The Key Stage 3 curriculum has recently been revised to better prepare pupils for the challenges of the new GCSE, developing their skills through an engaging mix of novels, plays, poetry and non-fiction texts.
All our teachers are English specialists.
For more information contact the head of department, Miss S Beadle.
As a department we have laptop trolleys available on each floor to use within lessons as well as use of the Learning Resource Centre, which is situated next to the English department. Key stage 3 lessons include regular scheduled use of the LRC as part of the department’s schemes of learning. Intervention programmes such as Accelerated Reader also take place in the LRC.
In Years 10 and 11, all pupils study for the AQA GCSE English Language (8700) and GCSE English Literature (8702).
Both qualifications are 100% exam-based, with two examinations for each subject. English Language comprises Paper 1, Explorations in Creative Writing and Paper 2, Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives.
Speaking and Listening is endorsed separately as a non-examination component.
English Literature comprises Paper 1, Shakespeare and the Nineteenth-Century Novel and Paper 2, Modern Texts and Poetry.
The KS3 curriculum prepares pupils for the specific demands of the new GCSE specifications.
We have a dedicated team of teachers who cover a range of extra curricular activities to encourage creative writing across all years. When pupils reach KS4, there are a series of revision sessions in place to help pupils achieve their full potential.