Performance

It is our ambition in Art that by the end of Key Stage 3, all students will understand the beauty of the world in which we live, exposing students to a diverse and wide range of human activity at local, national and international levels. We want students to understand the meaning Art plays in our lives and how it helps us to understand the world we live in, how central it is to our culture, our emotions and our self-awareness and the influence it can have on broadening experiences of every student.

We begin in Year 7 with projects to ensure key techniques and knowledge are developed, looking at texture, tone and colour before we move on to project based work covering a range of different mediums with a diverse artist influence. This enables students to experience a variety of different skills and techniques, building on the previous skills they have learnt and increasing the skills they are developing. This allows students to flourish as artists and become independently creative, confident in expressing themselves. Students will develop reading skills to be able to read like an artist using biographical information, identifying techniques and developing their research skills to support their project work. We focus on developing all students’ ability to work hard towards deadlines, key to successful project planning supporting the RSHE curriculum and whole school values of ‘Work hard, be kind, no excuses’ ensuring they take personal responsibility for independent and creative work.

The curriculum is sequenced to ensure progression of skill and to build confidence. Cross-curricular links with geography and music for projects such as Cultural Masks strengthen knowledge. Projects are thematically structured, ensuring the core knowledge and skills form throughout the key stages, moving from 2D to 3D art in Year 7 or moving from 3D drawing to 3D clay. Regular revisiting of procedural knowledge ensures students remember more about both the techniques they have covered and the artists who have influenced. This is supported by knowledge organisers.

Our mission is to celebrate artwork through exhibitions, rewards and competitions, to promote the development, diffusion and enjoyment of art. Art nurtures creativity, innovation and cultural diversity for all peoples across the globe and plays an important role in sharing knowledge and encouraging curiosity and dialogue. Through Celebrating ART, young people can also be inspired to develop into future artists, curators, educators, creative participants and evaluators.

Music has the power to culturally, morally and emotionally influence our society. Music helps us make sense of our lives, express our feelings when we have no words and understand the world in which we live in. It opens us up to experience different cultures from different times and provides ways in which we can frame our experiences of the world.

Our curriculum is designed with this in mind, designed to teach students skills they need to perform and analyse and appreciate a broad range of music and cultures. Our aim is to provide students with the experience of a range of different instruments so they can continue to develop a lifelong love of performing.  Our curriculum is a spiral curriculum, repeating key concepts, language and skills through different projects so that students build upon prior knowledge and skills, for example at the start of year seven students learn keywords to use when explaining the different parts of the music they are listening to, the use of these keywords does not change from topic to topic. A practical example might be developing dexterity in the right hand when playing a melody on the keyboard, this skill is developed with carefully chosen pieces throughout Key Stage 3. Where possible we try to arrange projects so that they link to similar learning in other subjects such as History, Performing Arts and Art and Design.

During Key Stage 3,  students study a broad range of musical styles including popular songs, jazz and musical theatre, film and television. This enables students to learn, and build upon a range of skills on their chosen instrument. Students learn about music from other cultures around the world so they can widen their experiences by being part of a Samba band or West African drumming circle. This enables them to understand different communities and spark an interest in other cultures and a wider world. This continues through Key Stage 4 with BTEC Music.

Reading is a core component of the music curriculum. Activities to teach students how to read like a musician include reading to develop contextual understanding, analysis and understanding of song lyrics and evaluation of performances.  Alongside this, music supports the RSHE curriculum by developing personal growth and transferable skills such as group and team working, resilience, listening skills, self control and confidence.

Our curriculum provides students with opportunities to perform to the general public and work alongside professional bodies. This gives them genuine insight into working within the music and performance industry and supports both the RSHE and careers programmes.  We encourage students to attend a wide range of events and experience a broad range of music genres and have sequenced our curriculum to give our students the confidence and opportunity to become successful musicians.

It is our ambition in Performing Arts that by the end of Key Stage 3, all students will have developed key skills needed to create, perform, analyse and evaluate a diverse range of core elements from within the Performing Arts subject. This will enable students to have developed core transferable skills in which to use within a wider context, both within school and beyond.

