Secondary school is when a student’s subject-by-subject learning truly begins. Subject knowledge becomes more specialised from key stage 4 onwards, making parents less likely to be able to provide homework help. As the demands on their knowledge and expectations for their success increase, so will a child’s need for a tutor.
Subjects at secondary level include:
13+ (for late entry to Grammar & Private Schools)
Maths
English
Verbal Reasoning
Non-Verbal Reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning
Spatial Reasoning
KS3
English
Maths
Science
Humanities
KS4
English Language
English Literature
Maths
Science
Religious Studies
Geography
History
Sociology
ICT
Business Studies
KS5
English Language
English Literature
Maths
Science
Religious Studies
Geography
History
Sociology
ICT
Business Studies
What your child should know
The national curriculum sets out the programmes of study and attainment targets for all subjects at all 4 key stages.
All local-authority-maintained schools in England must teach these programmes of study.
It was first introduced by the Education Reform Act 1988 and sets out to ensure all students in the UK learn the same things to the same standard.
English
How to read a wide range of texts including in particular whole books, short stories, poems and plays with a wide coverage of genres, historical periods, forms and authors, including high-quality works from English literature, both pre-1914 and contemporary, including prose, poetry and drama; Shakespeare (2 plays) and seminal world literature.
How to write for a wide range of purposes and audiences, including: well-structured formal expository and narrative essays; stories, scripts, poetry and other imaginative writing; notes and polished scripts for talks and presentations and a range of other narrative and non-narrative texts, including arguments, and personal and formal letters.
How to draw on new vocabulary and grammatical constructions from their reading and listening, and using these consciously in their writing and speech to achieve particular effects.
Maths
How to use the concepts and vocabulary of prime numbers, factors (or divisors), multiples, common factors, common multiples, highest common factor, lowest common multiple, prime factorisation, including using product notation and the unique factorisation property, record, describe and analyse the frequency of outcomes of simple probability and the 0-1 probability scale.
How to use and interpret algebraic notation, substitute numerical values into formulae and expressions, simplify and manipulate algebraic expressions, understand and use standard mathematical formulae, use algebraic methods to solve linear equations, interpret mathematical relationships both algebraically and graphically, use linear and quadratic graphs to estimate values of y for given values of x and vice versa.
How to change between related standard units e.g. time, length, area, volume/capacity, mass, use scale factors, scale diagrams and maps, use ratio notation, including reduction to simplest form, express the division of a quantity into 2 parts as a ratio, understand that a multiplicative relationship between 2 quantities can be expressed as a ratio or a fraction solve problems involving percentage change, direct and inverse proportion, use compound units such as speed, unit pricing and density to solve problems.
How to derive and apply formulae to calculate and solve problems involving perimeter and area of triangles, parallelograms, trapezia, volume of cuboids (including cubes) and other prisms (including cylinders) calculate and solve problems involving perimeters of 2-D shapes (including circles), areas of circles and composite shapes.
Science
In Physics students learn space physics, energy in matter, physical changes in matter, magnetism, static and current electricity, light waves, energy waves, sound waves, observed waves, forces and motion, balanced forces, pressure in fluids, energy changes and transfers, calculating fuel uses and the cost of energy in the domestic context.
In Biology students learn relationships in an ecosystem, genetics and evolution, cells and organisation, the skeletal and muscular systems, nutrition and digestion, reproduction, gas exchange systems, photosynthesis, cellular respiration.
In Chemistry students learn the particulate nature of matter, atoms, elements and compounds, pure and impure substances, chemical reactions, energetics, the periodic table, materials, earth and atmosphere
How to work scientifically; scientific attitudes, experimental skills and investigations, analysis and evaluation, measurement.
English
How to read to include at least one play by Shakespeare, work from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, and poetry since 1789 including representative romantic poetry.
How to read in different ways for different purposes, summarising and synthesising ideas and information, and evaluating their usefulness for particular purposes.
How to draw on knowledge of the purpose, audience for and context of the writing, including its social, historical and cultural context and the literary tradition to which it belongs, to inform evaluation.
How to analyse a writer’s choice of vocabulary, form, grammatical and structural features, and evaluating their effectiveness and impact.
How to adapt their writing for a wide range of purposes and audiences: to describe, narrate, explain, instruct, give and respond to information and argue.
How to analyse some of the differences between spoken and written language, including differences associated with formal and informal registers, and between Standard English and other varieties of English.
How to improvise, rehearse and perform play scripts and poetry in order to generate language and discuss language use and meaning, using role, intonation, tone, volume, mood, silence, stillness and action to add impact.
Maths
How to estimate powers and roots of positive numbers, calculate roots and integer indices, calculate exactly with fractions, (surds) and multiples of π, simplify surd expressions involving squares for example √12 = √(4 × 3) = √4 × √3 = 2√3 and rationalise denominators, change recurring decimals into their corresponding fractions and vice versa, identify and work with fractions in ratio problems.
