Year 8 (secondary education)

[PerkyLady]

Hello.

I'm writing a short novel for my 'Creative Writing' course.

My novel is set in England and it's about life in secondary school.

I'm interested in learning more about school life in England, and even also about young people's life outside school.
I'm more interested in Grammar schools, but I also take information about any schools (both state and independent schools).

So, when you were in Year 8 (or if you are in Year 8), how many students were (or are) there in your class?
If the number of the classmates is not the same in every subject, then tell me how many classmates were there in each subject.

While at this, what subjects in Year 8 are compulsory and which ones are chosen by students?

Also, were (or are) all your classmates in Year 8 the same as those in Year 7?

If not, how many changed school, and if you know the reason, please, state it.

In the same way, was there any new classmate in Year 8, and if you know, also please state the reason for their school change.

This will be enough for now.

I look forward to receiving your replies.

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Post-Scriptum: It's not really that I will use your replies, but they enabled me to be aware of the differences between school in my country and in more recent days.
The protagonist of my story is a red-haired girl, so that's why I chose an English setting.

Which part of England? There is no size fits all, there will be many variations from villages to cities etc - is that what you're after?

If you are writing about a grammar school you only need replies about these as they will be settled in a way comprehensives are not.
However compulsory subjects are English, maths, science, history, geography, computer science, RE and PE. The overwhelming majority will also offer art, drama, technology etc.

I teach at grammar. Technology and the group sizes are 14 to accommodate practical but normally 30. All the grammars I know of or have worked in are single sex but that might just be my area.

Girls school if that helps

Is strikes me that it would be considerably easier to change the protagonist’s hair colour than to gain an extensive enough knowledge of English grammar schools, but I’m not an author. I wish you luck!

My DD is in Y10 now, but I can remember plenty of detail from Y8.

She’s at a single sex grammar school. Most of the grammars in our area are single sex, but there was one mixed grammar.

There are 30 students in the class. They still do all subjects in Y7, 8 and 9, with no options.

In her school, in Y7 they were in their form group for the most subjects (English, maths, three sciences, geography, history, religious studies, French, Spanish, computer science, art, drama, music, PE, personal development.) For the other subjects (food & nutrition, DT, textiles) it was a different mix of students (five from each form group) and they studied on rotation (a term of each subject, each year.)

In Y8 it was the same principle, and they had the same form group for registration and form time, but there was a different ‘teaching group’ that was different from the form group, and again a different group for the ‘rotation’ slots. In Y9, the same. Options only kick in from Y10 at DD’s school. There is no setting in DD’s grammar until Y10, and then only for maths.

I don’t think anyone in DD’s form has left the school since the start, but maybe a handful have left variously in Y7-8 and been replaced pretty much straight away. I know one student left because they got a late place at the grammar school closer to her home.

DD was surprised to find from talking to students in Y7-8 that a few resented being at grammar school – they were there because their parents pushed them into it when they really wanted to be at the local comp with their primary school friends.

I should add that schools can be quite different – even between grammar schools. DD’s friend at another grammar had the students mixed up for many lessons from the start of Y7. Other friends at the local boys’ grammar were set for maths in Y8 onwards. Different subjects were offered, particularly languages (German, Mandarin, Latin.)