In year 10 students have 30 lessons a week, these are allotted as follows:

Number of lessons per subject

Below is a general overview of the topics students are taught throughout the year in each subject.

Year 10 students study English, maths, science, physical education, philosophy and ethics and either history or geography, they also opt to pursue three further subjects.

For a more in depth outline of each subject please click on the link for the subject page.

If you would like to speak to us about any aspect of our curriculum, or to request a printed version of our topic map, please get in touch.

Core subjects

Students study all of the below, with the exception of history and geography where they must choose to pursue one or the other.

English

English Language

  • Paper 1: Creative reading and writing: unseen fiction reading text and describe/narrate writing
  • Paper 2: Writers’ viewpoints and perspectives: unseen non-fiction reading texts and viewpoints writing

English Literature 

  • Paper 1: Macbeth
  • Paper 1: 19th century novel (Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde or A Christmas Carol)
  • Paper 2: Poetry comparison: Power and Conflict
  • Paper 2: Unseen poetry
  • Paper 2: An Inspector Calls

Visit our English page for more information

Geography

  • The changing economic world
  • Economic development and quality of life
  • Strategies for closing the development gap
  • NEE case study: Nigeria
  • The UK economy
  • The living world
  • Ecosystems
  • Tropical rainforests
  • Hot deserts
  • The UK landscape
  • Coasts

Visit our geography page for more information

History

  • American West
    • The plains Indians
    • Early settlers
    • Settling on the great plains
    • The end of the plains Indians way of life
  • Norman Invasion
    • Anglo-Saxon society
    • The battles of 1066
    • Securing the Kingdom
    • The Normanisation of England

Visit our history page for more information

Maths

Foundation

  • Compound interest, growth and decay
  • Sequences
  • Trigonometry and Pythagoras
  • Similar shapes
  • Vectors
  • Volume and surface area
  • Sectors
  • Loci
  • FDP recap
  • Error intervals and bounds
  • Probability
  • Quadratics
  • Types of graph
  • Rates of change

Higher

  • Compound interest, growth and decay
  • Iteration
  • Sequences
  • Trigonometry and Pythagoras
  • Similar shapes
  • Algebraic proof
  • Vectors
  • Volume and surface area
  • Circle theorems
  • Equation of a circles
  • Sectors
  • Loci
  • Recurring decimals
  • Error intervals and bounds
  • Complex probability problems
  • Transformations of functions
  • Cumulative frequency and histograms
  • Quadratics
  • Types of graphs
  • Composite and inverse functions
  • Rates of change

Visit our maths page for more information

Philosophy and ethics

  • Terrorism and cults
  • End of life
  • Relationships, sex and health education
  • Ethics in the media

Visit our philosophy and ethics page for more information

Physical education

• Preparing for exercise
• Movement
• Developing technique
• Teamwork
• The benefits of physical activity
• Scoring systems
• Competition
• Officiating
• Tactics and strategies
• Methods of training
• Achieving a personal best
• Valuing physical activity
• Analyse a performance
• Fitness testing
• Leadership
• Making informed choices

Visit our PE page for more information

Science

Biology

  • Human interaction
  • Feedback and control
  • Genetics

Chemistry

  • Structure and bonding
  • Controlling reactions
  • Making substances

Physics

  • Newton’s law
  • Force fields
  • Home electricity
  • m radiation

Visit our science page for more information

Optional subjects

Additionally students choose to study three of the subjects listed below.

Art

  • Skills building unit; theme food and drink
  • Personal portfolio; self-selected theme within the title ‘Distortion’

Visit our art page for more information

Business studies

  • Enterprise and entrepreneurship
  • Spotting a business opportunity
  • Putting a business idea into practice
  • Making the business effective
  • External influences on business

Visit our business page for more information

Computer science

  • Programming fundamentals
  • Algorithms
  • Producing robust programs
  • Memory and storage
  • Systems architecture
  • Ethical, legal and cultural issues

Visit our computing page for more information

Creative i-Media (Cambridge National)