From Year 7, students will experience a range of styles and approaches to Performing Arts with opportunities for acting, singing and movement. Students are introduced to key practitioners in the arts as they begin to build core knowledge to support further learning. Progression of skill and knowledge spirals from year 7 across the key stage, enabling development of confident students, willing to step outside their comfort zone. Students begin with understanding core foundations such as character and the art of stagecraft, before ending the key stage with the skills needed to be able to independently and creatively work towards a brief. Close cross-curriculum links ensure that students are exposed to different viewpoints through Performing Arts on subjects they have studied elsewhere in the curriculum, such as carefully sequenced units which use historical context taught in the term after the subject has been taught in History, or the Island unit in Year 7 taught after the issues of identity and community had been explored in Religious Studies.

Performing Arts is closely linked to the development of literacy. Speaking and listening skills are enhanced through drama strategies, role-play, improvisation and the exchange of ideas. Improvisation and story-telling will develop our students’ understanding of narrative structure and impact speaking and writing skills. Reading is central to our curriculum.

Our curriculum supports the RSHE programme by developing important skills such as group and team working, resilience, empathy, independence, self- control, presentation skills and confidence in a safe, fun and supportive environment. We tackle issues such as Peer Pressure in conjunction with the PSHE taught curriculum, enabling students to make informed decisions about their wellbeing, health or relationships. Our curriculum explicitly teaches the core values of “Work Hard, Be Kind, No excuses” by advocating active participation in performances. It also gives students an insight into the performing arts industry looking at a range of job roles and processes involved in developing professional work, supporting the Academy’s careers programme. 

At Key Stage 4, students can choose to study Performing Arts as one of their option subjects. If they do this then they will follow the BTEC Tech Awards in Performing Arts. This gives flexibility in the path students may take including Acting, dance or musical theatre.

We provide students with opportunities to perform to peers and the general public, both in school and in professional venues, through activities such as Shakespeare Schools Festival. The annual whole school musical production provides the opportunity to perform in or contribute to the creative development of a large scale production. Community projects allow students more opportunity to work within the pathways and develop their performance experience to give them insight into working within the performing arts industry.

Our vision in the Physical Education Department is to develop lifelong learners who show an enjoyment of PE and physical activity whilst developing the movement, knowledge, understanding and confidence to lead healthy active lifestyles now, as well as in the future.

After 5 years of PE at Miltoncross Academy our aspirations for students are that…

• They are more confident and have had fun;
• Their personal character has developed;
• They are equipped to be active for life;
• They have developed sporting knowledge, understanding and skills.

Our intention is to motivate students to make strong healthy and active lifestyle choices. We will develop physical literacy (Preparing students to be active for life, not just focussing on their present performance), through the explicit teaching of knowledge, physical competences and character. Our Me In P.E model allows us to plan, assess and communicate what we know are the most vital elements of physical literacy, and there will be a particular focus on this in Key Stage 3 and 4 core PE lessons.

Me in P.E consists of 5 Me in P.E strands: Physical Me, Healthy Me, Social Me, Thinking Me and Personal Me, which does have similarities with the PSHE work students will be doing within school.  The ME In PE components will be addressed and developed across the academic year through mixed gender setting and delivering schemes of work, along with reinforcing our Miltoncross Academy core values of being kind, working hard and having no excuses.

The PE curriculum has been designed so students experience a broad range of sporting activities using a range of facilities, where the primary focus is not necessarily on the development of skill but the development of the student as a whole rounded individual as we prepare them for adult life. Teachers will use the ME in PE model to do this, visiting each ME per half term throughout the academic year. Students will record their progress in their Student progress booklets using Google Classroom during each scheme of work. Our world curriculum broadens opportunities, focusing on sport at local, national and international levels.

In Key Stage 4, students can decide to study Physical Education as an option. Students will study bones, muscles and systems in the body that enable us to live our lives and be active. They will also build up to developing their own fitness training programme for a client as they work their way through Year 11.

In Physical Education we provide the opportunity for students to continue their experience of PE through our extracurricular programme after school. In this programme students have the opportunity to attend clubs, and also be involved in competition against other schools within the city and county. Students will be provided with opportunities to attend various live sporting events, and experience different cultures within Hampshire and London including Premier League Football, Wimbledon and Twenty20 Cricket. Social media accounts (Twitter and Instagram) will be used to advertise clubs, tournaments and opportunities for students to get themselves involved in, both during term time and during holidays. The PE Department will support the reading ethos of Miltoncross Academy through the use of social media, and applying strategies to our Health and Fitness lessons at Key Stage 4 to strengthen students reading ability. Students will also have the opportunity to further strengthen their reading skills by accessing subject related material that we will provide/recommend.