Key Stage 3
Encyclopedia
Key Stage 3 is the legal term for the three years of schooling in maintained schools in England
and Wales
normally known as Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, when pupils are aged between 11 and 14. In Northern Ireland
the term also refers to the first three years of secondary education, although these are known as Year 8, Year 9 and Year 10.
as "the period beginning at the same time as the school year in which the majority of pupils in his class attain the age of twelve and ending at the same time as the school year in which the majority of pupils in his class attain the age of fourteen".
This Key Stage
normally covers pupils during their first three years of secondary education
, although in some cases part or all of this stage may fall in a middle
or high school.
Some middle and high schools have been piloting accelerated Key Stage 3, by teaching the curriculum over two years.
At the end of this stage, pupils aged 14 - in Year 9 - are assessed as part of the national programme of National Curriculum assessment
. Until 2008 this involved a series of externally-marked tests. However, from 2009, this will be based on on-going teacher assessment, with results for each school being published in performance tables.
and Key Stage 2
are defined as lasting for seven years in total from the start of compulsory education
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
normally known as Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, when pupils are aged between 11 and 14. In Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
the term also refers to the first three years of secondary education, although these are known as Year 8, Year 9 and Year 10.
Legal Definition
The term is defined in the Education Act 2002Education Act 2002
The Education Act 2002 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-Main provisions:The act significantly amended legislation relating to academies, publicly-funded schools operating outside of local government control and with a significant degree of autonomy areas such as wages and...
as "the period beginning at the same time as the school year in which the majority of pupils in his class attain the age of twelve and ending at the same time as the school year in which the majority of pupils in his class attain the age of fourteen".
This Key Stage
Key Stage
A Key Stage is a stage of the state education system in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the British Territory of Gibraltar setting the educational knowledge expected of students at various ages...
normally covers pupils during their first three years of secondary education
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
, although in some cases part or all of this stage may fall in a middle
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
or high school.
Some middle and high schools have been piloting accelerated Key Stage 3, by teaching the curriculum over two years.
Purpose
The term is used to define the group of pupils who must follow the relevant programmes of study from the National Curriculum. All pupils in this Key Stage must follow a programme of education in at least 15 areas:- EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
- MathematicsMathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
- ScienceScienceScience is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
- Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
- Design TechnologyDesign TechnologyDesign and Technology is a school subject offered at all levels of primary and secondary school. In some countries such as England it is a part of the National Curriculum. It is offered in many countries around the world such as Brunei, Bermuda, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Jordan...
- HistoryHistoryHistory is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
- GeographyGeographyGeography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
- Modern Foreign LanguageForeign languageA foreign language is a language indigenous to another country. It is also a language not spoken in the native country of the person referred to, i.e. an English speaker living in Japan can say that Japanese is a foreign language to him or her...
- Art and Design
- MusicMusicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
- Physical EducationPhysical educationPhysical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
- CitizenshipCitizenshipCitizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
- Sex EducationSex EducationSex education is an aspect of modern Western secondary education. It may also refer to:* Sex Education , a 1988 young adult novel by Jenny Davis on the American Library Association's list of Top 100 banned books...
- Career education
- Religious EducationReligious EducationReligious Education is the term given to education concerned with religion. It may refer to education provided by a church or religious organization, for instruction in doctrine and faith, or for education in various aspects of religion, but without explicitly religious or moral aims, e.g. in a...
- WelshWelsh languageWelsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
(in Wales only)
At the end of this stage, pupils aged 14 - in Year 9 - are assessed as part of the national programme of National Curriculum assessment
National Curriculum assessment
National Curriculum assessments are a series of educational assessments, colloquially known as Sats or SATs, used to assess the attainment of children attending maintained schools in England...
. Until 2008 this involved a series of externally-marked tests. However, from 2009, this will be based on on-going teacher assessment, with results for each school being published in performance tables.
Legal Definition
The term is defined in The Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 as "key stage 3 is the period beginning at the same time as the next school year after the end of key stage 2 and ending at the same time as the school year in which the majority of pupils in his class complete three school years in that key stage". Notably, the foundation stage and Key Stage 1Key Stage 1
Key Stage 1 is the legal term for the two years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 1 and Year 2, when pupils are aged between 5 and 7. This Key Stage normally covers pupils during infant school, although in some cases this might form part of a first or...
and Key Stage 2
Key Stage 2
Key Stage 2 is the legal term for the four years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6, when pupils are aged between 7 and 11. The term is applied differently in Northern Ireland where it refers to pupils in Year 5, Year 6 and...
are defined as lasting for seven years in total from the start of compulsory education
Compulsory education
Compulsory education refers to a period of education that is required of all persons.-Antiquity to Medieval Era:Although Plato's The Republic is credited with having popularized the concept of compulsory education in Western intellectual thought, every parent in Judea since Moses's Covenant with...
.
Purpose
The term is used to define the group of pupils who must follow the relevant programmes of study from the National Curriculum. All pupils in this Key Stage must follow a programme of education in the nine areas of learning in the curriculum, some of which include specific subject strands:- Language and Literacy
- English
- Irish (in Irish-speaking schools)
- Media Education
- Mathematics and Numeracy
- Mathematics
- Financial Capability
- Modern Languages
- The Arts
- Art and Design
- Music
- Drama
- Environment and Society
- History
- Geography
- Science and Technology
- Science
- Technology & Design
- Learning for Life and Work
- Employability
- Local and Global Citizenship
- Personal Development
- Home Economics
- Physical Education
- Religious Education