Year 8

Reads confidently across fiction, non-fiction, poetry and drama from different periods and traditions, and can explain how different forms offer different reading experiences.

Example task:

Recommend a reading list of five texts for someone your age that covers at least three different genres, two different time periods, and one non-fiction text. Justify each choice.

Writing - Composition

Formal expository essay

Writes well-structured formal expository essays with a clear thesis, topic sentences, embedded evidence and analytical paragraphs that sustain a coherent argument.

Example task:

Write a paragraph from the body of an essay analysing how Shakespeare presents ambition in 'Macbeth'.

Working Mathematically - Fluency

Calculator use

Selects when a calculator is appropriate and when mental or written methods are more efficient; interprets all calculator outputs including fractions, surds and standard form.

Example task:

Without a calculator, estimate 4.9 × 21.3. Then use a calculator to check. Was a calculator necessary?

Working Mathematically - Reasoning

Geometric proof

Constructs a multi-step geometric argument, selecting and applying appropriate facts in a logical chain to prove a result about angles or sides.

Example task:

Prove that the sum of the interior angles of any quadrilateral is 360°.

Working Scientifically

Objectivity in science

Explains how specific techniques such as blinding, randomisation, and large sample sizes help reduce bias, and can design investigations that minimise subjectivity.

Example task:

Design a fair test to compare two plant fertilisers. Explain three specific steps you would take to ensure your investigation is objective.

Biology - Structure and Function of Living Organisms

Cell structure

Compares plant, animal, and bacterial cells in detail, explains how organelle structure relates to function, and uses a microscope to observe and draw cells accurately.

Example task:

Explain why plant cells have chloroplasts but animal cells do not. Include the function of chloroplasts and what this means for how plants and animals obtain energy.

Developing Techniques and Media

Advanced Technical Proficiency

Demonstrates confident control across a range of techniques and media, selects approaches with clear creative intent, and integrates technical skill with expressive and communicative purpose.

Example task:

Choose a technique and medium that best communicates the idea of 'growth'. Produce the work and write a 50-word justification of your technical choices.

Analysis and Evaluation

Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Analyses artworks with precision and depth, connecting formal analysis to meaning and context, and applies critical evaluation to their own work-in-progress to improve it iteratively.

Example task:

Compare how two artists from different periods represent the human figure. What does each approach tell us about the values of their time?

Democracy, Parliament and Government (KS3)

Parliamentary Democracy and the UK Constitution

Can analyse the key constitutional principles (parliamentary sovereignty, rule of law, separation of powers) and explain how they operate in practice, including tensions between them.

Example task:

Explain the principle of parliamentary sovereignty and discuss one situation where it might conflict with other constitutional principles. (6 marks)

Law, Justice and Rights (KS3)

Rights, Liberties and the Rule of Law

Can analyse the sources of rights in UK law, explain how rights are balanced against each other and against social interests, and evaluate the role of the Human Rights Act.

Example task:

Explain how the right to free speech can conflict with other rights, and how courts resolve such conflicts. (6 marks)

Computer Science: Computational Thinking and Programming

Algorithms: Sorting, Searching and Complexity

Implements sorting and searching algorithms in code, uses Big O notation to describe algorithmic complexity, and selects appropriate algorithms for given problem constraints.

Example task:

Compare bubble sort and merge sort in terms of their time complexity. For a list of 1 million items, explain which you would choose and why.

Computer Systems and Hardware

Boolean Logic and Binary

Connects Boolean logic to both programming (conditional statements) and hardware (logic gates), understands how different data types are represented in binary, and applies binary arithmetic confidently.

Example task:

Explain how the colour of a single pixel on screen is stored in binary. A pixel uses 24-bit colour. How many different colours can be represented?

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