Exams, Assessment and Reporting KS3

KS3

Key Stage 3 is a fundamental time in a student’s school life – it is during these formative years that students experience a broad and balanced knowledge-rich curriculum that provides them with the cultural capital for later success at KS4, but also in their life beyond Weaverham. We have a 3-year KS3 which ensures students experience a broad and balanced curriculum where creative subjects such as the visual and performing arts, as well as academic subjects are highly valued and protected.
In Year 7, 8 & 9 students are assessed in a variety of different ways, however assessment takes place continuously whether through teacher feedback, whole-class feedback after a class assessment or question-level analysis following the end-of-year exams. Students are assessed verbally, practically and in written forms whether it be by their teacher, by their peers or through self-assessment, and this can be formative or summative. All KS3 pupils have their reading age tested regularly throughout the year via the Accelerated Reader programme. This allows us to quickly identify any difficulties with reading, especially where it is likely to impact access to the curriculum, and swift intervention is put into place to address any gaps.

KS3 Exams

Exams take place towards the end of each academic year and are formal exams; Year 7 and 8 exams are completed with class teachers in exam conditions, whereby all students sit a standardised exam whereas Year 9 sit their exams in the Sports Hall under the same conditions used for GCSE exams as specified by JCQ. Following marking and moderation of students’ assessments, we report outcomes home to parents; from this year we will be publishing the median (average) score for the year group and the top 10% score so that parents can see how their child is doing in relation to their peers Teachers go through papers with classes and subsequently send them home for parents. We strongly recommend parents to go through papers with their child and discuss strengths and weaknesses of that particular assessment.

KS3 Progress Reports

We send an academic progress report home to parents twice per year which details the level students are achieving in each of their subjects. Students receive a KS3 grade 1-9 which is derived from either carefully formulated assessment criteria or a well-considered set of grade boundaries in subjects such as Maths and Science. These grades can be compared to a student’s MEG (Minimum Expected Grade) which is designed to be aspirational and has been calculated using FFT20.
The report also includes an overview of BFL (Behaviour for Learning) data which indicates students’ engagement with that subject and any concerns there might be. It is our expectation that every student should have at least grade 4s, enabling them to make good progress. Students receive a paper copy of their progress report which they review during tutor time and an electronic version is sent to parents.

Click here for an example progress report.

Please encourage your child to engage in individual conversations with their subject staff and to act on advice and recommendations in order to maximise progress. There is a plethora of revision sessions and interventions available so please encourage students to fully engage in all Weaverham has to offer.

KS3 Minimum Expected Grades (MEGs)

Instead of more traditional ’target grades’, here at Weaverham we set a ‘Minimum Expected Grade’ (MEG) which is usually calculated from KS2 SAT scores using FFT20 (Fischer Family Trust). The MEG aims to project where a student should be as a minimum when they leave us in Year 11. In the absence of KS2 SATs (Current Year 10 and 11) we have used CAT scores to make projections. Many pupils exceed their MEG each year which is something we continually strive for along with assuring pupils that their true best is always good enough.

KS3 Minimum Expected Grades (MEGs)

Instead of more traditional ’target grades’, here at Weaverham we set a ‘Minimum Expected Grade’ (MEG) which is usually calculated from KS2 SAT scores using FFT20 (Fischer Family Trust). The MEG aims to project where a student should be as a minimum when they leave us in Year 11. In the absence of KS2 SATs (Current Year 10 and 11) we have used CAT scores to make projections. Many pupils exceed their MEG each year which is something we continually strive for along with assuring pupils that their true best is always good enough.

Exam Scores

Top 10% and median scores from the KS3 exams will be posted following exams 2025/26

Example:

Top 10% of Year Cohort Average Score on the Paper/s

	Top 10%	Cohort Average
English	85%	58%
Maths	86%	61%
Science	84%	57%