AmblesideOnline Years 7-8-9 in Two Years

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This is for those who desire to complete AO's years 7-9 in two years in order to catch up a student who started late and desire to implement AO's Year 12 during the student's senior year.

This plan was created for a student who wanted to take their time through Years 10 and 11 because of an interest in the more modern era. Most students will prefer to take their time through the Middles Ages, the Renaissance and Revolution. Do not speed through AO by doing this two-year plan in conjunction with AO's other two-year plan (Years 9-11 in two years).


A 180-day school year breaks down to 36 weeks. This plan compresses each 36-week year into 24 weeks: the first 24 weeks (two 12-week terms) of the first year are from AO's Year 7 Basic Version; the next 24 week period straddles both years, so Year 8 is covered during the last twelve weeks of the first year and the first twelve weeks of the second year of this plan. And the final 24 weeks of the second year cover AO's Year 9 Basic Version.

The history spines (Churchill's Birth of Britain, The New World and Age of Revolution) are necessarily heavier in volume each week by half. Some students will find this easier to manage by breaking up each week's reading into smaller sections, reading 6-10 pages at a sitting rather than 20 or more.

Science follows AO's Years 7 and 8. In other words, Year 9's Living Science was not compressed into this plan (at the time this schedule was posted, AO's Year 9 science had not been posted).

Removing a few books helped to make the reading manageable, but the books that were left out came from the already pared down (Lite) schedules, so you should think twice before skipping them entirely. It would be worth considering them first when planning free reading. In particular, the removal of Westward Ho! and The Count of Monte Cristo left a lot of room in the schedule, but are books that should not be missed. Movie versions are inadequate! However, these might work well with an audiobook played over Christmas or summer break.


First Year's Booklist and 36-Week Schedule (a combo of AO's years 7/8)

Second Year's Booklist and 36-Week Schedule (a combo of AO's Years 8/9)

Exams are available for these Years. Click here and scroll down.


Books from Years 7, 8, and 9 that were not scheduled for this combined plan and should be consulted first for free reading:

Year 7:
In Freedom's Cause, by G.A. Henty
The Daughter of Time, by Josephine Tey
The Age of Chivalry, by Thomas Bulfinch

Year 8:
Westward Ho!, by Charles Kingsley (or I Promesi Sposi)

Year 9:
The God Who is There by Francis Schaeffer
John Adams, by David McCullough ($ K) OR John Adams and the American Revolution, by Catherine Drinker Bowen
The Royal Road to Romance, by Richard Halliburton
The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas
The Land of Little Rain, by Mary Austin

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