Home schooling: Year 9 plan

A 36-week plan for Year 9 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 9 and Key Stage 3. The Today screen then puts the Year 9 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 9, GCSE-ready has 178 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	19	6 / 6 / 7	1 a week in 19 of the 30 teaching weeks	about 10 min
English	19	6 / 6 / 7	1 a week in 19 of the 30 teaching weeks	about 10 min
Science	21	7 / 7 / 7	1 a week in 21 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	15	5 / 5 / 5	1 a week in 15 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	11	3 / 4 / 4	1 a week in 11 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 · 19 lessons

Week 2 Index laws and standard form
Week 4 Significant figures, estimation and error intervals
Week 5 Calculator skills and types of number
Week 7 Compound units and converting measures
Week 8 Direct and inverse proportion, and original values
Week 10 Gradients, intercepts and y = mx + c
Week 14 Simultaneous equations
Week 15 Double brackets and quadratic graphs
Week 17 Cubic, reciprocal and exponential graphs
Week 18 Formulae and changing the subject
Week 20 Transformations
Week 21 Constructions, congruence and similarity
Week 25 Pythagoras' theorem
Week 27 Trigonometry in right-angled triangles
Week 28 Properties of 3-D shapes and cylinders
Week 30 Sample spaces and Venn diagrams
Week 31 Two-way tables and frequency trees
Week 33 Grouped data and estimating the mean
Week 34 Scatter graphs and correlation

English · 19 lessons

Week 2 Romeo and Juliet: the story and the Prologue
Week 4 Romeo and Juliet: language and character
Week 5 Drama in performance: staging and voice
Week 7 Reading a novel in context: Jekyll and Hyde
Week 8 Reading a whole novel: themes, motifs and character arcs
Week 10 Irony and satire
Week 14 Seminal world literature
Week 15 Tackling an unseen poem
Week 17 Writing a literature essay
Week 18 War poetry: Wilfred Owen
Week 20 Dramatic monologue: My Last Duchess
Week 21 Reading 19th-century non-fiction
Week 25 Research and evidence: notes, sources and reliability
Week 27 Crafting fiction: structure and perspective
Week 28 Writing non-fiction: articles, reviews and reports
Week 30 Grammar for effect: voice, modals and sentence variety
Week 31 Building vocabulary: roots, connotations and context
Week 33 Formal debate and discussion
Week 34 Ready for GCSE English

Science · 21 lessons

Week 2 Analysing data and drawing conclusions
Week 3 Photosynthesis
Week 5 Aerobic and anaerobic respiration
Week 6 The reactivity series and displacement
Week 8 Ceramics, polymers and composites
Week 9 Making salts
Week 10 Energy stores, transfers and machines
Week 14 Energy in systems: before and after
Week 15 Food webs and ecosystems
Week 17 Adaptation and competition
Week 18 The Earth and the rock cycle
Week 20 The atmosphere, climate and resources
Week 21 Speed and distance-time graphs
Week 22 Pressure in solids, liquids and gases
Week 26 Stretching, balancing and turning forces
Week 27 Biomechanics: muscles and levers
Week 29 Exothermic and endothermic changes
Week 30 Electromagnets and motors in action
Week 32 DNA, genes and inheritance
Week 33 Variation, natural selection and extinction
Week 34 Density and the particle model

History · 17 lessons

Week 2 Votes for women
Week 4 Why did the First World War begin?
Week 6 The First World War: the Western Front and the peace
Week 8 The Great Depression and the rise of dictators
Week 9 The Second World War and Churchill's leadership
Week 13 The Holocaust: from persecution to Kristallnacht
Week 15 The Holocaust: ghettos, killing and remembrance
Week 17 Creating the welfare state
Week 18 Indian independence and the end of empire
Week 20 Britain since 1945: a changing society and its place in the world
Week 22 World history: Russia from tsars to revolution
Week 26 World history: Stalin, the Cold War and the fall of the USSR
Week 27 World history: the USA from boom to superpower, 1900 to 1945
Week 29 World history: the civil rights movement in the USA
Week 31 Theme: who held power in Britain, from the Iron Age to today
Week 33 Local history: how to research the history of where you live
Week 34 Local history: the world wars where you live

