The English Department

The aims of the English department are to ensure that all our students:

• communicate confidently and effectively in oral and written forms;
• understand and respond to all manner of texts appropriately and sensitively;
• acquire the disciplines and expertise to maximise their potential;
• have an experience in school which gives them an ability to appreciate a wide range of literature that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

We would like all pupils to find the reading, writing and speaking of English stimulating and inspiring.  It is important to capture their interest in words from the earliest age, so that they leave school with a healthy respect for the power of the spoken and written language – both their own and that of others.

Schoolrooms’ Curriculum (Years 7-9)
Every year of English study provides opportunities for work in the following areas:

• Knowledge about Language
• Poetry
• Drama – including Shakespeare
• Prose - fiction and non-fiction; pre- and post-1914
• Private reading
• Media
• ICT
• Speaking and Listening
• Writing in a range of forms and for a range of audiences

We aim to foster our students’ creativity whilst providing them with the skills they will need to thrive at GCSE.

Seniors Curriculum (Years 10 & 11) - GCSE
GCSE English and GCSE English Literature are taught as a combined course, following the AQA Specification A for both subjects.  The students are prepared for three examinations in which they will answer questions assessing their writing skills and their abilities to read and process non-fiction and media texts, a wide range of poetry, and a modern novel.  Coursework gives them opportunities to study and write about a Shakespeare play, a modern drama, and a novel written before 1900.  In a typical English Literature programme, students might study Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, and poems by Browning, Shakespeare, Tennyson, Heaney or Duffy.  Students also submit coursework displaying their skills in creative writing and in writing about the media.  A further 20% of their marks for English come from coursework relating to Speaking and Listening.

College Curriculum (Years 12 & 13) – AS and A-level
The study of English Literature at A-level develops naturally from work in English language and literature at GCSE.  It aims to encourage and deepen an enjoyment and appreciation of literature and literary studies, based on informed personal response.From September 2008 students will be following the new OCR English Literature specifications.  Our version of the course is designed to ensure that students study a very wide range of writers and texts from different historical periods and different social and cultural backgrounds.

AS-level

During the first year of the course, the following units will be studied and assessed:

Unit 1 Poetry and Prose 1800-1945
(2 hour examination; 60% of total AS marks; 30% of total A-level marks.)  Students will study at least one poetry and one prose text, by poets such as Wordsworth, Owen, Frost and Rossetti, and novelists such as Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy and F. Scott Fitzgerald. The course is supported by a complementary text that explores basic literary-critical concepts and approaches.

Unit 2  Literature Post-1900
(Coursework; 40% of total AS marks; 20% of total A-level marks.)  Students will study at least three post-1900 texts, at least one of which will have been published or performed after 1990. The aim of this internally-assessed unit is to encourage interest and enjoyment in contemporary literary studies. Texts are selected in groupings that facilitate links or contrasts, in order to develop the ability to explore how texts illuminate and connect with each other.  There may be opportunities for creative writing as part of this unit. Students produce a coursework folder of a maximum of 3000 words.

A2-level

During the second year of the course, the following units will be studied and assessed

Unit 3  Drama and Poetry pre-1900
(2 hour examination; 30% of total A-level marks.)   Students study at least one Shakespeare play, together with poetry and drama by other writers.  Part of this unit is a comparative study, where students explore links and contrasts between writers such as Chaucer, Donne, Aphra Behn, Sheridan and Milton.

Unit 4  Texts in Time
(Coursework; 20% of total A-level marks.)  This unit leads to an extended, individual essay of a maximum of 3000 words.  Several texts are studied and compared, and students are encouraged to develop their own tastes and interests.  These texts are linked by genre, topic or period, permitting study of such areas as satire, gothic writing, tragedy, or perspectives on America.

Advanced Extension Paper
Students who want to go beyond the A-level programme are currently entered for the Advanced Extension Paper in English Literature.  Extra lessons are provided to support this exam.  For our most able students, this has proved to be an exciting and challenging conclusion to their studies.  Sadly, this examination is not available as part of the new A-level specifications, so 2009 will be the last year in which the AEA exam can be taken.

Curriculum Enrichment Activities
The teaching programme within the English Department is supported by many extra curricular activities, such as theatre visits, play-readings, visits from authors and academic specialists, drama workshops, and opportunities to join writing groups and enter writing and drama competitions.Extra sessions are provided for students intending to study English Literature at university.
A paired-reading programme supports Schoolrooms students who need help extending and developing their reading skills.
A specialist teacher in English as an Additional Language gives one-to-one and small-group lessons to students for whom English is not their first language.  Where required, literacy support is available from the Special Educational Needs teacher, who is
also a member of the English Department.

Openday 2007 in the English Department.