Unit R081 & R082

  • Purpose and properties of digital graphics
  • Creating preproduction documents
  • Creating digital graphics
  • Reviewing preproduction documents.
  • Reviewing digital graphics

Visit our business page for more information

Dance

  • Choreography
  • Professional set works

Visit our dance page for more information

Digital information technology (BTEC)

  • User Skills
  • Interfaces
  • Design principals
  • Project methodologies
  • Project tools
  • Data and information
  • Spreadsheet formula
  • Presentation methods
  • Data validation

Visit our business page for more information

Drama

  • Derek Bentley
  • Live theatre: semiotics
  • Devising: building blocks
  • Exploring stimuli
  • Live theatre: production designer
  • Devising: research
  • Devising: log
  • Devising: performance

Visit our drama page for more information

Engineering (Cambridge National)

  • Skills development project: bedroom organiser
  • Skills development project: games controller design and CAD skills
  • Design coursework: speaker system
  • Revision theory lessons

Visit our D & T page for more information

Food and nutrition

  • Practical
  • Factors influencing food choice, food culture, food hygiene
  • Practical
  • Nutrition & food science
  • Practical
  • Nutrition, food safety, food labelling
  • Practical
  • Nutrition, food labelling, food sustainability
  • Cooking methods, calcium, processing, raising agents, meat and fish production
  • Practical
  • Practical
  • Afternoon tea project

Visit our D & T page for more information

Health and social care (Cambridge National)

  • Milestones
  • Autism
  • Safety in and early years setting
  • Risk assessments
  • Design your own nursery
  • Types of communication
  • Factors for positive communication
  • Barriers to communication
  • Personal qualities
  • Planning for interactions
  • Role play

Visit our social science page for more information

Marketing and enterprise (Cambridge National)

Unit RO65: Design a business proposal

  • LO1: Be able to identify the customer profile for a business challenge
  • LO2: Be able to complete market research to aid decisions relating to a business challenge
  • L03: Be able to develop a design proposal for a business challenge
  • LO4: Be able to review whether a business proposal is viable

Visit our business page for more information

Modern foreign languages

French or German or Spanish
Identity and culture
• Me, my family and friends
• Free-time activities
• Technology in everyday life
• Customs and festivals

Local, national and international areas of interest.
• Local area
• Social issue
• Global issues
• Travel and Tourism

Visit our modern foreign languages page for more information

Music (BTEC)

  • What and how to?
  • Musical genres
  • Using music software to compose
  • Planning for progression
  • The cover version
  • Exploring music products and styles

Visit our music page for more information

PE

  • Paper 1 – The human body and movement in physical activity and sport
  • Applied anatomy and physiology
  • The structure and function of the cardio-respiratory system
  • Anaerobic and aerobic exercise
  • Movement analysis
  • Physical training
  • Use of data

Or

  • Paper 2 – Socio-cultural influences and well-being in physical activity and sport
  • Sports psychology
  • Socio-cultural influences
  • Commercialisation of physical activity & sport
  • Ethical issues
  • Health & fitness
  • Use of data
  • Non examined assessment – analysis and evaluation of one practical sport

Visit our PE page for more information

Philosophy and ethics

  • Christian beliefs and practices
  • Muslim beliefs and practices
  • Existence of God

Visit our philosophy and ethics page for more information

Product Design

  • Technical illustration techniques
  • Mechanical devices
  • Materials and their working properties
  • Developments in new materials
  • New and emerging technologies
  • Energy generation and storage
  • System approach to designing

Visit our D & T page for more information

Psychology

  • Social influence
  • Research methods
  • Memory
  • Perception
  • Psychological problems

Visit our social science page for more information

Sociology

  • Key sociological concepts
  • Families and households
  • Education
  • Research methods
  • Applied research methods

Visit our social science page for more information

Sport (BTEC)

  • Unit 1 – fitness for sport and exercise
  • Know about the components of fitness and principles of training
  • Explore different fitness training methods
  • Investigate fitness testing to determine fitness levels
  • Unit 6 – leading sports activities
  • Know the attributes associated with successful sports leadership
  • Undertake the planning and leading of sports activities

Visit our PE page for more information