Geography · 15 lessons

Week 2 Africa: countries, regions and cities
Week 4 Asia: China and India
Week 6 Russia and the Middle East
Week 8 The Middle East up close: the United Arab Emirates
Week 10 A region in Africa: Kenya
Week 14 A region in Asia: Mumbai, India
Week 16 Kenya and Mumbai: similarities, differences and links
Week 18 People and environments: the Amazon rainforest
Week 20 How people rely on natural systems
Week 22 Oceans: the blue planet
Week 26 Fieldwork: presenting and analysing data
Week 28 Working with complex data and sources
Week 30 Responding to climate change: mitigation and adaptation
Week 32 Feeding the world: food security
Week 34 Changing UK cities: regeneration and sustainability

Computing · 15 lessons

Week 2 Python: lists
Week 4 Python: tables with 2D lists
Week 6 Python: procedures and functions
Week 8 Robust programs: validation and testing
Week 10 Sorting: bubble sort
Week 14 Sorting: merge sort and comparing algorithms
Week 16 How the CPU runs programs
Week 18 How devices talk: addresses and protocols
Week 20 Representing images
Week 22 Representing sound
Week 26 Compression: making files smaller
Week 28 Modelling the real world
Week 30 Cyber security: threats and protection
Week 32 Creating digital artefacts
Week 34 Designing for real users

Citizenship · 11 lessons

Week 3 Courts and tribunals
Week 6 Inside a trial: roles, juries and proof
Week 9 Sentencing and youth justice
Week 13 Public institutions and how they serve us
Week 16 Pressure groups, petitions and campaigns
Week 19 Taking informed action: run a citizenship project
Week 22 Income, payslips and tax
Week 26 Bank accounts, payments and staying safe from scams
Week 29 Borrowing, credit and debt
Week 32 Risk and insurance
Week 34 Pensions and planning for the future

Music · 12 lessons

Week 3 The Romantic period (about 1820 to 1900)
Week 5 Music in the 20th century
Week 8 Minimalism
Week 10 Film music
Week 15 Cadences: musical punctuation
Week 17 Composing devices: developing a motif
Week 20 Music technology: the DAW and MIDI
Week 22 Recording and mixing
Week 27 Popular music styles: rock and roll to hip hop and dance
Week 29 Reggae
Week 32 Texture in depth
Week 34 Listening and appraising like a musician

Art and Design · 11 lessons

Week 3 Cubism
Week 6 Surrealism
Week 9 Abstract art and Abstract Expressionism
Week 13 Pop Art
Week 16 Art and craft traditions: Japan and China
Week 19 Art and craft traditions: Africa and the Americas
Week 22 Design and architecture
Week 26 Photography as art
Week 29 Digital art and design
Week 32 Contemporary art and artists
Week 34 Developing a project: from idea to final piece

Design and Technology · 12 lessons

Week 3 Orthographic projection and exploded views
Week 5 CAD and CAM
Week 8 Smart and modern materials
Week 10 Structures and forces
Week 15 Programmable control: microcontrollers, sensors and actuators
Week 17 Scales of production and quality
Week 20 Sustainability and the 6 Rs
Week 22 Testing, evaluating and product analysis
Week 27 New technologies and the responsibilities of designers
Week 29 Healthy diets, food labels and adapting recipes
Week 32 Food science: what happens when we cook
Week 34 Where food comes from: source and seasonality

French · 13 lessons

Week 3 Holidays: countries and transport
Week 5 The perfect tense with avoir
Week 7 The perfect tense: irregular past participles
Week 10 The perfect tense with être
Week 14 The imperfect tense: describing the past
Week 16 Daily routine: reflexive verbs
Week 19 Can, want and must: modal verbs
Week 21 Technology and media: comparisons
Week 25 Friends and relationships: qui and que
Week 28 The environment: giving opinions on wider issues
Week 30 Jobs and future plans
Week 32 The future tense: what will happen
Week 34 Past, present and future together

Spanish · 13 lessons

Week 3 Holidays: countries and transport
Week 5 The preterite: regular -ar verbs
Week 7 The preterite: regular -er and -ir verbs
Week 10 The preterite: key irregular verbs
Week 14 The perfect tense: he visitado
Week 16 The imperfect: what things were like
Week 19 Daily routine: reflexive verbs
Week 21 Can, want and must: modal verbs
Week 25 Object pronouns: lo, la, los, las
Week 28 The environment: wider issues
Week 30 Jobs and future plans
Week 32 The future tense: iré, jugaré
Week 34 Past, present and future together

After Year 9

Year 10 starts the two-year GCSE or International GCSE courses. Read sitting the exams as a private candidate early, because the choice of course and exam centre affects which subjects are practical. Then see the Year 10 plan.

Home schooling with GCSE-ready · Revision planner · For parents