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English
In the English department, we follow a thematic approach, exploring links to the wider world and to literary, social and historical contexts. We teach students to write confidently and accurately for a range of purposes and audiences. We teach students to read actively in order to make informed inferences and deductions.
Our lessons revolve around discussion. We encourage students to listen to others and to develop their own opinions. We guide them to become successful communicators.
In each assessment, students develop the skills required for academic success in future AQA GCSE English Language and English Literature examinations.
Reading is the corner stone of success in English and many other subjects and is a crucial life skill. Our well-stocked Library is the beating heart of our school. All students have a fortnightly reading lesson in our Library.
We follow the Accelerated Reader reading programme which enables us to successfully guide, support and monitor our students’ reading skills whatever their level of attainment.
We seize every opportunity to encourage a love of literature through regular theatre trips linked to our areas of study.
We value creativity and independent thinking, we encourage and support students to formulate their own viewpoints, arguments and interpretations.
We aim to prepare our students for the real world, supporting them to become real writers, real readers and real speakers.
Supporting your Child with Reading
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Year 7 |
Thematic Unit |
Assessment |
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Autumn |
Fantasy How do we engage and entertain readers? We explore the fantasy genre, studying a range of extracts from authors including Darren Shan, Steve Jackson and Philip Reeve. |
Write a chapter of a fantasy story. In this collaborative creative writing unit, we harness the knowledge and skills students have developed at KS2, supporting them to enhance their writing skills further as they focus on the intended effects of their writing. Students are required to write accurately, using carefully selected vocabulary and organising their work into sentences and paragraphs. |
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Spring |
Adventure How do writers use language methods to affect readers? We study the award winning 21st novel ‘The Girl of Ink and Stars’ by Kiran Millwood Hargrave Students complete a wide variety of creative and analytical tasks to encourage their engagement with the ways writers shape meaning. |
Write a piece of travel writing for a school magazine about a place you have visited or a place you would like to visit. In this writing assessment, students are required to write to create a sense of place. Students are required to write accurately, using carefully selected vocabulary and organising their work into sentences and paragraphs. How does the writer use language to describe the forest in chapter 10? In this reading assessment, students are required to identify the language methods used and to explain the effects which are created. Students are required to produce a structured essay response, supporting their opinions with evidence from the text. |
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Summer |
Villainy Who was Shakespeare and who is the real villain in ‘The Tempest’? We introduce Shakespeare and The Globe Theatre. We study ‘The Tempest’, exploring the play in performance; focussing on characterisation, themes and messages. |
No formal assessment. |
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Year 8 |
Thematic Unit |
Assessment |
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Autumn |
Gothic How do writers use structural devices to affect readers? We explore the typical features of Gothic Literary genre from the 17th to the 21st century. We study a range of extracts and short stories from authors including Horace Walpole, Mary Shelley, Charlotte Bronte, Edgar Allen Poe and Rosemary Timperley |
Write a gothic description In this writing assessment, students are required to write accurately, using a range of punctuation and organising their work into sentences and paragraphs. They are required to use the conventions of the Gothic genre, plus carefully selected vocabulary and language methods to create an appropriately engaging atmosphere. How has Rosemary Timperley structured the short story ‘Harry’ to interest the reader? In this reading assessment, students are required to identify the structural methods used and to explain how they are used to engage readers. Students are required to produce a structured essay response, supporting and explaining their opinions with evidence from the text. |
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Spring |
Crime How can we express our opinions effectively? We explore the typical features of the crime fiction genre We study a range of short stories from authors such as Guy de Maupassant and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle |
Write a film review of the movie ‘Sherlock Holmes’. In this assessment, students are required to write accurately, using a range of punctuation. They are required to organise their work into sentences and paragraphs, incorporating language features and structural methods to express personal opinions and entertain readers.
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Summer |
Relationships
How do writers present characters and themes? We study ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare, focussing on the presentation of characters, themes, messages within social, historical and literary contexts. |
No formal assessment |
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Year 9 |
Thematic Unit |
Assessment |
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Autumn |
War ‘How do writers present the theme of war? We explore how texts link to their historical context.
We study a range of poetry written during the First World War from authors including Rupert Brooke, Jesse Pope, Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon |
Write a short story using a war photograph as a stimulus for your ideas. In this assessment, students are required to write accurately, organising their work into a range of sentence types and structures. Students are required to use a wide range of punctuation using language and structural methods to engage readers.
Compare the methods used by two of the poets studied to present war.
In this assessment, students are required to compare and explore the effects of the methods writers use when presenting the theme of war. Students are required to produce a structured essay response, supporting and explaining their opinions with a range of evidence from the texts. Students are also required to link the texts to the contexts they were written and explore the writers’ potential intentions.
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Spring |
Relationships How can we present a clear and convincing argument? We analyse how writers construct arguments in non-fiction texts. We explore writing from different perspectives.
