English
Overview of Department
A high-quality English education is essential to creating bright futures for all. The English curriculum ensures students can speak and write fluently and coherently to communicate their ideas and emotions to others. Our mission is to provide students with a wide range of engaging, inspiring and thought-provoking texts, both from Literary Heritage and contemporary authors, along with introducing and embedding the key skills they will need to be highly successful in their GCSEs.
Curriculum Statement: Values and Aims
We aim to provide opportunities for students to become confident, independent students, who read for pleasure, by developing them culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. This is achieved by taking students on a chronological journey through the British Literary Heritage, studying the best of what has been said and written in the literary canon. By introducing our students to a wide range of exceptional texts, we inspire and engage students, enabling them to use their knowledge to question the world around them and to develop a sense of intellectual curiosity through life transforming learning.
The wealth of texts studied in the curriculum allows for students to be inspired in their own writing, enabling them to write for a variety of purposes, from creative and narrative, to transactional writing such as letters, articles and speeches. By so doing, all students will be able to express themselves fluently using structure and correctly punctuated sentences. An emphasis on drafting, self-correction and proof-reading skills is an essential part of every lesson.
Additionally, developing the knowledge of, and providing opportunities for students to use age -appropriate Tier 2 vocabulary is a crucial aspect of the curriculum. They will learn to recall and independently apply over one hundred Tier 2 words by the end of Key Stage 3 to express their ideas and opinions coherently and articulately. Through learning the conventions for discussion and debate, students will be able to express their opinions and interpretations of the texts studied collaboratively with their peers.
GCSE English Language and GCSE English Literature
The new English Language specification allows for the study of a wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts spanning the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Students will be encouraged to make connections between their readings and analyse the writer’s craft. Reading and writing will be equally weighted for final English Language qualifications, with speaking and listening remaining in the teaching programme. Students will develop skills to use more challenging writing skills, including narrating and persuading.
The English Literature specification allows for a wealth of literature to be covered including: 19th century novel, a Shakespearean play, poetry from 1789 and British fiction or drama from 1914. Students will also be presented with an unseen text in the examination. The texts we are planning on covering include: ‘Romeo and Juliet’, ‘An Inspector Calls’, A Christmas Carol and a prescribed poetry anthology.
Progression Routes
The career opportunities related to English Language and Literature are endless, but some examples might be: digital copywriter, editorial assistant, English as a foreign language teacher, lexicographer, magazine journalist, newspaper journalist, publishing copy-editor/proofreader, school teacher and writer. Students can also go on to study English Literature, English Language, and English Literature and Language A-Levels.