Year 9 Exams
23/24
Student and Parent Preparation Booklet
Exam Timetable available on Year 9 Google Classroom
Year 9 Exams
These exams will take place during the period
Monday 11 March 2024
to
Friday 22 March 2024
This document contains our subject specific preparation guidance for each subjects examination. Please use this guide to learn about how each subjects exam will run and what content will be covered and what resources are available for them to best prepare.
Plan your preparation with this free printable Preparation Timetable
Preparing for Assessment Portal
https://sites.google.com/cotham.bristol.sch.uk/preparing-for-assessments
Preparation Guides
Subject | English | Length of Exam | 1 hr |
Content | Students will be completing a reading skills based exam paper We will be assessing the following skills
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Preparation Resources | Encourage your child to practise reading a range of texts for pleasure, especially newspaper and magazine articles. These can easily be found online. Here are some BBC Bitesize resources to support reading skills https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zcv8dp3 https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zfdh8xs/articles/z4ck8hv | ||
Additional Information | You’ll need to bring a pen! | ||
Date of Exam | | ||
Year 9 Exams - Preparing for Assessments Portal - Preparation Timetable
Subject | Maths | Length of Exam | 1 hr |
Content | Content will be covering chapters 7, 8, 9, 10 | ||
Preparation Resources | In preparation, students should complete the MyReview exercises at the end of each chapter. For additional questions, students can attempt the MyPractice questions also at the end of each chapter. Revision lists can be found here. These have mymaths codes which allow students to do independent practice. School username:cotham School password:mathsisthebest Students can also use Sparxmaths for independent revision. They can retry questions they have found hard in previous homeworks using XP boost and Target Practice. They can also search and revise specific topics using Independent Learning. | ||
Additional Information | Students will need all maths equipment including a calculator. | ||
Date of Exam | Week commencing Mon 11th March. | ||
Year 9 Exams - Preparing for Assessments Portal - Preparation Timetable
Subject | Science | Length of Exam | 1 hr |
Content | Use the kerboodle textbook and find the chapters below to use for revision alongside the preparation resource below Biology B1 - Cells B2 - Cell Division B5 - Communicable diseases B7 - Non-communicable diseases Chemistry C1 - Atomic Structure C2 - Periodic Table Physics P1 - Conservation and Dissipation of Energy P2 - Energy Transfer by heating | ||
Preparation Resources |
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Additional Information | You will need a ruler and a calculator | ||
Date of Exam | | ||
Year 9 Exams - Preparing for Assessments Portal - Preparation Timetable
Subject | Design Technology & Food Science | Length of Exam | 50mins |
Content | Design and Technology
| Food Science
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Preparation Resources | Students may not have fully studied Food or Product Design - Metal Work. Students will complete a Google Form based on multiple choice questions on both areas as knowledge links to past learning and products made. Revision planning sheet here all students will be given a copy. GCSE Pod - ‘Yr 9 DT Food Playlist’ will be on G Classroom for students to view and create revision cards based on content of assessment. The play list is 12 PODS which total 50 minutes of videos each with a duration of 3-5 mins. Students can watch in any order and return to the playlist at any time. | ||
Additional Information | To access the GCSE POD play list - please click on the link to open GCSE POD and then click on the link again to take you to the playlist for this exam. | ||
Date of Exam | |||
Year 9 Exams - Preparing for Assessments Portal - Preparation Timetable
Subject | Geography | Length of Exam | 45mins |
Content | Students will be briefed in one of their lessons prior to the exam. Teachers will brief students on success criteria and format of the exam. Students will be asked a range of questions on the Rainforests, Weather & Climate and Urbanisation. | ||
Preparation Resources | The Humanities VLE is a useful point of contact for students to catch up on any lessons missed https://cothamschoolhumanities.weebly.com/geography.html Advice & guidance will be uploaded onto Google Classroom Revision support can be found here: KS3 - BBC Bitesize Revision quizzes can be found here: https://senecalearning.com/en-GB/ On the VLE there are stretch and challenge resources for students aiming for exceeding here: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/10GipgZjZZByJaoVdizvMuVXwedyEyjqe | ||
Additional Information | Students will show they have taken on knowledge and understanding from the Term 1, 2, 3 content. This will be a good basis for their first Year 10 module on ‘The Challenge of Natural Hazards’ | ||
Date of Exam | The dates of the exams can be found here | ||
Year 9 Exams - Preparing for Assessments Portal - Preparation Timetable
Subject | History | Length of Exam | 1 hr |
Content | Students will be briefed in one of their lessons prior to the exam. Teachers will focus on success criteria and format of the exam. Students will answer questions using the following techniques they have been developing in class: An interpretation based question worth 4 marks Key dates 1833-1935, Slavery, World War I, 1920’s America | ||
