Students are timetabled to have 8 lessons per fortnight. Lessons follow schemes of learning that are designed to engage students in the subject of English and facilitate a smooth transition from KS2. Carefully choosing texts that we believe have high value in their understanding of the literary tradition, history and the world around them, we also embed the skills needed for them to access and enjoy the richness of the written word. Students get regular opportunities to write, developing their ability to write creatively, analytically and accurately. Skills are revisited across the Key Stage, and each time students are required to add an additional level of challenge to their writing. Students will read whole novels together, as well as extracts from fiction and non-fiction.

Home learning takes the form of consolidation or extension activities set with purpose and meaning. All homework is recorded on Satchel One (Show My Home Work) and will be a variety of quizzes, reading, research and written tasks

Assessments are designed to consolidate both knowledge and skills acquisition and make use of national tests such as NGRT and Improving Secondary Writing for teachers to see exactly where the learners need support and challenge.

Year 9 takes the form of a bridge year, where we begin to study texts that they will need for their GCSE exams in the Spring and Summer terms. These texts will be revisited as revision in Year 10 and 11, but it allows them time to explore exciting, important texts such as An Inspector Calls and discuss the relevance of this text in today’s society, looking at ideas around social equality and justice. This then allows them to seamlessly move into KS4 and their GCSE studies.

Students continue to be taught in ability groupings, and follow the courses for AQA English Language and AQA English Literature qualifications. More information can be found at:

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/gcse

Set texts for literature include:

• Macbeth, by William Shakespeare
• A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens
• An Inspector Calls, by J B Priestley
• AQA Poetry Anthology - Power and Conflict

Students are also given a range of extra-curricular opportunities ranging from theatre trips to creative writing competitions.

Assessment at key stage 4:

Formative assessments are conducted throughout years 10 and 11 and inform reported grades and progress. There are also summative assessments in the form of end of year examinations in Year 10. In year 11, students will have two mock examinations: one in November and one in March.

ENGLISH LITERATURE A LEVEL

“Why read literature? Because it enriches life in ways nothing else quite can. It makes us more human. And the better we learn to read it, the better it will do that.”

John Sutherland

This AQA course offers a broad sweep of literary texts across the ages and has, at its core, a concern with the social and historical contexts in which literature is produced and received.

Students are encouraged to read widely and take an independent approach to their study. They are supported in this process through online resources such as google classroom where teachers post pre-reading tasks and the resources for their lessons. Lessons are taught in a seminar-style environment where discussion and interpretation are encouraged.

The majority of our literature students go on to university and literature offers a broad springboard to a range of subjects and disciplines including literature, history, journalism, law and creative writing.

Paper 1: Love through the Ages (40%)

The study of three texts:

• One Shakespeare text,
• One pre-1900 prose text
• A range of love poetry through the ages (from the 16^th to the 19^th century).

Students will discover how the presentation of love has changed over the years and the role historical context and literary movements have in shaping Shakespeare, prose and poetry. Students will also develop their analytical skills and their ability to apply literary terms and concepts.

Paper  2: Modern Times (literature from 1945 to the present) 40%

Students explore 3 texts (one poetry, one prose and one drama).

This paper explores both modern and contemporary literature’s engagement with some of the social, political, personal and literary issues which have helped to shape the latter half of the 20^th century and the early decades of the 21^st century.

Non-exam assessment 20%

Students produce a comparative critical study of two texts. Students will develop their own critical perspectives in this independent study.

• http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/as-and-a-level/english-literature-a-7711-7712

ENGLISH LANGUAGE A LEVEL

“Words: so innocent and powerful as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.”

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Language is power and, at the root of this course, is the study of how we use it in its everyday context. We study all types of texts – from the back of a crisp packet to a politician’s speech. Our students are fascinated by the interplay between the conditions in which a text is produced, the context in which it is received and the power relations involved.

They are supported on the path to becoming fully independent through the use of online resources such as google classroom where teachers post pre-reading tasks and the resources for their lessons. Lessons are taught in a seminar-style environment where discussion and interpretation are encouraged.

The majority of our English Language students go on to university and the course provides students with a skillset for a wide range of subjects  and disciplines  including law, journalism, education, foreign languages and creative writing

Component 1: Language variation 35%

Students explore:

• How language varies depending on contextual factors
• How language choices can create personal identities
• Language variation in English from c1550 to the present day.

Component 2: Child language 20%

Students explore:

• Spoken language acquisition and how children learn to write between the ages of 0 and 8
• The relationship between spoken language acquisition and literacy skills
• Appropriate theories of children’s language development.

Component 3: investigating language 25%

Students:           

• Develop their own investigation skills
• Apply their knowledge of language terms and concepts
• Develop their own language specialism.

Component 4: Crafting language 20% (Non exam assessment)

Students will:

• Demonstrate their skills as writers within their selected genre, crafting texts for different audiences and/or purposes

Reflect on their research and writing in an accompanying commentary.