KS3 Assessment

Students in KS3 are assessed under our Strands Model. In a broad and balanced curriculum of subjects they develop their knowledge, skills and communication with increasing challenge and sophistication from Year 7 through to Year 9, at which time they complete their options process.

Each subject outlines its own curriculum in relation to the Strand Model helping to illustrate the rich knowledge on offer and help identify key skills and communication that may be assessed.

At KS3 students are assessed in their curriculum areas using a range of formative and summative assessment that might include quizzes, tests, projects, homework, speaking and listening, designs and more. Each subject reports home to parents three times per academic year with full and interim reports. Full reports include a summary of the yearly curriculum and a teacher comment from each specific subject area. Interim reports include only progress and behaviour information. For details of the dates of reports for relevant year groups please see our key dates document.

For example:

KS3 students are reported against our progress and behaviour descriptors and given a 1-5 with 5 being the highest or most desirable grading. See our Parent Guide for details on how these judgements are made.

KS3 students are assessed on Progress using our Strands model and a judgement  about their holistic knowledge, skills and communication is made at a time relevant to that stage of the curriculum – for example at the end of Term 1. Teachers make this judgement with an awareness of student ability so each grade is individualised and two students with similar scores in class testing may have different outcomes in their reports to reflect their individuality.

Further information about how the process works is available in our Assessment Overview pack which you can find below.