New resource for KS3 on its way!

For the last few months I’ve been working on KS3 The Ambitious Years.

It’s one thing to talk about a project and it’s quite another to work up materials to show how the ideas work in practice!

I’ve been arguing for a while that we’ve got an opportunity to reframe Key Stage 3 as the ‘intellectual powerhouse’ of the secondary school.

This is because for too long, it’s been the poor relation compared with the other key stages in secondary.

This is never a blame game, there are plenty of reasons why it’s not had the same focus as other key stages.

And yet, if we get this right, two things are likely to follow.

First, students will have a great grounding in the big ideas and ways of working in the core subjects by way of preparation for the final assessments.

Second, those young people not taking a subject as ether core or an option at KS4 will have had a rich and interesting grounding in the subject.

I believe that shifting the emphasis is not more work, instead it’s about thinking things through a different lens.

This work is based on three principles:

1. We are a challenge- seeking species and young people say they enjoy doing difficult work

2. All the subjects are underpinned by big ideas

3. Our brains privilege story

The first unit for Yr 7 history on the Norman Conquest is published and teacher resources and pupil booklets are ready to download from Myatt & Co here.

Next week I’ll be publishing the Yr 7 unit for religious education. The teacher resources and pupil booklets will be available on Myatt & Co, access with an annual or group subscription.