Progress Report Summary Information | St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form College

Year 7 Autumn 1 - Progress Report

Religious Education

Students have been studying the topic of Sacraments with a focus on the Sacrament of Baptism. Students have had the opportunity to compare an infant and believers baptism and to study Biblical accounts of baptism.

Assessments this half term have been in line with Diocese criteria and have assessed students on their AT1 skills focusing on knowledge and understanding and having them explain the importance of belonging to a community.

Design Technology

Students have undertaken a baseline assessment covering topics on all of the material areas within Design Technology. Students have studied a range of different design and make activities and focussed practical tasks in3 material areas, Food, Textiles and Product Design over the last half term.

Spanish or French

Students are covering topics based on transition and school covering transferable language that will be used throughout their MFL careers.

History

Students have completed a course on 'Skills in History'. Their assessment level was based on work completed in class and questions of varying length and depth on the skills test.

ICT

Students have been creating an animation using Macromedia Flash. This has involved researching, planning and testing their work and developing practical animation skills. The assessment level was based on the whole unit of work.

Year 7 Autumn 2 - Progress Report

Design Technology

PE

Within PE students have performed in four practical activities of the eight they will do over the course of the year. The activities will be dependent upon their tutor group and gender.

The assessment is an average of their performance over the four activities. In addition to practical performance we also consider students application of skill, evaluation of performance and knowledge of fitness and health.

ICT

Students have been working on developing their practical skills in a spreadsheet project that develops problem solving and modelling. The project will also require students to use the presenting and communication skills and research skills.

Year 8 Autumn 1 - Progress Report

Religious Education

Students have been studying the topic of the Person of Jesus with a specific focus on the Titles of Jesus. Students have had the opportunity to look at scripture to provide evidence to support the claims that Jesus was the Son of God.

Assessments this half term have been in line with Diocese criteria and have assessed students on their AT1 and AT2 skills focusing on knowledge and understanding of the titles of Jesus and evaluating evidence to support them.

Currently the Diocese is reviewing their level descriptors at Key Stage 3, we have introduced assessments and mark schemes based on these reviews.

Design Technology

Students have undertaken projects in all of the material areas within Design Technology. Students have studied a range of different design and make activities and focussed practical tasks in 5 material areas, Electronics, Food, Graphics, Textiles and Product Design over the last half term.

History

The first study in Year 8 is 'The English Civil War'. Students had a task to complete on the 'Causes of the Civil War' which consolidated their knowledge.

ICT

Students have been developing their skills in data handling focusing on a database project. This project has assessed a range of skills including problem solving and data handling.

Year 8 Autumn 2 - Progress Report

Design Technology

PE

Students have performed in four of the eight activities that they will perform during the year. The activities they have participated in to date will be dependent on their gender and group

ICT

Students have continued to develop their their data handling skills and have extended this to presenting evidence and communication information for a specified audience and purpose.

Year 9 Autumn 1 - Progress Report

Religious Education

Students have been studying the topics of Beliefs and Values within Christianity. Students have had the opportunity to look at fundamental principles within Christianity such as the concept of the Trinity.

Assessments this half term have focussed on the GCSE exam skills and students have completed questions that focus on their ability to give an opinion, to explain key Christian beliefs and to evaluate two sides of an argument.

Business

Business students have been studying enterprise, entrepreneurs and the skills and attributes they must have to be successful. We have looked at risks and rewards and how a business idea can be refined and adapted to increase the chance of success. Teamwork and communication skills have also been investigated and students have looked at their personality type and how this affects team work.

The assessments were based on homework grades and class based assessments where students added to their business portfolio booklets.

Design Technology

Students have undertaken GCSE project based work in their chosen material area. The assessment is based on their design and make tasks with a holistic approach to assessment of their work incorporating both practical and theory work.

Drama

Year 9 Students are undertaking an introduction to Drama which sees them study a range of dramatic elements and methods such as improvisation, script study and devised Drama. Assessments this half term have been based on practical presentations

History

Students have studied the 'Origins of the First World War'. Their assessment grade was based on a newspaper article on 'The Assassination at Sarajevo' which was peer assessed.

ICT

GCSE ICT: Students have been assessed following a practice controlled assessment. This includes a range of ICT practical skills across a variety of software and includes elements of planning and evaluating their work.

GCSE Computing: Students have been developing their skills in computing languages, including Python and have carried out various investigation projects on hardware and software.

BTEC Information and Creative Technologies: Students have been completing Unit 4: Digital Animation of this course and the assessment is based on their current progress on the portfolio of work that has been created covering elements of reviewing existing animations, planing, implementing and testing a final animation.

Year 9 Autumn 2 - Progress Report

Design Technology

PE

Students have completed an investigation surrounding the hypothesis “tall people run faster”. This has involved performing background research, designing and following a method, analysis results, drawing conclusions and evaluating their work. Their second investigation has been about officiating in sport.

Students have been assessed using a 20 mark scale on their write up of their latest investigation. This criteria is shared with students and is available on the VLE. Students were awarded 2 marks for the quality of their written responses.

ICT

GCSE Computing: Students have been developing their skills in computing languages, including Python and have carried out various investigation projects on hardware and software.

Year 10 Autumn 1 - Progress Report

Religious Education

Students have been studying the topic of Marriage and Family. Students have had the opportunity to explore changes to family life and to examine views on marriage and divorce with specific reference to the Christian teachings.

