Up for Debate
KS3
Maths
Year 7
- Maths should be an option subject and not compulsory
- Numbers were created by humans and therefore do not actually exist
- A circle is the most useful shape
Year 8
- Maths is more important than English
- Mental maths is no longer relevant as we all have calculators and phones
- We have a moral duty to engage in maths
Year 9
- Algebra is no longer relevant
- We should return to using the slide rule
- We should all return to using the slide rule
ICT
Year 7
- Autumn – Is cyberbullying ever justifiable, since no physical pain is felt?
- Spring – Why is problem solving important in everyday life?
- Summer – Has coding changed the world for the better?
Year 8
- Autumn- Can hacking ever be ethical and justified?
- Spring- Should networks be monitored?
- Summer- Should podcasts be censored?
Year 9
- Autumn- What are the biggest moral issues for students in Year 9 when using computers – how can these be mitigated?
- Spring- Our personal data is stored largely on computers. How can we ensure the security of our personal information?
- Summer- Why is there a digital skills shortage in society and how can this be addressed?
English
Year 7
- Paired discussions and presentations to create a detective story based on Christian teaching of the Ten Commandments and Seven Deadly Sins.
- Paired discussions and presentations to evaluate evidence in Sherlock Holmes short stories.
- Individual speeches on injustice.
- Individual speeches: “Animal testing is wrong.”
- Discussion: which character from The Tempest would be your island buddy?
- Debate attitudes to Caliban in The Tempest: do you have pathos for Caliban?
- Discussion: inhospitable places.
Year 8
- Group discussion and presentation of a utopian world.
- Group discussion exploring individual and shared memories.
- Debate: outdoor survival skills Vs traditional academic subjects.
- Paired discussions and presentation to persuade audience to attend a summer camp.
- Individual speeches to argue for the best “chief” in Lord of the Flies.
- Class discussion on bullying in Lord of the Flies and importance of restorative practices. “Love one another as I have loved you”
- Paired collaborative writing: a lively guide to the island in Lord of the Flies.
Year 9
- Group discussions on computability of religion and ethical science.
RE
KS3 topics
- ‘The Church should ordain female priests’
- ‘This house would legalise assisted suidide’
- ‘Religions should not allow divorce’
- ‘God exists’
- ‘Morality is in the eye of the beholder’
History
Year 7
- Did William the Conqueror succeed?
- Was Medieval life fair?
- Was the Medieval Church good?
Year 8
- Was the Reformation a top-down movement?
- Was Elizabeth I a strong ruler?
- Was the Civil War inevitable?
Year 9
- Was the First World War inevitable?
- Did Women benefit from the First World War?
- Did the Treaty of Versailles cause the Second World War?
Music
Year 7
- What is the purpose of minimalist music?
- Music can change the way we feel…
- Is it important to know about and listen to the music of famous classical composers such as Mozart and Beethoven?
Year 8
- Is classical music boring?
- Music can change the world for the good!
- Films would be boring without music…
- Bob Marley was arguably the most iconic musician of the 20th Century.
Year 9
- Was pop music better in the 1960’s than it is today?
- Simple music can be the hardest to play… (The Blues)
KS4
ICT
Creative iMedia
- R081 – What are the moral and legal issues for artists who create digital work?
- R082- Stereotypes are reinforced in digital images – discuss
- R087 – The influence of digital media has become far too powerful – discuss
- R088 – The wide access to digital audio has resulted in a dumbing down of broadcast materials that we listen to – discuss
Enterprise & Marketing
- LO2 – Understand what makes a product or service financially viable. Should businesses donate to charity?
- LO3 – Understand Product Development Can discrimination ever be justified? Are robots stealing our jobs or solving labour shortages?
- LO4 – Understand how to attract and retain customers. Discuss the pros and cons of loyalty cards for businesses and customers.
- LO5 – Understand factors for consideration when starting a business. Is investing in the stock market moral or immoral? why?
Computer Science
- Paper 1 –
- 1.1 System Architecture – Was Alan Turing’s treatment by his country fair?
- 1.3 Computer networks, connections and protocols – Should broadband be free?
- 1.4 Network Security – Are cyber attacks ever justifable?
- 1.6 Ethical, legal, cultural and environmental impacts of digital technologyShould bullying and trolling be allowed? Who is responsible? Why is it a moral dilemma?
- What moral dilemma does driver-less cars cause Computer Scientists?
- Is it moral to let third world countries like Ghana deal with the developed world’s waste?
- What are the issues with the digital divide? Paper 2
- 2.1 Algorithms – Discuss the pros and cons of searching algorithms used in search engines
RE
Origins and Meanings
- ‘Creationist accounts of the origin of the world is the most likely to be true’
- ‘Quality of life is more important than the sanctity of life’
- ‘We can’t do anything to stop climate change’
- ‘In today’s society there is a great need for people’
- ‘Only the government can impact social injustices’
- ‘The Bible should be taken literally’
- ‘Science and religion can not coexist’
Good and Evil
- ‘If God was good, there would be no suffering in the world’
- ‘Our conscience is the ultimate source of moral authority’
- ‘Suffering is never good for us’
- ‘Human beings are to blame for evil and suffering’
- ‘Jesus’ teachings are too unrealistic to be of any use in the modern world’
- ‘You should not worship using statues’
- ‘All Christins should go on pilgrimage’
- The existence of suffering proves there is no God’
Life after death
- ‘It is impossible to die well’
- ‘There is no point in praying for the dead’
- ‘An omnibenevolent God is incompatible with hells existence’
- ‘People should have the right to end their own lives’
- ‘Death is the end of our existence’
- ‘We can do nothing to affect our eternal destination’
- ‘The Church has no authority’
- ‘The Second vatican council had little impact on the Church’
- ‘The Lord’s prayer is the only prayer we need’
- ‘Funerals should be solemn occasions’
Sin and Forgiveness
- ‘Sins and crimes should be the same thing’
- ‘The aim of punishment should be to reform criminals’
- ‘The death penalty should be made legal in the UK’
- ‘Christians should always forgive’
- ‘Salvation can only be achieved through the Church’
- ‘There is a hell, but no one is in it’
- ‘Features of a Catholic Church are necessary for worship’
- ‘Sacraments are essential for salvation’
- ‘Evangelisation is inappropriate in a multifaith society’’
- ‘Britain is a Christian county’
Music
Year 10
- The OCR lost touch with musicians when it took Jazz off the curriculum.
- The American terms for note lengths are far more useful than the English words
Year 11
- Why don’t we learn the names of any female Baroque, Classical & Romantic Composers?
- Singing in music lessons will improve our musicality more than anything else we do in our Music GCSE.