ENGLISH
In lessons, the English department aims to immerse students in a range of fiction and non-fiction literature and foster enthusiasm for reading, writing, drama and speaking. This continues outside of the classroom with a creative writing group, young journalists who contribute to the school newsletter, poetry and creative writing competitions, a space for quiet reading and the opportunity to become an English Ambassador. Every year, we celebrate World Book Day, participate in Readathon and run school trips.

Our Key Stage 3 spans Years 7–9 and includes the study of a range of literature texts including: Shakespeare’s plays, pre-1914 stories, poems from different eras and cultures, non-fiction projects and modern texts, including the Gothic-inspired Cirque du Freak, the classic American text Of Mice and Men and the thought-provoking adventure Trash. The teaching of technical accuracy and vocabulary is integrated into all units of work and homework tasks. Through our KS3 curriculum we aim to foster a love of the subject whilst building on Key Stage 2 teaching and preparing students for the challenge of Key stage 4.

In Key Stage 4, students study the AQA GCSE courses for both English Literature and English Language.

Through the GCSE English Literature course, students are exposed to a range of literature from the 19th-21st century. We continue with the genres, writers and themes introduced in Key Stage 3 through the study of: Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in addition to a modern text, e.g. Lord of the Flies or An Inspector Calls and the exam board’s ‘Power and Conflict’ poetry anthology.

In English Language, students will continue to read and analyse a range of fiction and non-fiction texts (from the 19th-21st centuries), hone their writing skills with a focus on descriptive and narrative styles (for paper 1) expressing their personal viewpoint (for paper 2) and complete their Spoken Language Study.

All students will sit their final exams at the end of Year 11.

HEAD OF DEPARTMENT: Mrs L. Loring