Welcome to Year 9
Welcome back
Welcome to Year 9! Now that you are fully settled into KWS and know the ropes, this is a pivotal year as you officially enter your options block and begin to focus your efforts towards your GCSEs. You know how things work and who to ask for help—now it’s time to really channel that confidence into your academic journey.
This year is a great opportunity to solidify the friendships you’ve made so far, look out for each other, and continue to be a positive, supportive part of our KWS community.
As you begin your options subjects, you will be diving deeper into the areas you are most passionate about. This is the time to explore what you enjoy, work hard, ask lots of questions, and lay the foundations for your upcoming GCSE success. Keep striving to do your best both in and out of the classroom, and remember that we’re here to support you every step of the way.
We can’t wait to see you continue to thrive academically and socially during this exciting next step. Let’s make it a brilliant year!
Miss Patterson
Web based systems to support students at KWS
All systems selected provide the best functionality to run our processes efficiently. Each of the key systems and their uses are outlined here.
KWS Expectations
All students should be Ready, Respectful and Responsible. These 3Rs guide our students on how to conduct themselves in their learning and how to interact with students and staff.
Our school values of Knowledge, Wellbeing and Success are key to the character development of our students and how they can achieve personally and academically.
Tutor Team
| 9Al | Mr Timberlake |
| 9Ar | Miss Noe |
| 9Fr | Mrs Coman |
| 9Ke | Miss Longstaff |
| 9Ni | Mr Knight Ms Cinquina |
| 9Te | Miss Christou Mr Moreland |
Year Group Team
| Miss Patterson | Head of Year 9 |
| Ms Baker | Student Support Officer |
| Mr Ellershaw | Head of KS4 |
| Mrs Coomber | SLT Link Y9 |
To find out more about the Year 9 Pastoral Team please see our Staff Profiles here.
Curriculum in Year 9
The curriculum year 9 students follow is outlined in the diagram to the right. Additional time is allocated to English, maths and science in Year 9, and the year is seen as a bridging one in terms of GCSE options with the focus on skills for GCSE rather than GCSE content.
In addition students have a Carousel lesson once a week. The carousel enables students to maintain a breadth of study despite having specialised in their options. Units covered over the year include ‘Being a Global Citizen’, Engineering, Art inspiration and ‘Music business success’. Students complete a research based project and presentation at the end of the year to achieve the KWS Arts, Culture and Society Award.
Details of the curriculum studied in each subject in Year 9 can be found on the Curriculum Pages of the website here. As a reminder, the details on programmes of study and exam specifications for options can be found here.
If you would like more detail, please do ask your child to show you the student site and/or google classroom for each of their subjects – this provides access to each lesson and associated resources along with knowledge organisers (KOs) for topics studied.
Options changes in Year 9
Across the first two terms of Year 9 there are three opportunities should students wish to change their option subjects. Students must take the lead in requesting a change, and discuss and have this signed off by all the relevant subject teachers, their tutor and a parents/guardian. These opportunities fall in mid October, early February and mid March.
Note: many subjects commence their GCSE specifications after Easter and changes in the last term of Year 9 therefore require significantly more catch up of work and are not recommended.
Careers Education in Year 9
Students will have one form time per week dedicated to ‘The World of Work’, as well as undertaking a PSHCE unit, enhancing their knowledge of Unifrog. There will also be a Careers drop-down day where students will access a variety of careers based activities. Students will also have opportunities to meet with visitors from industry and participate in careers trips, should they wish to. All students in Year 9 will have at least one encounter with an employer / training provider that offers apprenticeships / technical qualifications. Students in all year groups will also take part in careers based lessons in all subjects during KWS Careers month in March.
Home Learning in Year 9
Home learning expectations are outlined here and additional enrichment tasks can be found on each of the subjects curriculum pages – do encourage your child to dive into some of these.
Super Curriculum in Year 9
Students have the opportunity to select Period 7 and clubs three times a year, in September, December and March. Choices will be sent home for review and discussion a few days prior to choices being made in form time, guided by their tutor. Period 7 is still organised into three blocks across the year, and includes body options and various performing arts groups. Students will continue to be provided with a large range of other opportunities across the year, such as those outlined here
Students are invited to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award in Year 9, details outlined here.
Dates to note for Year 9
All our key events are on the school calendar which can be viewed here and should be reviewed in detail.
Some to note for Year 9:
Your first port of call in school is your child’s form tutor, please do get in touch with them via email if you have any questions or concerns. Please be aware of agreed protocols for such communications here.
