GCSE-readyHome schooling: Year 7 plan
A 36-week plan for Year 7 using the Key Stage 3 lessons on GCSE-ready: which subjects, how many lessons, what to do each week and a checkpoint at the end of every term.
Set up
In the app, choose Year 7 and Key Stage 3. The Today screen then puts the Year 7 lessons first. For subjects with options (set texts, history units, geography topics), set your options in the Progress tab so only your lessons appear. Then follow the daily routine.
The 36-week year
Three terms of 12 weeks, with 30 weeks of new lessons. Move the weeks to fit your own holidays.
| Weeks | Term | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1 to 10 | Autumn term | New lessons, following the weekly numbers in the table below, with the review list every day. |
| Week 11 | Autumn term | Review week: no new lessons. Clear the review list, redo any lesson under 80% right first time, and practise key terms as flashcards. |
| Week 12 | Autumn term | Checkpoint: in each subject, do one Mixed practice session on the Today screen (10 questions from lessons already studied, weakest first) and a Mock test on each topic finished this term (Progress tab, Mock test, choose the topic, 20 questions, timer on). Then print the progress record from the Parents tab and keep it with your home-school records. |
| Weeks 13 to 22 | Spring term | New lessons, following the weekly numbers in the table below, with the review list every day. |
| Week 23 | Spring term | Review week: no new lessons. Clear the review list, redo any lesson under 80% right first time, and practise key terms as flashcards. |
| Week 24 | Spring term | Checkpoint: in each subject, do one Mixed practice session on the Today screen (10 questions from lessons already studied, weakest first) and a Mock test on each topic finished this term (Progress tab, Mock test, choose the topic, 20 questions, timer on). Then print the progress record from the Parents tab and keep it with your home-school records. |
| Weeks 25 to 34 | Summer term | New lessons, following the weekly numbers in the table below, with the review list every day. |
| Week 35 | Summer term | Review week: no new lessons. Clear the review list, redo any lesson under 80% right first time, and practise key terms as flashcards. |
| Week 36 | Summer term | Checkpoint: in each subject, do one Mixed practice session on the Today screen (10 questions from lessons already studied, weakest first) and a Mock test on each topic finished this term (Progress tab, Mock test, choose the topic, 20 questions, timer on). Then print the progress record from the Parents tab and keep it with your home-school records. |
Key Stage 3
In Year 7, GCSE-ready has 177 Key Stage 3 lessons across 12 subjects. Pick the subjects you want to cover: English, maths and science are the core, then add the others you want.
| Subject | Lessons this year | New lessons per termAutumn / Spring / Summer | A typical week | Time a weeknew lessons only |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 18 | 6 / 6 / 6 | 1 a week in 18 of the 30 teaching weeks | about 10 min |
| English | 18 | 6 / 6 / 6 | 1 a week in 18 of the 30 teaching weeks | about 10 min |
| Science | 20 | 6 / 7 / 7 | 1 a week in 20 of the 30 teaching weeks | about 10 min |
| History | 17 | 5 / 6 / 6 | 1 a week in 17 of the 30 teaching weeks | about 10 min |
| Geography | 16 | 5 / 5 / 6 | 1 a week in 16 of the 30 teaching weeks | about 10 min |
| Computing | 15 | 5 / 5 / 5 | 1 a week in 15 of the 30 teaching weeks | about 5 min |
| Citizenship | 12 | 4 / 4 / 4 | 1 a week in 12 of the 30 teaching weeks | about 5 min |
| Music | 12 | 4 / 4 / 4 | 1 a week in 12 of the 30 teaching weeks | about 5 min |
| Art and Design | 11 | 3 / 4 / 4 | 1 a week in 11 of the 30 teaching weeks | about 5 min |
| Design and Technology | 12 | 4 / 4 / 4 | 1 a week in 12 of the 30 teaching weeks | about 5 min |
| French | 13 | 4 / 4 / 5 | 1 a week in 13 of the 30 teaching weeks | about 5 min |
| Spanish | 13 | 4 / 4 / 5 | 1 a week in 13 of the 30 teaching weeks | about 5 min |
Lesson counts come from the GCSE-ready course map, so they grow as lessons are added. "Time a week" uses each lesson's estimated time.
Week by week
Open a subject to see which lessons to do in each teaching week. These follow the same order as the Today screen in the app.
