Things to do before you start school

• DRAW! draw for enjoyment. Over the summer why not draw, doodle and paint what you love. You could bring your pictures in at the start of term to show us.
• Visit Manchester Art Gallery and the Whitworth Art Gallery, online if necessary. If you fancy an adventure, you could visit the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, the Tate Liverpool or London.
• Get snapping! When you arrive in September you will take part in a series of drawing activities. Your theme will be insects. Why not get out into nature to see what you can find. Take a series of photographs of the insects and bugs you find. Aim to capture them in detail and think about the composition of your photographs.

• Create a fact file for someone you consider a ‘role model’, particularly if they were influenced by their religion! What did they do? What impact did they have? Why do you value them?
• Create an information poster on one religion you might know a lot about and do the same for a religion you do not know much about. Include the place of worship, Holy Book, important people, food, dress codes and other fun facts!
• Do as many things to help the environment as you can. Make a list of them! This could be recycling, reusing old items, cycling instead of travelling by car, planting bee friendly flowers…
• Create a spider diagram of what makes a healthy friendship. Think about the qualities a good friend has! Go even further and explain the impact that having healthy and unhealthy friendships can have on someone, or say what you could do if you see unhealthy behaviour in friendships – who could you speak to?
• Make a daily plan to be healthy. What can you do each day to look after yourself? Include any sports or exercise you do, foods you could eat and actions like brushing your teeth twice a day!
• Listen to the news – CBBC Newsround is great for this, what is happening around your area? The UK? The globe?
• Keep an emotions diary – how do you feel?  What causes these feelings? How many different emotions do you feel in a day?
• Visit a place of worship – many places of worship are open to the public, and some even do open days. Where could you visit?
• Practice mindfulness – there are loads of great videos on Kids YouTube for this – find one that you enjoy and practice it.

• Try out your skills at the Code Academy or Hour of Code websites
• Join a CoderDojo community
• Visit the W3 Schools website and take a look at their python tutorials
• Research Bletchley Park, home of the code breakers
• Explore the Science and Industry Museum (online if necessary)
• Read Carol Vorderman’s coding books

• Have a think about what Design and Technology means and the sort of things you might be doing in this subject.
• On one day during the holidays count how many household products you or your family/carers use that help you in your daily life e.g., a kettle, an iron or electric toothbrush. Do you think this is a lot?
• Write three sentences explaining why Design and Technology is important.
• Imagine you are starting your own company and you need a creative, eye-catching logo. Design your logo on a sheet of A4 paper. Be prepared to show your design to the class and talk about it.
• Visit Manchester Art Gallery and the Whitworth Art Gallery, online if necessary. Research famous British fashion designers and look at images of their work and explain which is your favourite and why.
• Take a range of photos of buildings you like the look of. Why do you like these buildings? Are they modern buildings? Are they old buildings?
• Find out all you can about any of these famous designers: Sir James Dyson, Dame Zara Hadid, Coco Chanel, Jimmy Choo.
• Write a food diary of all the things you eat and drink in a day. Could you make any healthier changes?
• Have a look at how electronics could be used in Textile’s products or how everyday objects can be repurposed into new products.
• Visit the Science and Industry Museum, online or in person, and look at all the old machines that used to be used for making cotton.
• Find out 3 facts about cotton.
• Research 3 celebrity Chefs, what is your favourite dish they each create?

• Watch the video of the mime tutorial and test your mime skills!
  Creative Arts Theatre – Let’s Play – Mime Basics – YouTube
• Watch the video from the National Theatre introducing the traditional style of Commedia dell’Arte. Create your own version of the character map included in the video.
  The World of Commedia dell’Arte – YouTube
• Research the plot of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Create a storyboard of just eight images that outlines the plot.
• Research the characters of Caliban, Prospero and Ariel in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Make some character cards in the style of Top Trumps for them.
• Write a review of any theatre you see – this could be productions you see over the summer in theatres or in school, it could be street performers or even trips to places like Scarefest. Anywhere where people are performing in role!
• COMPETITION: The first competition we will be running is our theatre shoebox competition. This is where you create a set design within a shoebox. This could be a design for a TV show, play, film or book. Use the summer to sketch your ideas and get materials together ready for when we start in September.

One of the most exciting parts of joining Hazel Grove High School is the chance to be in our school show. We will not be revealing next year’s production until later this year, but keep an eye on the school website and speak to your Drama and Music teachers about getting an audition pack.