Business

This half term GCSE students have studied topics such as business location and people in organisations. They have completed exam style questions on which their assessment grade is based.

BTEC Students are working towards learning outcome A of Unit 6 Introducing retail business. They have studied a range of retail businesses and their assessment grade is based on the progress they have made towards this learning outcome.

Design Technology

Drama

Students are studying Blood Brothers this half term in preparation for a practical assessment. They have been exploring the characters, themes and ideas within the play and have engaged in a range of both written and practical work. The assessment this half term was a written question based on the GCSE exam paper which asked them to analyse their own performance in a piece of practical work.

Geography

Students have completed the unit on Restless Earth which was started in Year 9. They have started studying their next unit named Ice on the Land. The assessment grade is based the Restless Earth End of Unit test.

Health and Social Care

Students have been studying various types of communication and the importance of using it effectively within health and social care settings. All assessment has been coursework based and students first assessment was based on looking at the advantages and disadvantages of each type of communication. This covered pass and merit criteria.

History

The Year 10 assessment grade was based on their first examination style question as well as class and homework tasks.

ICT

Year 10 Autumn 2 - Progress Report

English

Year 10 students have been completing the final component of Unit 1 for GCSE English Language and English, worth 10% of their overall qualification. They have now undertaken and completed 20% of their GCSE. As part of this final component students have been learning about the features of writing to inform and using this to compose a leaflet aimed at teachers, telling them about the benefits of educational visits.

Design Technology

Health and Social Care

All coursework based assessment covering Pass, merit and distinction tasks. Students are looking the importance of effective communication in health and social care settings and the barriers which individuals face.

PE

Students have covered topics surrounding participation in sport. This has included the reasons for taking part, the benefits of taking part, different levels of participation and the range of roles in sport. Within their practical lessons they have been involved in netball and basketball or table-tennis officiating. In the second half-term they have been studying components of fitness.

The students were assessed using exam style questions under exam conditions. At this stage their grade is based only on their theory performance.

ICT

Year 11 Autumn 1 - Progress Report

Religious Education

Students have been studying the topic of Environmental and Medical Issues. Students have had the opportunity to examine problems within the environment such as global warming and pollution and to explore ethical issues such as fertility treatment and transplants including the views of Muslims and Christians.

Assessments this half term have focussed on the GCSE exam skills and students have completed an end of unit test that is focussed on their ability to give an opinion, to explain key Christian beliefs and to evaluate two sides of an argument.

Business

GCSE students are now building on the topics studied in Year 10 and have completed a number of Marketing topics such as the product life cycle and pricing strategies. Their assessment grade is based on a number of exam style questions set both in class and for homework.

BTEC Business students have completed Unit 8 – Business Communication which was started last term and are now making progress through Unit 2- Business Organisations. Assessment grades are based on completion of coursework at either pass, merit or distinction level.

Design Technology

Students have worked on their GCSE controlled assessment in their chosen material area. The assessment is based on their design and make tasks with a holistic approach to assessment incorporating both practical and theory work completed to date.

Drama

Year 11 Students are currently undertaking a Theatre in Education project that will form part of their final practical grade. They are preparing and devising their own performance and workshop that they will deliver to primary school students after half term. The assessment this half term has been based on this practical work.

Health and Social Care

Students have studying the impact of a healthy diet on individuals. They have been researching into the different types of food groups and how they can help to keep individuals healthy. All assessment has been coursework based and students first assessment was based on looking at the eat well plate and identifying how individuals needs may differ due to age. This covered pass and merit criteria.

History

As Year 11 have been completing Controlled Assessment Utility question their assessment grade was based on work completed at the end of Year 10 as well as their efforts when completing the Controlled Assessment.

Geography

In Year 11 students have studied the unit named "Ice on the Land" and they have also completed their controlled assessment, which is worth 25% of the overall grade. The assessment grade is based upon the Ice on the Land end of unit test.

ICT

GCSE ICT: Students have been assessed following their controlled assessment performance. This includes a range of ICT practical skills across a variety of software and includes elements of planning and evaluating their work.

OCR Nationals in ICT: Students have been completing a range of units including UNit 4: Web Authoring, Unit 20: Digital Animation and Unit 22: Digital Sound. The assessment is based on their current progress on the portfolio of work that has been created covering elements of reviewing existing products, planing, implementing and testing a final product.

Year 11 Autumn 2 - Progress Report

English

Having now completed 100% of their GCSE English Language or English, students have been re-doing Controlled Assessments and revisiting the exam skills. Based upon all of the composit data students have been awarded an approximate grade of what we think they may have based upon last year's grade boundaries. This does not take into account the re-sit exam marks as this will be available in January.

Design Technology

Health and Social Care

All coursework based assessment covering Pass, merit and distinction tasks, Students are looking at the importance of using effective communication in one to one and group interactions. These tasks have all been linked to real life contexts.

PE

Student have recapped some of the topics from their year 10 study including somatotypes, weight, drugs and diet. They have also been working on new topics including the muscular and skeletal system.

Within their practical lessons students have been directed towards an activity which will improve their overall practical grade.

The students were assessed during their mock exam. At this stage their grade is based only on their theory performance without the inclusion of their practical marks. Students practical marks will be collated and given to them during January.

ICT

GCSE ICT: Student assessments have been based solely on their performance in the theory unit of the course, Unit 1: Living in a Digital World, which will be worth 40% of their final exam in June.

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