Mathematics · 18 lessons
- Week 2 Place value, ordering and rounding
- Week 4 Negative numbers
- Week 5 Written methods for the four operations
- Week 7 Calculating with decimals
- Week 9 Factors, multiples and primes
- Week 10 Powers, roots and the order of operations
- Week 14 Equivalent fractions, adding and subtracting
- Week 16 Fractions, decimals and percentages
- Week 17 Algebraic notation, simplifying and substitution
- Week 19 Expressions, equations, formulae and identities
- Week 21 Solving linear equations
- Week 22 Sequences and the nth term
- Week 26 Metric units and converting measures
- Week 28 Angle facts
- Week 29 Symmetry and properties of 2-D shapes
- Week 31 Drawing and measuring: angles, triangles and scale drawings
- Week 33 Perimeter and area
- Week 34 Mean, median, mode and range
English · 18 lessons
- Week 2 Active reading: checking you understand
- Week 4 Inference: reading between the lines
- Week 5 Character and setting
- Week 7 Plot, structure and narrative voice
- Week 9 Myths, legends and fables
- Week 10 Figurative language: similes, metaphors and more
- Week 14 How poems work: rhyme, rhythm and stanzas
- Week 16 Writing your own poem
- Week 17 Performing a poem aloud
- Week 19 Meet Shakespeare: his world and his language
- Week 21 Shakespeare's comedy: A Midsummer Night's Dream
- Week 22 Descriptive writing
- Week 26 Writing a short story
- Week 28 Word classes: the building blocks of sentences
- Week 29 Noun phrases: adding precise detail
- Week 31 Sentences and full stops
- Week 33 Spelling rules: prefixes, suffixes and homophones
- Week 34 Standard English and register
Science · 20 lessons
- Week 2 Planning a fair test
- Week 3 Measuring and recording results
- Week 5 Sampling plants and animals
- Week 6 Animal and plant cells
- Week 8 Diffusion, single cells and body organisation
- Week 9 Specialised cells
- Week 13 The particle model and changes of state
- Week 14 Pure substances and separating mixtures
- Week 16 Solutions and solubility
- Week 17 Distillation, crystallisation and chromatography
- Week 19 Forces and their effects
- Week 20 Friction, drag and changing motion
- Week 22 Human reproduction
- Week 25 Flowers, pollination and seeds
- Week 27 Acids, alkalis and neutralisation
- Week 28 Waves and sound
- Week 30 Wave features and echoes
- Week 31 Space, gravity and the seasons
- Week 33 The Solar System and light-years
- Week 34 Energy, power and fuel bills
History · 17 lessons
- Week 2 Turning point: the Neolithic Revolution
- Week 4 Local history before 1066: Sutton Hoo and place names
- Week 6 Thinking like a historian: time, sources and evidence
- Week 8 1066: the year of three kings
- Week 9 How William controlled England
- Week 13 Medieval life: farming, wool and towns
- Week 15 The medieval Church, the Crusades and Thomas Becket
- Week 17 Monks, parish churches and medieval culture
- Week 18 Magna Carta and the first Parliaments
- Week 20 Edward I, Wales and Scotland
- Week 22 The Black Death and the Peasants' Revolt
- Week 26 The Hundred Years War and the Wars of the Roses
- Week 27 Henry VII: making the Tudor crown safe
- Week 29 The Renaissance and Henry VIII's Reformation
- Week 31 Edward, Mary, Elizabeth and the first colonies
- Week 33 The Civil Wars, the execution of Charles I and Cromwell
- Week 34 The Glorious Revolution, the Union and the Jacobites
Geography · 16 lessons
- Week 2 Globes, atlases and finding places on Earth
- Week 4 Ordnance Survey maps: grid references, scale and symbols
- Week 6 Compass directions, bearings and measuring distance
- Week 8 Showing height on maps, and reading aerial and satellite images
- Week 10 Thematic maps and map projections
- Week 14 The UK: countries, cities and landscapes
- Week 16 World biomes and climate graphs
- Week 17 Geological time and plate tectonics
- Week 19 Plate boundaries, earthquakes and volcanoes
- Week 21 Living with tectonic hazards
- Week 25 Rocks and the rock cycle
- Week 27 Weathering and soils
- Week 29 Weather, climate and the UK
- Week 31 Fieldwork: investigating microclimates
- Week 33 Population: distribution, density and growth
- Week 34 Urbanisation: why cities grow
Computing · 15 lessons
- Week 2 Staying safe online
- Week 4 Strong passwords and secure accounts
- Week 6 Is it true? Judging information online
- Week 8 Hardware: inside a computer
- Week 10 Software and operating systems
- Week 14 Computers all around us: embedded systems and sensors
- Week 16 Computational thinking
- Week 18 Algorithms and flowcharts
- Week 20 Writing algorithms in pseudocode
- Week 22 Block-based programming
- Week 26 First steps in Python
- Week 28 From blocks to Python
- Week 30 Python: doing maths with operators
- Week 32 Binary numbers
- Week 34 Bits, bytes and file sizes
Citizenship · 12 lessons
- Week 3 What does it mean to be a citizen?
