English
Across both key stages the department aims to immerse students in a range of literature and foster enthusiasm for reading and writing.
Our KS3 curriculum builds on the knowledge and skills acquired at KS2, providing students with opportunities to further develop as confident, empathetic and critical readers and writers. Across KS3, students can explore a wide range of varied and challenging texts - both fiction and non-fiction - in the pursuit of developing a lifelong appreciation of reading. Through the written word, students will critically evaluate the key messages, morals and behaviours presented to them by a number of renowned writers, allowing them to develop a wider appreciation of their own identity and their sense of place in the world. Building in writing for a variety of purposes and audiences, students can practice refining their drafting skills, developing their resilience in writing at length, ultimately crafting writing which is sophisticated and engaging. Being exposed to an increasingly wide breadth of vocabulary and grammar, their understanding of grammatical terms in use will enable them to confidently critique other writers’ work, as well as applying the skills to their own writing. Classroom discussion and debate will enable students to develop speaking and listening skills, thereby promoting confidence and allowing students to communicate their ideas and emotions to others. By the end of KS3, students will have built a solid foundation on which to continue their learning journey with confidence on the way to becoming active members of the school community and beyond.
Key Stage 4 is a three-year key stage organised as follows:
Years 9-10
Students will study AQA GCSE English Literature over two years, with students sitting their early entry GCSE in Year 10. Students are exposed to a range of texts from the 19th-21st century, continuing to study the genres and writers introduced in Key Stage 3. All students will be taught in ability groups with a time allocation of 5 hours per week and will read the following literature:
- Shakespeare: Macbeth
- Pre-20th Century Fiction: A Christmas Carol
- Modern Fiction: An Inspector Calls
- Poetry: Power and Conflict Anthology
The exam components are as follows:
- Paper 1: Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel (40%) 1 hour 45 minutes.
- Paper 2: Modern texts and poetry (60%) 2 hours 15 minutes.
Year 11
Students will study AQA GCSE English Language in this one-year course. English Language involves the analysis of a range of fiction and non-fiction texts, from the 19th-21st centuries. Writing skills focus on the honing of descriptive and narrative styles required for paper one and the personal viewpoint skills assessed on paper 2.
All students will be taught in ability groups with a time allocation of 5 hours per week.
The exam components are as follows:
- Paper 1: Explorations in creative reading and writing (50%) 1 hour 45 minutes.
- Paper 2: Writers' viewpoints and perspectives (50%) 1 hour 45 minutes.
Over the duration of Key Stage 4, students will complete numerous assessments and mock exams in both Language and Literature and will complete their AQA Certificate in Spoken Language in Year 11.