As your teachers, we have created a fabulous Book List of our personal favourites and books to help you excel in each of our subjects. The list is available here: Year 7 Book List – Drama

• Learn who the twelve Olympians are and find out what they are responsible for. We will be incredibly impressed with anyone who can remember them all! Top tip: You could make some flip-cards and get someone to test you!
• Watch one of the following Greek myths and make a storyboard, summarising the story: Video 1    Video 2    Video 3
• Find out what the oral tradition is and research a story which was originally shared via the oral tradition.
• Create a fact file about King Arthur, including the stories, characters and objects, which surround these legends.
• Watch one of the following myths from around the world and write a poem, narrating the events of the myth. Alternatively, you could write a diary entry from the perspective of one of the characters involved in the myth: Video 1    Video 2    Video 3
• Create a fact file about William Shakespeare, including information about his life and works.
• Take a virtual tour of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. You could make a list of facts you learn while you’re exploring. Follow this link: Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre Virtual Tour
• Read a book from the English section of the KS3 reading list. After you’ve read it, you could write a book review about the book, or a poster advertising it!
• On a rainy afternoon, get comfy and watch a film inspired by some of the great myths and legends we will study in Year 7 e.g. Hercules, The Sword and the Stone or Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.

The key to success is making sure that we read a variety of things and that we do it often. The most important advice we can give you is to find a book you can’t bear to put down! As J.K. Rowling said, ‘If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.’

As your teachers, we have created a fabulous Book List of our personal favourites and books to help you excel in each of our subjects. The list is available below. These books should be available at your local library.

Over the summer holidays, you could get a head start and read any book from the list.

The book list is available here: Year 7 Book List – English

• Improve your knowledge of places around the world by playing Geography games on Sporcle as well as Geoguessr. Record your best score and bring it into school in September.
• Draw and label a map of your local area. You could use Google Maps (satellite view) to help you. Bring this into school to show your new classmates in September.
• Get a head start on map skills by playing games using this: Mapzone | Ordnance Survey
• Watch some programmes on BBC iPlayer or Netflix and write a review. Be prepared to discuss this in Geography film club in September!

BBC iPlayer suggestions:

• Race across the world
• Planet Earth

Netflix suggestions:

• Down to Earth with Zac Efron
• Our Planet
• Breaking boundaries: The science of our planet

• Research the Romans in Britain. How did they make life better? What were some problems with the Romans?
• Research the Anglo-Saxons in Britain and focus on Alfred the Great, Queen Aethelflaed, King Egbert and King Aethered the Unready. Produce a fact file on them and important things that happened in their reigns, both positive and negative.
• Research your favourite castles in the United Kingdom – which is your favourite and why? Can you explain how they have changed over time?
• Watch some programmes on BBC iPlayer and write a review of your favourite which persuades others to watch it.
  eg: David Olusoga – A House Through Time series
  Seven Ages of Britain
  Rome’s Lost Empire with Dan Snow
  Invasion! With Sam Willis
  Civilisations with Simon Schama
  Black and British with David Olusoga
• Take a visit to the Manchester Museum and learn about how Manchester has developed over time – look at the impact of Chinese culture, Indian culture and the Egyptians

Spanish

• Make a list of all the countries in the world that speak Spanish and try not to be astonished by how many there are!
• Research Spanish and Central/South American festivals. They have many interesting and wonderful traditions – which is your favourite one? Why?
• Listen out for Spanish songs on the radio, online, or on any games that you play. What songs are they? See if you can find out what country they are from.
• Find out some information about the Spanish royal family. How are they different from our royal family? Where do they live?
• Like cooking? Try making a Spanish tortilla, we have PP&R competitions for fun things like this – who said homework was boring!
• Can you find out how many languages are spoken in Spain? Here’s a clue: it’s not just one!
• And lastly, try watching your favourite TV shows and films on Netflix/Disney+ in Spanish, or explore Spanish films on there like Zipi y Zape if you enjoy a bit of adventure!

French

• Make a list of all the countries in the world that speak French and try not to be astonished by how many there are!
• Research Francophone (French-speaking) festivals. They have many interesting and wonderful traditions — which is your favourite one? Why?
• Listen out for French songs on the radio, online, or on any games that you play. What songs are they? See if you can find out what country they are from.
• Find out some information about a French-speaking celebrity, where do they live?
• Like cooking? Try making a French Croque Monsieur, we have PP&R competitions for fun things like this – who said homework was boring!
• And lastly, try watching your favourite TV shows and films on Netflix/Disney+ in French!