How to simplify and manipulate algebraic expressions, factorise quadratic expressions of the form x2 + bx + c, use the form y = mx + c to identify parallel and perpendicular lines, identify and interpret roots, intercepts and turning points of quadratic functions graphically, solve quadratic equations, deduce expressions to calculate the nth term, translate simple situations or procedures into algebraic expressions or formulae.
How to compare lengths, areas and volumes using ratio notation and/or scale factors; make links to similarity (including trigonometric ratios), convert between related compound units (speed, rates of pay, prices, density, pressure) in numerical and algebraic contexts.
The exact values of sin θ and cos θ for θ = 0°, 30°, 45°, 60° and 90°; know the exact value of tan θ for θ = 0°, 30°, 45°, 60° know and apply the sine rule,
a
/
sinA
=
b
/
sinB
=
c
/
sinC
, and cosine rule, a2 = b2 + c2 cos A, to find unknown lengths and angles know and apply Area =
1
/
2
ab sin C to calculate the area, sides or angles of any triangle
How to apply the property that the probabilities of an exhaustive set of mutually exclusive events sum to 1, use probability to predict the outcomes of future experiments, calculate the probability of independent and dependent combined events.
How to interpret and construct tables and line graphs for time series data, interpret, analyse and compare the distributions of data sets from univariate empirical distributions, apply statistics to describe a population, use and interpret scatter graphs of bivariate data.
How to interpret the gradient of a straight line graph as a rate of change; recognise and interpret graphs that illustrate direct and inverse proportion, interpret the gradient at a point on a curve as the instantaneous rate of change.
Science
In Physics students learn about space, atomic structure, the structure of matter, magnetism and electromagnetism, electricity, energy, forces, forces and motion, wave motion.
In Biology students learn cell biology, transport systems, transport systems, health, disease and the development of medicines, coordination and control, photosynthesis, ecosystems, evolution, inheritance and variation,
In Chemistry students learn about the earth and atmospheric science, chemical and allied industries, chemical analysis, rate and extent of chemical change, chemical changes, energy changes in chemistry, structure, bonding and the properties of matter, atomic structure and the periodic table.
How to work scientifically. The development of scientific thinking, experimental skills and strategies, analysis and evaluation, vocabulary, units, symbols and nomenclature.
The English Baccalaureate (EBacc)
In addition to the compulsory core subjects at GCSE, students in most schools are encouraged to also study a language and either History or Geography as part of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc).
The EBacc is a performance measure for schools, awarded when students score a grade 4 or above at GCSE level across a core of 5 academic subjects – English, Maths, Science, History or Geography and a language.
The EBacc is not a qualification in itself but it is looked upon highly by sixth forms, colleges and universities as getting the EBacc shows a student has had a well-rounded education. The knowledge and skills learnt through studying all EBacc subjects are considered essential to many degrees and opens up a lot of doors.
A study by the Institute of Education shows that studying the EBacc subjects provides students with more opportunities in further education and increases the likelihood that they will stay on in full-time education.
What your child should know
The national curriculum sets out the programmes of study and attainment targets for all subjects at all 4 key stages.
All local-authority-maintained schools in England must teach these programmes of study.
It was first introduced by the Education Reform Act 1988 and sets out to ensure all students in the UK learn the same things the same standard.
| English | Maths | Science |
| How to read a wide range of texts including in particular whole books, short stories, poems and plays with a wide coverage of genres, historical periods, forms and authors, including high-quality works from English literature, both pre-1914 and contemporary, including prose, poetry and drama; Shakespeare (2 plays) and seminal world literature. | How to use the concepts and vocabulary of prime numbers, factors (or divisors), multiples, common factors, common multiples, highest common factor, lowest common multiple, prime factorisation, including using product notation and the unique factorisation property, record, describe and analyse the frequency of outcomes of simple probability and the 0-1 probability scale. | In Physics students learn space physics, energy in matter, physical changes in matter, magnetism, static and current electricity, light waves, energy waves, sound waves, observed waves, forces and motion, balanced forces, pressure in fluids, energy changes and transfers, calculating fuel uses and the cost of energy in the domestic context. |
| How to write for a wide range of purposes and audiences, including: well-structured formal expository and narrative essays; stories, scripts, poetry and other imaginative writing; notes and polished scripts for talks and presentations and a range of other narrative and non-narrative texts, including arguments, and personal and formal letters. | How to use and interpret algebraic notation, substitute numerical values into formulae and expressions, simplify and manipulate algebraic expressions, understand and use standard mathematical formulae, use algebraic methods to solve linear equations, interpret mathematical relationships both algebraically and graphically, use linear and quadratic graphs to estimate values of y for given values of x and vice versa. | In Biology students learn relationships in an ecosystem, genetics and evolution, cells and organisation, the skeletal and muscular systems, nutrition and digestion, reproduction, gas exchange systems, photosynthesis, cellular respiration. |
| How to draw on new vocabulary and grammatical constructions from their reading and listening, and using these consciously in their writing and speech to achieve particular effects. | How to change between related standard units e.g. time, length, area, volume/capacity, mass, use scale factors, scale diagrams and maps, use ratio notation, including reduction to simplest form, express the division of a quantity into 2 parts as a ratio, understand that a multiplicative relationship between 2 quantities can be expressed as a ratio or a fraction
