Key Stage 3 curriculum

Click on the links below to view the curriculum details for each Key Stage 3 subject:

Leigh Stationers’ Academy is an authorised centre for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme.

IB World Schools share a common philosophy—a commitment to improve the teaching and learning of a diverse and inclusive community of students by delivering challenging, high quality programmes of international education that share a powerful vision.

We are absolutely delighted to announce that alongside other academies within our Trust we have become an authorised centre for the delivery of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB MYP) School. In this we have become part of the IB World School community, joining over 4,700 schools worldwide in delivering IB programmes.

*Only schools authorised by the International Baccalaureate can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme or the IB Career-related Certificate (IBCC). 

For further information about the Ib and its programmes, visit IBO

What is an IB Education?

Year 7 began the IB programme in September 2018. It aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, caring and compassionate young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. Leigh Stationers’ Academy staff are excited to be working with Academies within LAT to ensure that we continue to deliver challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment, whilst holistically addressing students intellectual, social, emotional and physical wellbeing.

The International Baccalaureate® (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP) comprises eight subject groups:

The study of additional languages in the Middle Years Programme (MYP) at LSA provides students with the opportunity to develop insights into the features, processes and craft of language and the concept of culture, and to realise that there are diverse ways of living, viewing and behaving in our wider communities and the world.

Language acquisition – IBO Website

Middle Years Programme (MYP) language and literature courses develop skills in six areas:

  • Listening.
  • Speaking.
  • Reading.
  • Writing.
  • Viewing.
  • Presenting.

At the heart of MYP language learning is inquiry, it aims to support students’ understanding by providing them with endless opportunities to independently and collaboratively investigate, take action and reflect on their learning.

Language and literature – IBO WEBSITE

Individuals and societies incorporates disciplines traditionally studied in the humanities, as well as disciplines in the social sciences.  Throughout the course, students collect, describe and analyse data used in studies of societies, test hypotheses, and learn how to interpret complex information, including original source material. With a focus on real-world examples, research and analysis is an essential aspect of the subject group.

Individuals and societies – IBO WEBSITE

The Middle Years Programme (MYP) sciences framework encourages students to investigate issues through research, observation and experimentation, working independently and collaboratively.  As they investigate real examples of science application, students will discover the tensions and dependencies between science and morality, ethics, culture, economics, politics, and the environment through the teaching of Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

Sciences – IBO Website

Mathematics promotes both inquiry and application, helping students to develop problem-solving techniques that transcend the discipline and that are useful in the world beyond school.  The MYP mathematics framework encompasses number, algebra, geometry and trigonometry, statistics and probability. Students in the MYP learn how to represent information, to explore and model situations, and to find solutions to familiar and unfamiliar problems. These are skills that are useful in a wide range of arenas, including social sciences and the arts.

Mathematics – IBO Website

In the International Baccalaureate® (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP), students develop through creating, performing and presenting arts in ways that engage and convey feelings, experiences and ideas.  It is through this practice that students acquire new skills and master those skills developed in prior learning.  Students have opportunities to function as artists, as well as learners of the arts.

Arts – IBO Website

Physical and health education at LSA empowers students to understand and appreciate the value of being physically active and to develop the motivation for making healthy life choices. Physical and health education focuses on both learning about and learning through physical activity.  This help students to develop approaches to learning (ATL) skills across the curriculum.  MYP physical and health education courses must engage students in physical education activities for at least half of the total teaching time allocated to the subject group.

Physical and health education – IBO Website

At LSA Design challenges all students to: apply practical and creative thinking skills to solve design problems, explore the role of design in both historical and contemporary contexts, consider their responsibilities when making design decisions and taking action, MYP design focuses a holistic design process rather than final products and solutions.

Design – IBO Website

What does my IB MYP Assessment Grade mean?

For each subject group there will be an achievement level breakdown for each of the 4 criteria (A,B,C,D).

Achievement levels across the four criteria are added together creating a total number out of 32. Using the table below, this is converted into an MYP Grade from 1-7 with 7 being the highest.

Sum of assessed criteria

MYP grade

Description

28-32

7

Produces high-quality, frequently innovative work. Communicates comprehensive, nuanced understanding of concepts and contexts. Consistently demonstrates sophisticated critical and creative thinking. Frequently transfers knowledge and skills with independence and expertise in a variety of complex classroom and real-world situations.

24-27

6

Produces high-quality, occasionally innovative work. Communicates extensive understanding of concepts and contexts. Demonstrates critical and creative thinking, frequently with sophistication. Uses knowledge and skills in familiar and unfamiliar classroom and real-world situations, often with independence.

19-23

5

Produces generally high-quality work. Communicates secure understanding of concepts and contexts. Demonstrates critical and creative thinking, sometimes with sophistication. Uses knowledge and skills in familiar classroom and real-world situations, and, with support, some unfamiliar real-world situations.

15-18

4

Produces good quality work. Communicates basic understanding of most concepts and contexts with few misunderstandings and minor gaps. Often demonstrates basic critical and creative thinking. Uses knowledge and skills with some flexibility in familiar classroom situations, but requires support in unfamiliar situations.

10-14

3

Produces work of an acceptable quality. Communicates basic understanding of many concepts and contexts, with occasionally significant misunderstandings or gaps. Begins to demonstrate some basic critical and creative thinking. Is often inflexible in the use of knowledge and skills, requiring support even in familiar classroom situations.

6-9

2

Produces work of limited quality. Expresses misunderstandings or significant gaps in understanding for many concepts and contexts. Infrequently demonstrates critical or creative thinking. Generally inflexible in the use of knowledge and skills, infrequently applying knowledge and skills.

1-5

1

Produces work of very limited quality. Displays many significant misunderstandings or lacks understanding of most concepts and skills. Very rarely demonstrates critical or creative thinking. Very inflexible, rarely using knowledge or skills.

During the course of the academic year students will be awarded an MYP Interim Grade. At the end of the year an MYP Final Grade will be awarded based on the summative assessments that have taken place during the course of the year.