English

The aims of the English Department are to ensure that:

• Students are confident and effective readers, writers and speakers with a healthy respect for and a keen enjoyment of the power of language;
• Students are adventurous and challenging in their search for truth as they reflect on themselves and the world beyond themselves through speaking, writing and in response to what they read;
• Students appreciate writers' craft and enjoy creativity and experimentation with language;
• Students are increasingly independent in their learning, acquiring disciplines which will enable them to move successfully into further learning and the world of work

We would like all pupils to find the reading, writing and speaking of English stimulating and inspiring.

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 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. Literacy support is available from the Head of Learning Support, who is also a member of the English Department.

Schoolrooms’ Curriculum (Years 7-9)

Every year of English study provides opportunities for work in the following areas:

• 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
• Spelling, punctuation and grammar.

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 Language and GCSE English Literature are taught as a combined course. The specifications we follow are AQA GCSE English Language (4705) and AQA GCSE English Literature (4710). Students are prepared for three final examinations which assess their writing skills, their ability to read and write non-fiction and media texts, and their ability to analyse and interpret poetry, and modern novels and plays.

Controlled assessment offers students further opportunities to study and write about a Shakespeare play and another text from literary heritage. Texts studied include Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet and King Lear, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.

Students also develop their writing skills through controlled assessment tasks in non-fiction and creative writing, and their speaking and listening skills by giving a presentation, discussing in a group and speaking in role.

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. Our aim is to encourage and deepen an enjoyment and appreciation of literature and literary studies, based on informed personal response. Students follow the OCR specification in English Literature. 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 study one poetry and one prose text, by poets such as Browning, Dickinson, Thomas and Yeats, and novelists such as Shelley, Wilde, James, Conrad and Woolf.

Unit 2 Literature Post-1900

(Coursework; 40% of total AS marks; 20% of total A-level marks.) Students 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 chosen to allow students to develop the ability to explore how texts illuminate and connect with each other. 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, Webster and Marlowe.

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.