ENGLISH

That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.

Frederick Douglas

English is as the heart of everything we do in life. It is the foundation of all other subjects and we use its written and spoken forms in order to present ourselves to the world outside school and to achieve academically.

Our department seeks to foster a love and understanding of the English language and notable works of literature amongst students of all ages and abilities.  We understand the power of our subject to help students navigate our culture and chart their course in the world.

The aim of the department is to guide students to success, both academically and towards an enjoyment and love of literature and its possibilities.  We want our students to become effective communicators in both formal and informal contexts in order that they are empowered to engage fully in our wider society. We hope to inspire students to develop their skills beyond school and into their adult lives.

Spacer

ENGLISH CURRICULUM JOURNEY and ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW

Spacer

ENGLISH AT KEY STAGE 3

We believe in equality of experience for our students and, as such, the curriculum at Key Stage 3 is carefully crafted to challenge all students and to enable them to build on prior learning and to make rapid progress.  The units of work enable students to read extracts from a wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts and reflect on writers’ choices and techniques in different contexts and time periods.  We also place huge importance on reading whole texts both in school and at home in order to consolidate essential reading skills and, of course, for pleasure.  Students’ communication skills, both written and verbal, are enhanced by the focused study of world literature.

Students are helped to progress through focused assessment tasks which are sequenced to ensure that key concepts and skills are embedded by the end of the Key Stage 3 curriculum.

Students’ oracy skills and appreciation of theatre and live performance are developed through an exciting partnership that has been forged with the Drama department whose curriculum complements the delivery of the Key Stage 3 English curriculum.

Curriculum Maps

Knowledge Organisers

Spacer

ENGLISH AT KEY STAGE 4

Students begin their GCSE journey in Year 10 and they work towards two separate GCSE qualifications: English Language and English Literature (Eduqas).

Preparation for the English Language GCSE focuses on securing students’ critical reading and comprehension skills and their ability to summarise, synthesise and evaluate writers’ language choices.   Students are also taught to produce clear and coherent written texts for a variety of audiences and purposes.  We also prepare them for the spoken element of the course and place oracy at the heart of all of our lessons.

For English Literature GCSE we study the Eduqas poetry anthology; JB Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’; Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’; Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ and unseen poetry.  Our lessons ensure that students develop a deep knowledge of the impact of context and that they learn to analyse and comment on writers’ methods and intentions.

We offer targeted revision classes and support throughout the GCSE programme.

Curriculum Map

Knowledge Organisers

Revising for GCSE English

Spacer

ENGLISH AT KEY STAGE 5

We offer three popular A Level courses within the department: English Literature (Edexcel), English Language and Literature (Edexcel) and Film Studies (WJEC).

Students report that they enjoy their studies and they feel well supported in their academic development and indeed, many choose to study English courses at undergraduate level.

Spacer

A Level English Language & Literature

Curriculum Map

Knowledge Organisers

Spacer

A Level English Literature

Curriculum Map

Knowledge Organisers

Spacer

A Level Film Studies

Curriculum Map

Knowledge Organisers

Spacer

ASSESSMENT

Click on the image above to open the assessment information.

Spacer

EXAMINATION PREPARATION

Click this link for support information on preparing for examinations:

Spacer

EXTRA-CURRICULAR

Click on the image above to open the extra-curricular information.

Spacer

Key Information

Spacer

English Department

Spacer

Mrs Hughes

Curriculum Leader for English

Mrs Grant

Assistant Curriculum Leader for English

Spacer

Teachers of English

Ms Ammar
Mrs Broomfield
Mrs Gillespie
Miss MacDougall
Mrs Marl
Mrs Perrin
Miss Waters

Teachers of Film Studies

Miss K MacDougall
Mrs R Marl

Spacer

Contact Us

Spacer

Useful Links

Spacer

Spacer

Spacer

Careers Corner

Spacer

There is a wide range of possible career and higher education opportunities if you choose to study English at A Level.  You will learn and use a variety of transferable skills in speaking and writing for different purposes and audiences.  The course will form a good basis for study in any future pathway – the Arts, the Humanities, Law and the Sciences.

Spacer

English Department News

Spacer