solve problems involving percentage change, direct and inverse proportion, use compound units such as speed, unit pricing and density to solve problems |
In Chemistry students learn the particulate nature of matter, atoms, elements and compounds, pure and impure substances, chemical reactions, energetics, the periodic table, materials, earth and atmosphere |
| How to speak confidently and effectively, including through using Standard English confidently in a range of formal and informal contexts. | How to derive and apply formulae to calculate and solve problems involving perimeter and area of triangles, parallelograms, trapezia, volume of cuboids (including cubes) and other prisms (including cylinders)
calculate and solve problems involving perimeters of 2-D shapes (including circles), areas of circles and composite shapes. |
How to work scientifically; scientific attitudes, experimental skills and investigations, analysis and evaluation, measurement. |
| English | Maths | Science |
| How to read to include at least one play by Shakespeare, work from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, and poetry since 1789 including representative romantic poetry. | How to estimate powers and roots of positive numbers, calculate roots and integer indices, calculate exactly with fractions, (surds) and multiples of π, simplify surd expressions involving squares for example √12 = √(4 × 3) = √4 × √3 = 2√3 and rationalise denominators, change recurring decimals into their corresponding fractions and vice versa, identify and work with fractions in ratio problems. | In Physics students learn about space, atomic structure, the structure of matter, magnetism and electromagnetism, electricity, energy, forces, forces and motion, wave motion. |
| How to read in different ways for different purposes, summarising and synthesising ideas and information, and evaluating their usefulness for particular purposes. | How to simplify and manipulate algebraic expressions, factorise quadratic expressions of the form x2 + bx + c, use the form y = mx + c to identify parallel and perpendicular lines, identify and interpret roots, intercepts and turning points of quadratic functions graphically, solve quadratic equations, deduce expressions to calculate the nth term, translate simple situations or procedures into algebraic expressions or formulae. | In Biology students learn cell biology, transport systems, transport systems, health, disease and the development of medicines, coordination and control, photosynthesis, ecosystems, evolution, inheritance and variation, |
| How to draw on knowledge of the purpose, audience for and context of the writing, including its social, historical and cultural context and the literary tradition to which it belongs, to inform evaluation. | How to compare lengths, areas and volumes using ratio notation and/or scale factors; make links to similarity (including trigonometric ratios), convert between related compound units (speed, rates of pay, prices, density, pressure) in numerical and algebraic contexts. | In Chemistry students learn about the earth and atmospheric science, chemical and allied industries, chemical analysis, rate and extent of chemical change, chemical changes, energy changes in chemistry, structure, bonding and the properties of matter, atomic structure and the periodic table. |
| How to analyse a writer’s choice of vocabulary, form, grammatical and structural features, and evaluating their effectiveness and impact. | The exact values of sin θ and cos θ for θ = 0°, 30°, 45°, 60° and 90°; know the exact value of tan θ for θ = 0°, 30°, 45°, 60°
know and apply the sine rule,
a
/
sinA
=
b
/
sinB
=
c
/
sinC
a2 = b2 + c2 know and apply Area = |
How to work scientifically. The development of scientific thinking, experimental skills and strategies, analysis and evaluation, vocabulary, units, symbols and nomenclature |
| How to adapt their writing for a wide range of purposes and audiences: to describe, narrate, explain, instruct, give and respond to information and argue. | How to apply the property that the probabilities of an exhaustive set of mutually exclusive events sum to 1, use probability to predict the outcomes of future experiments, calculate the probability of independent and dependent combined events. | |
| How to analyse some of the differences between spoken and written language, including differences associated with formal and informal registers, and between Standard English and other varieties of English. | How to interpret and construct tables and line graphs for time series data, interpret, analyse and compare the distributions of data sets from univariate empirical distributions, apply statistics to describe a population, use and interpret scatter graphs of bivariate data | |
| How to improvise, rehearse and perform play scripts and poetry in order to generate language and discuss language use and meaning, using role, intonation, tone, volume, mood, silence, stillness and action to add impact. | How to interpret the gradient of a straight line graph as a rate of change; recognise and interpret graphs that illustrate direct and inverse proportion, interpret the gradient at a point on a curve as the instantaneous rate of change. |
The English Baccalaureate (EBacc)
In addition to the compulsory core subjects at GCSE, students in most schools are encouraged to also study a language and either History or Geography as part of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc).
The EBacc is a performance measure for schools, awarded when students score a grade 4 or above at GCSE level across a core of 5 academic subjects – English, Maths, Science, History or Geography and a language.
The EBacc is not a qualification in itself but it is looked upon highly by sixth forms, colleges and universities as getting the EBacc shows a student has had a well-rounded education. The knowledge and skills learnt through studying all EBacc subjects are considered essential to many degrees and opens up a lot of doors.
A study by the Institute of Education shows that studying the EBacc subjects provides students with more opportunities in further education and increases the likelihood that they will stay on in full-time education.