German

• Make a list of all the German-speaking towns and cities that you can think of. There are lots of famous ones – can you find out any that aren’t in Germany?
• There are six countries that speak German as an official language – can you name them all?
• Research German-speaking festivals, they have many interesting and wonderful traditions. Which is your favourite one? Why?
• Listen out for German songs on the radio, online, or on any games that you play. What songs are they? See if you can find out what country they are from.
• Find out some information about a German-speaking celebrity, where do they live?
• Like cooking? Try making a German Currywurst, we have PP&R competitions for fun things like this – who said homework was boring!
• And lastly, try watching your favourite TV shows and films on Netflix/Disney+ in German!

• Find ways to play with mathematics every single day of the summer holidays. The book ‘Maths on the Go: 101 Fun Ways to Play with Maths.’ by Rob Eastaway and Mike Askew has some fabulous ideas.
• Think about the ginormous nature of numbers! How many hours will you be on holiday for, from the time you leave your primary school, to the time you start at HGHS? How many minutes is this? How many seconds? How old will you be when you start school at HGHS? In hours? Minutes? Seconds?
• Would you rather put £3 in the bank and have it triple each week for 4 weeks, or put £4 in the bank and have it quadruple each week for 3 weeks? Be ready to justify and explain your answer.
• Visit and explore the Maths Careers website. Research some of the career profiles and think of a creative way to share your research.
• Take on the Corbett 5-a-day Maths Challenge. Can you answer 5 maths questions a day throughout the summer holiday? Follow the link and choose from levels bronze, silver, gold and platinum, but pick a level that will challenge you!
• You may have seen some of M.C. Escher’s amazing mathematical prints? Have a look at his work; discover the mathematics within this amazing art. Try creating your own mathematical print, Escher style!
• If you are out and about this summer, keep your eyes open for patterns and tessellations! Take some pictures of floor tiles, geometric ceilings, 3D structures and create a poster we can display in the maths classrooms. Patterns and structures are all around us – sometimes you do not see them unless you are really looking!
• Do you know about the Fibonacci sequence? Find out about how this links to nature. It is fascinating!
• Have you got a cook book at home? Can you find a recipe? Look at the ingredients required and notice how many people the recipe will feed. Think about how you would change the amounts of each ingredient so that the recipe would make enough for 2 people. What about for 10 people? Make a poster to display in our classrooms.
• People are naturally curious about mathematics. Gaining mathematical understanding is intrinsically satisfying. Here are some links to some interesting tasks – have a go and bring your ideas into school in September:
  • Light the lights again | NRICH Maths
  • A little light thinking | NRICH Maths
  • Charlie’s delightful machine | NRICH Maths
  • Perimeter Challenge | NRICH Maths
  • Always, sometimes or never? Number | NRICH Maths

• Buy your PE kit
• Label PE kit and trainers with your name
• Know how to get changed and do this in three minutes
• Find out what extra-curricular clubs HGHS have run this year and identify what you would like to get involved in next year.
• Consider who your sporting influence is – why are they so influential? What have they achieved? How did they start their sporting career?
• During the summer holidays, play a sport or participate in a physical activity once a week.
• Research a sport that you have never played before. Find out the rules and its most famous players.
• Research a famous sportsperson and write a short paragraph on what they have achieved in their career to date.
• Write three sentences to explain why PE is important to you.
• Find out where your local sports clubs are in your area and what sports they offer.
• Pick a sport and research its history in the UK or globally.
• Become familiar with what the different muscles are called in your body – draw a diagram to demonstrate where they are.
• Research why physical activity is important and list the top 10 benefits to your body and well-being
• Research what makes an effective warm up and practice leading a warm up to friends and family.

• Science consists of three different specialisms, find out what you learn in each specialism below:
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Physics
• Take a trip to buy a scientific calculator!
• Visit the Science and Industry Museum, and find out about Manchester’s involvement in the development of Science, Technology and Industry – free entry!
• Visit Manchester Museum (in Manchester University) and observe the exciting range of collections held there – free entry!
• Visit Jodrell Bank and discover how the telescope works and what it is looking for.
• Find out more about the planet we are living on and its inhabitants – treat yourself to an episode or two of Blue Planet!
• Relax and watch some episodes of ‘Horrible Science’, or, if you prefer, read one (or more!) of the ‘Horrible Science’ books.
• Watch ‘Life on Our Planet’ on Netflix, or ‘Life’ by David Attenborough on BBC.
• Find out 3 interesting facts about Marie Curie and her work in Science.
• Find out 3 interesting facts about Ernest Rutherford and his science research in Manchester.
• Find out 3 interesting facts about Alan Turing and his science research in Manchester.