Preparation Resources | The History VLE is a useful point of contact for students to catch up on any lessons missed http://cothamschoolhumanities.weebly.com/history.html A power point will be uploaded onto Google Classroom with advice on how to answer the exam style questions. Revision resources including a revision timeline and revision techniques will be shared with students and uploaded to Google classroom Additional revision is available with: The History VLE page has YouTube videos, a Pinterest account, powerpoints and worksheets that are full of useful revision resources in a variety of formats. BBC bitesize is an excellent place for revision https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zk26n39 Revision quizzes can be found on Seneca https://app.senecalearning.com/teacher/class/p74g1hwmzw/overview There is also a list of recommended websites for students to use and revise from on the History VLE homepage. | ||
Date of Exam | The dates of the exams can be found here | ||
Year 9 Exams - Preparing for Assessments Portal - Preparation Timetable
Subject | Philosophy + Religion | Length of Exam | 1 Hour - Multiple choice knowledge recall and extended writing |
Content | Recall of all content covered so far this year. Extended writing focused on ‘big question’ from current topic. Students will be expected to answer a question comparing the great ideas of TWO philosophers we have studied and compare which had biggest impact on the way we think. They can either argue that they did change the way people think or didn’t. This will all be close book + they should should use PEERL paragraph structure to write their answer. | ||
Preparation Resources | Use your knowledge organiser to revise key names, ideas and concepts. Use the following links to revise each of the philosophers you have studied: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Al-farabi, Epictetus, Diogenes, Jean Jacques-Rousseau,
Challenge: Students are encouraged to complete the wider research home learning to research one or more philosophers to their learning. Follow the link to this PPT to discover the lesser spoken about philosophers in history. | ||
Additional Information | Students will be expected to show they have acted on feedback since their last assessment - they should visit the tracker page of their exercise book to remind themselves of what it is. | ||
Date of Exam | The dates of the exams can be found here | ||
Year 9 Exams - Preparing for Assessments Portal - Preparation Timetable
Subject | Computing and IT | Length of Exam | 1 hour |
Content |
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Preparation Resources | Students complete 3/4 lessons of preparation in the lead up to the exam. These lessons and their resources are all located on the department teaching website. These lessons can be revisited to review and recap the skills for further preparation for the exams. Most students struggle with the hexadecimal number conversion so you may wish to focus on those skills | ||
Additional Information | Link to exam preparation lessons: Hexadecimal - BBC Bitesize Lesson | ||
Date of Exam | |||
Year 9 Exams - Preparing for Assessments Portal - Preparation Timetable
Subject | Performing Arts (Dance) | Length of Exam | 50mins |
Content | Year 9 dance is part of the PE curriculum. Current working at levels will be entered for each pupil who has opted for dance. | ||
Preparation Resources | | ||
Additional Information | | ||
Date of Exam | | ||
Year 9 Exams - Preparing for Assessments Portal - Preparation Timetable
Subject | Performing Arts (Drama) | Length of Exam | 45 mins |
Content | Bertolt Brecht techniques and theatrical approach. Including;
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Preparation Resources | All revision materials will be shared on your Drama google classroom | ||
Additional Information | The exam will be a mixture of multiple choice, short written and extended written questions | ||
Date of Exam | The dates of the exams can be found here | ||
Year 9 Exams - Preparing for Assessments Portal - Preparation Timetable
Subject | Performing Arts (Music) | Length of Exam | 30 minutes |
Content | Listening and appraising test. Pupils will listen to extracts of music that they have explored in year 9 and will identify musical features; compare extracts and suggest common musical themes and differences. | ||
Preparation Resources | Year 9 topics are School of Rock and Hip Hop music. Pupils should revise for the listening and appraising test by familiarising themselves with the key words and definitions associated with each unit of work; and by listening to examples of the music we have explored. | ||
Additional Information | | ||
Date of Exam | | ||
Year 9 Exams - Preparing for Assessments Portal - Preparation Timetable
Subject | Visual Arts | Length of Exam | 2hrs (2 Lessons) |
Content | A series of 2 x collaged outcomes using portraits. A specific technique will be demonstrated by a specialist teacher. | ||
Preparation Resources | Practice collaged techniques from homework set on Google Classroom and looking at YouTube videos of collage artists. Make a list of things you like and that represent you and collect different papers that reflect this; you need to bring these in to use your final collage outcome. | ||
Additional Information | Look at the work of Rex Ray and Loui Jover’s ‘exploding heads’! Use YouTube to develop collage techniques, links below: | ||
Date of Exam | |||
Year 9 Exams - Preparing for Assessments Portal - Preparation Timetable
Subject | Modern Foreign Languages | Length of Exam | 1 Hour |
Content | Photocard description Reading / listening comprehension Dictation task Grammar gap fill task Translation into TL (target language) Writing in the TL Free time activities, customs and festivals, school and future plans French/German/Spanish | ||
Preparation Resources |
All accessible under Cotham Languages: https://www.cotham.bristol.sch.uk/page/?title=Subject+Portals&pid=355 | ||
Additional Information | Go through your learning notes and create a mind map of key vocabulary. Access GCSE Pod to extend yourself. | ||
Date of Exam | Wednesday 22nd March - 9a period 3 and 9b period 4 | ||
Year 9 Exams - Preparing for Assessments Portal - Preparation Timetable