Middle Level (ages 11-13, Key Stage 3)
This is a transitional age between primary and secondary level and can be a very rewarding age to teach as the basic skills have hopefully been mastered so that writing etc. present little difficulty, but some of the enthusiasm and wonder of the primary years still remains.
This is a good age to catch up on any gaps which might have become apparent - a breathing space if you like in which to catch one's breath before the more rigorous (and rigid) secondary level schedules begin in earnest. It is tempting to see these ages as simply preparatory to later studies but this would be a shame as they really deserve to be treated as quite independent of both primary and secondary - important and foundational, yes, but also broad and offering great scope for something freer than the more prescriptive GCSE years.
As an example, a group of teachers in York recently radically redesigned their Key Stage 3 (11-13) English Literature curriculum to take in the historical roots of the language (starting with the great Anglo Saxon story Beowulf), on the basis that, whilst the GCSE curriculum is 'circumscribed by the real pressures of assessment and accountability', the KS3 curriculum, in contrast, 'offers a tantalising freedom of choice.' As home-educators we are in a position to really make the most of that freedom!
These middle years also cover the period at which children applying to selective/independent schools would be preparing for and sitting Common Entrance exams. Some home-educating families work towards this standard (without actually intending to enter for the exams/put their child in school) simply because it represents a more demanding level of work than that offered by the National Curriculum and because the resources available to teach it are generally of a very high standard.
This is a transitional age between primary and secondary level and can be a very rewarding age to teach as the basic skills have hopefully been mastered so that writing etc. present little difficulty, but some of the enthusiasm and wonder of the primary years still remains.
This is a good age to catch up on any gaps which might have become apparent - a breathing space if you like in which to catch one's breath before the more rigorous (and rigid) secondary level schedules begin in earnest. It is tempting to see these ages as simply preparatory to later studies but this would be a shame as they really deserve to be treated as quite independent of both primary and secondary - important and foundational, yes, but also broad and offering great scope for something freer than the more prescriptive GCSE years.
As an example, a group of teachers in York recently radically redesigned their Key Stage 3 (11-13) English Literature curriculum to take in the historical roots of the language (starting with the great Anglo Saxon story Beowulf), on the basis that, whilst the GCSE curriculum is 'circumscribed by the real pressures of assessment and accountability', the KS3 curriculum, in contrast, 'offers a tantalising freedom of choice.' As home-educators we are in a position to really make the most of that freedom!
These middle years also cover the period at which children applying to selective/independent schools would be preparing for and sitting Common Entrance exams. Some home-educating families work towards this standard (without actually intending to enter for the exams/put their child in school) simply because it represents a more demanding level of work than that offered by the National Curriculum and because the resources available to teach it are generally of a very high standard.