English
Rationale
English is all about communication and our focus is to foster the students' self confidence in connecting with others through talk and on paper. We expect our students to be curious and actively respond to what they read and observe around them, sustaining a love for literature as well developing their skills to be accurate, yet creative writers. They should be reading regularly, though we encourge the reading of all kinds of genres and in all formats and we have a great collection of books for students to use in our Reading Room. Through our exploration of stories of all kinds, we will encourage them to articulate their views and ideas through debate, discussion, essays and creative genres, being open to others' perspectives, and ultimately, enjoying how English can open up their own minds and ideas.
Overview
Term 1 |
Term 2 |
Term 3 |
Term 4 |
Term 5 |
Term 6 |
|
Year 7 |
Autobiography | Storytelling - Fairy Tales, Allusions - Myths and Legends | Fantastical Reads and How to Write Them | Poetry - exploring genres and writing their own anthology. | Shakespeare |
Cross Curricular "Dear Freddie Mercury" |
Year 8 |
Poetry - Exploring via musical theatre and film | Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' | post 1914 fiction - 'Animal Farm' | Post 1914 drama - 'Noughts and Crosses' | Detective Fiction | Cross Curricular "The Ministry of Information" |
Year 9 |
Women Writing - all genres | Heroes and Villians | 'Blood Brothers' & Anthology 1 | 'Blood Brothers' and Anthology 2 | Anthology 3 & Language P1&2 Section B | Language P1&2 Section B |
Year 10 |
'Jekyll and Hyde' | 'Jekyll and Hyde' | Anthology 4 Language P1 Section A | Language P2 Section B | Revision and exam practice | Mock Exams & Lit P2:Unseen Poetry |
Year 11 |
'The Merchant of Venice' | 'The Merchant of Venice' | S&L Endorsement & Lang P2/A | Revision and Exam Practice | Revision and Exam Practice | GCSE Exam Season |
Year 12 |
A level Lit, Lang Lit, Film Studies | A level Lit, Lang Lit, Film Studies | A level Lit, Lang Lit, Film Studies | A level Lit, Lang Lit, Film Studies | A level Lit, Lang Lit, Film Studies | Mock Exams & NEA Prep |
Year 13 |
NEA & prep for mock exams | Mock Exams | Completion of textual studies | Revision and Exam Practice | Revision and Exam Practice | A Level Exam Season |
Key Stage 3
Year 7 focuses on initially on autobiography, including their own, within an oracy framework to enable students to be at ease when speaking and be respectful, yet active when listening. Ancient and fantastical tales are explored to develop critical analyis and inference and enable them to craft their own creative work. Poetry and Shakespeare remind them of the oral tradition and focus on the expression of the individual, before researching and presenting the stories of others, namelhy those in the public eye whose families were refugees. This appreciation of other people's experiences through stories is built on in Year 8 with whole text studies that address important social issues. Collaboration is key for the creation of detective mysteries in Term 4 before returning to the oral tradition of storytelling through their final work on the research of the influence of the media on our society. All this is supported with wider reading sessions, literacy lessons and regular spelling tests.
Key Stage 4
For KS4, students will appreciate the context of a text and its author. Women Writing' is a critical, multi genre unit exploring the work of women writers past and present. Our 'Heroes and Villains creative writing unit furthers their understanding of back story and context, as well as enforces technical skills. Both units prepare them well for the compelling GCSE text 'Blood Brothers' in Term 3. From then on, the students will develop their critical and creative skills futher, where the focuses of GCSE Language are integrated into the teaching of the Literature texts. This enables to students to understand how their skills cross reference and ensures a thorough embedding of their knowledge and expertise in readiness for the final examinations. The Speaking and Listening Endorsement in Year 11 is a special time as it is an opportunity for students to talk about a subject they really care about.
Post 16
Across the three A levels of English Literature, English Langauge and Literature and Film Studies, there is the expectation that students want to pursue their curiosity and love of reading - of all kinds of genres. The quantity of reading is challenging, as is expected for all the A levels. Students should be prepared to discuss, with notes and ideas ready before the lessons, but in turn, these fuel vibrant discussions which are at the core of how all these subjects are explored. Regular critical analysis and essays are set to enable the students to develop their writing style to a higher level of sophistication, whilst study tasks will hone their research skills to prepare them for the independence that is needed for the coursework. All subjects include a coursework element, so there will be opportunities for students to choose their own texts and lines of enquiry.
Extra Curricular Opportunities
Trips:
- Year 7 - 'Harry Potter World' trip
- Year 8 - Touring theatre to school to watch 'Macbeth'
- Year 10 - 'Blood Brothers' trip
- KS5 - Visit CCCU Library
Clubs:
- Fantasy World Club
- The Reading Room
- The Scholastic Book Fair
Online Resources
The English department recommends these resources.
Exam Boards
GCSE - AQA
A-Level English Language and Literature - Edexel
A-Level English Literature - Edexel
Film Studies - WJEC