shades

  • Vincent Van Gogh painting style

The Big Hoot / Wolves in Wolves

  • Pattern design

  • 3D clay sculpture

Computing

  • Intro Unit ‐ Using Computers Safely, Effectively and Responsibly

  • Unit 1 ‐ Introduction to coding through Kodu

  • Unit 2 – Graphics

  • Unit 3 ‐ Control systems with Flowol

Geography

  • Half term 1 – Economic Activity

  • Half term 2 – International Development

  • Half term 3 – Rivers

  • Half term 4 – Hydrology and Coasts

  • Half term 5 – Weather and Climate

  • Half term 6 – Russia

History

Theme: Power & Control

  • Half term 1 – Romans *Significance

  • Half term 2 – Medieval Life & 1066 *Cause & Consequence

  • Half term 3 – Tudors *Similarities & differences

  • Half term 4 – English Civil War *Interpretation

  • Half term 5 – French Revolution *Similarities & differences

  • Half term 6 – Industrial Revolution

Maths (Foundation)

  • Half term 1 – Analysing and Displaying Data, Number Skills

  • Half term 2 – Expressions, Functions and Formulae, Fractions

  • Half term 3 – Angles and Shapes, Decimals

  • Half term 4 – Equations

  • Half term 5 – Multiplicative reasoning, Perimeter, Area and Volume

  • Half term 6 – Sequences and Graphs

Maths (Higher)

  • Half term 1 – Analysing and Displaying Data, Number Skills

  • Half term 2 – Expressions, Functions and Formulae, Decimals and Measure

  • Half term 3 – Fractions, Probability

  • Half term 4 – Ratio, Proportion

  • Half term 5 – Lines and Angles, Sequences and Graphs

  • Half term 6 – Transformations

English

  • Half term 1: Gothic Writing

  • Half term 2: Class Reader

  • Half term 3: Nature Poetry

  • Half term 4: Shakespeare (Either: The Taming of the Shrew or A Midsummer Night’s Dream)

  • Half term 5: Childhood ‐ Language Paper 2 Non‐fiction focus

  • Half term 6: Writing to Argue

Modern Foreign Languages

Year 7 French follows ‘Allez 1’ and Spanish follows ‘Zoom 1’. The topics studied run largely parallel in each language and cover:

  • All about me

  • School

  • Home and local area

  • Food

  • Lifestyle and free‐time activities

  • Holidays

Key grammatical and linguistic concepts include:

  • The present tense

  • Adjectives and nouns

  • The perfect tense

  • Expressing opinions

  • The near future tense

Drama

Drama is offered to all year 7 in a rotation system with all students having at least 6 weeks of Drama. In this time they will learn and explore basic drama techniques and skills. They will learn how to perform in front of others and evaluate their own and others’ performance’s. Drama in year 7 helps them to grow In confidence.

Dance

Dance in Year 7 is offered through Core PE and students will have a 6/7 week block of this activity. During this they will learn the basic skills needed as a dancer and key choreographic and performance skills. Afterschool and Lunch clubs are also offered for both year groups.

RE

What does it mean to belong? Students will study the meaning and purpose of a community, applying their knowledge and understanding to the school community. They will learn about the five House saints.

Is there more to life than meets the eye? Within this module students will study the seven sacraments and the festivals Christians celebrate throughout the year. Learning the meaning and purpose and explain the influence they have on individuals.

Vocation: Students will look at what vocation means, how we are all called to a vocation and what needs to be done to achieve that vocation.

World Faith: Hinduism. Exploring the beliefs and practices of Hinduism.

Music

  • “Stomp” – introduction to key musical skills

  • Music Tech Introduction to DAW software

  • Rap

  • Music Tech ‐ Introduction to notation software