- Week 5 Rights and responsibilities
- Week 8 Why we need rules and laws
- Week 10 Young people and the law
- Week 15 The role of the police
- Week 17 What is democracy?
- Week 20 Local government: councils and councillors
- Week 22 Voluntary groups, charities and volunteering
- Week 27 Making a difference at school and in your community
- Week 29 What money is for
- Week 32 Budgeting: needs, wants and making money last
- Week 34 Saving and keeping money safe
Music · 12 lessons
- Week 3 The elements of music
- Week 5 Dynamics and tempo: the Italian words
- Week 8 Instruments of the orchestra and timbre
- Week 10 Rhythm: note values and time signatures
- Week 15 Pitch on the stave: the treble clef
- Week 17 The keyboard: sharps, flats, tones and semitones
- Week 20 Singing and the voice
- Week 22 Performing together: ensemble skills
- Week 27 Musical structures: binary, ternary and rondo
- Week 29 Composing with the pentatonic scale
- Week 32 West African drumming
- Week 34 Samba
Art and Design · 11 lessons
- Week 3 The formal elements: line
- Week 6 Shape and form
- Week 9 Tone and shading
- Week 13 Texture and pattern
- Week 16 Colour theory: the colour wheel
- Week 19 Colour, mood and colour schemes
- Week 22 Observational drawing
- Week 26 Sketchbooks and annotation
- Week 29 Painting materials and techniques
- Week 32 Collage and mixed media
- Week 34 How to analyse an artwork
Design and Technology · 12 lessons
- Week 3 The iterative design process
- Week 5 Design briefs and specifications
- Week 8 Researching users and their needs
- Week 10 Sketching, annotation and rendering
- Week 15 Workshop safety and risk assessment
- Week 17 Woods: hardwoods, softwoods and manufactured boards
- Week 20 Hand tools and workshop processes
- Week 22 Papers and boards
- Week 27 Types of motion and levers
- Week 29 Electronic systems: input, process, output
- Week 32 The Eatwell Guide
- Week 34 Food hygiene and safety: the 4Cs
French · 13 lessons
- Week 3 Greetings and introductions
- Week 5 The alphabet, accents and sounds
- Week 7 Numbers, days, months and birthdays
- Week 10 Numbers to 100 and prices
- Week 14 Nouns, gender and articles
- Week 16 My family and pets: avoir and possessives
- Week 19 Describing people: être and adjectives
- Week 21 School subjects and opinions
- Week 25 Present tense: regular -er verbs
- Week 28 Telling the time and my school day
- Week 30 Classroom language: the imperative
- Week 32 Free time: jouer, faire and negatives
- Week 34 Writing to a penfriend: letters and emails
Spanish · 13 lessons
- Week 3 Greetings and introductions
- Week 5 Sounds and spelling: how Spanish sounds
- Week 7 Numbers, days, months and birthdays
- Week 10 Numbers to 100 and prices
- Week 14 Nouns, gender and articles
- Week 16 My family and pets: tener and possessives
- Week 19 Describing people: ser and adjectives
- Week 21 Countries, nationalities and languages
- Week 25 School subjects and opinions
- Week 28 Present tense: regular -ar verbs
- Week 30 Telling the time and my school day
- Week 32 School uniform: clothes and colours
- Week 34 Free time: jugar, hacer and negatives
Home schooling with GCSE-ready · Revision planner · For parents