Year 9 Scholars
English
- Enter a submission to Young Writers: https://www.youngwriters.co.uk/competitions/KS3-4 Poetry and creative writing for schools. Successful entries can be published in nationwide anthologies.
- Submit a piece to English and Media Centre (EMC): https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/assets/uploads/documents/Write_em ag_Students.pdfhttps://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/e-magazine/
- Look out for writing courses organised by LEAs, the National Association for Gifted Children, and other organisations. The Arvon Foundation runs highly respected creative writing courses at centres in Devon, Yorkshire, and Shropshire. Further details can be found at: www.arvonfoundation.org
- Try your hand at writing a short horror story - pay close attention to how you create tension, atmosphere, setting, and try to include a twist at the end.
- Write your own war poem - based on one of the conflicts you have studied in history either in GCSE or KS3. Write a short explanation explaining the context, content, and techniques you have used.
Maths
- Enter the Intermediate Maths Challenge https://www.ukmt.org.uk/individual- competitions/intermediate-challenge/
- Explore the NRICH website for games, activities, problems, and solutions https://nrich.maths.org/secondary
- Apply for a place on the Kings Maths School programme https://www.kcl.ac.uk/mathsschool/outreach/for-students/enrichment-for- pupils.aspx
- Apply for a place in the Kings Maths Circle https://www.kcl.ac.uk/mathsschool/outreach/for-students/mathematics-circle.asp
- Research one of the millennium problems - try and explain the problem in the style of a blog or vlog, so that any teenager could understand it, and outline the progress that has been made on it.
- Join Mr Gibson for Parallel Club
- Compete on the leader board on Dr Frost
Science
- Research the development of a scientific theory or breakthrough - who were the figures involved? How did the theory emerge? Was its progress smooth or was there resistance and backwards steps? Examples include evolution, relativity, gravity, quantum mechanics, the measurement of temperature, the structure of the solar system.
- Submit a project to the Big Bang Young Scientists and Engineers Competition - submissions are due in late March https://competition.thebigbangfair.co.uk/
PE
- Do some research into what type of diet you should be following if you would like to improve fitness for a sport or athletic activity of your choice and take the opportunity to plan and cook your meals with your parents or carers.
Geography
- Explore a Line of Latitude: Pick a line of latitude and use a globe to trace that line in a full circle. Make a list of the countries and other important features, such as mountain ranges or deserts, that the line of latitude passes through. Think about the similarities and differences between these countries and features.
- Research a global city - write a report outlining its history and its reasons for expansion, the cultures within it, its infrastructure, economy, main employment sectors and its arts/entertainment
History
- Research primary sources from the World Wars, the Depression and the Civil Rights Movement (this could be a photograph/news reel etc) – what does this tell us about that time in American history? Don’t forget to consider the provenance.
- Alternative history - how might the League of Nations have succeeded? Write a short response imagining a world in which the League succeeded in its aims. How would it have done so and how would the world be different today?
Modern Foreign Languages
- These organisations offer a range of activities for linguists including holiday classes, films and cultural workshops:
Art and Textiles
- Research an artistic movement and the notable artists within it - look at their aims, techniques, content and form. Try and create an artwork in the style of this movement
Technology
- Research a product or range of products known for their sustainability or a sustainable building/housing development (those who study geography could use the example of BedZed or One Brighton that we have looked at). What efforts have been made to make the site carbon neutral? What materials have been used and why? Design your own sustainable product or housing project.
Computing
- Complete one of the 20 OCR coding challenges https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/202838-20-code-challenges.pdf
- https://www.tnmoc.org/events?view=calendar&month=05-2021
Philosophy and Ethics
- Should war ever be a cause of celebration? Look at examples of war through history. Can any of them be justified?
- ‘Science and religion are incompatible – ’to what extent do you agree? Look at arguments from Richard Dawkins, Albert Einstein, John Lennox and Richard Swinburne.
Business
- Using what you have learned in business so far, create a formal business proposal and plan. Include:
- Your idea/product
- Target market with market map
- Your marketing mix
- How you will add value
- Cash flow forecast
- Opening costs and sources of finance
Drama
- Adapt the opening scenes of a play you have studied - see if you can get the dialogue down to being as sparse as possible, relying mainly on acting and stage direction
Music
- Research the conventions of a musical genre or style (jazz, blues etc.) and compose a short piece in that style using a computer program. Examples include Garage Band, Bandlab, LMMS and Ableton Live. Create a music video to go with it using a program like Adobe Photoshop or iMovie. The resources section has some very useful links for getting started in digital music composition.
Citizenship
- Research two General Elections one from the 1990s and one from the 2000s. Why do you think the results were as they were. Was there anything happening in the world that could have affected the results?
- Form a debate club with others in your Year get a member of the Global Studies staff to support you
- Enter a team for the Model United Nations
- Watch a film that inspires you to be a better person and write a movie review for the APA
- Research who Rodney King was and then watch or read the Freedom Writers
- Watch the film V for Vendetta - write a movie review as to how this film fits with Citizenship. Publish it in the APA.
- Research a genocide and try to establish what led to it.
- Find out about what is happening to the Rohingya and Uighur Muslims and write a report on it