How do writers present characters and themes? We study ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare, focussing on the presentation of characters and themes. |
Write an article for a broadsheet newspaper in which you express your views in relation to parenting.
In this writing assessment, students are required to use a wide range of punctuation, plus appropriate language and structural methods to create an entertaining response which expresses a clear and convincing argument.
Explain how far you think that Shakespeare presents Lord Capulet as good father in ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
In this assessment, students are required to construct a clear, convincing and well-supported argument, tracking the presentation of character and theme, linked to historical context and the writer’s potential intentions.
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Summer |
Viewpoint How can we express our views effectively? In preparation for the GCSE Spoken Language assessment, we analyse example presentations. Students research a chosen topic, then plan, write and practise delivering their presentation. Responsibility ‘An Inspector Calls’ JB Priestley How do writers present characters and themes? In preparation for the GCSE Literature exams, we study exam text: ‘An Inspector Calls’ by JB Priestley. We explore plot, characters, themes, contexts and the writer’s intentions. |
Write and deliver a short presentation about a topic you feel strongly about and respond to questions. In this assessment, students are required to construct a clear, thoughtful and well- supported argument to explore a topic of their choice. They are required to present their work to their peers and respond to questions. These presentations are recorded for external validation. The grades are awarded as Pass, Merit or Distinction. No formal assessment.
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Year 10 |
Thematic Unit |
Assessment |
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Autumn |
Power ‘Macbeth’ William Shakespeare
How does Shakespeare present characters, themes and messages within their historical, social literary contexts? |
Write a short story entitled, ‘Guilty Conscience’ / ‘Betrayal’. In this assessment, students are required to write concisely and precisely, using a wide range of punctuation. Students are required to use a range of language and structural methods to engage readers.
How far do you agree that Lady Macbeth is presented as a powerful woman in the extract and in the play ‘Macbeth’ as a whole? In this assessment, students are required to track characterisation across a text, exploring how the writer uses language and structural methods to create meanings. Students are required to present a clear, well-supported argument which demonstrates their knowledge of the text within its literary, historical and social contexts. |
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Spring |
Identity ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ RL Stevenson
How does RL Stevenson use characters and settings to explore and question Victorian values?
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Write a description using an image as a stimulus. In this assessment, students are required to craft their writing to create atmosphere. Students are required to write accurately, organising their work into a range of sentence types and structures. Students are required to use a wide range of punctuation using language and structural methods to engage readers.
How does RL Stevenson present Hyde as a frightening outsider? In this assessment, students are required to track characterisation across a text, exploring how the writer uses language and structural methods to create meanings. Students are required to present a clear, well-supported argument which demonstrates their knowledge of the text within its literary, historical and social contexts. |
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Summer |
Poetry Anthology ‘Power and Conflict’ cluster. How do poets present the themes of power and conflict?
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Compare how the poets present ideas about power in Ozymandias and one other poem in the poetry anthology.
In this assessment, students are required to compare the methods poets use to present ideas about power within their historical, social and literary contexts.
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Year 11 |
Thematic Unit |
Assessment |
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Autumn |
Explorations in creative reading and writing |
English Language Paper 1 Mock Exam In this assessment, students are required to demonstrate a range of reading skills, which include retrieval and evaluation. They are required to identify and explore the effects of the language and structural methods used in unseen texts. Students are also required to write creatively and accurately in timed conditions, demonstrating their ability to use language and structure successfully.
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Spring |
Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives
Responsibility How do writers present characters and themes? In preparation for the GCSE Literature exam in Year 10, we study ‘An Inspector Calls’ by JB Priestley. We explore plot, characters, themes, contexts and the writer’s intentions. |
English Language Paper 2 Mock Exam In this assessment, students are required to demonstrate a range of reading skills, which include summary and inference. They are required to identify and compare the effects of the language and structural methods used in unseen texts. Students are also required to write creatively and accurately in timed conditions, demonstrating their ability to use language and structure successfully.
How does Priestley present responsibility in ‘An Inspector Calls’?
In this assessment students are required to analyse the presentation of a theme across a text, exploring how the writer uses language and structural methods to create meanings. Students are required to present a clear, well-supported argument which demonstrates their knowledge of the text within its literary, historical and social contexts.
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Summer |
Poetry Anthology
How do poets present the themes of power and conflict?
Revision and exam practice |
Compare how the poets present ideas about power in Ozymandias and one other poem in the poetry anthology.
In this assessment, students are required to compare the methods poets use to present ideas about power within their historical, social and literary contexts.
Timed Exam Practice Responses Students are required to plan and produce timed exam responses which demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and personal engagement with the texts studied. |
The website for the exam board with specification and other material is indicated below.
Useful Documents
Year 7 Independent Learning Booklet FEHSYear 8 Independent Learning Booklet FEHSYear 9 Independent Learning Booklet FEHS
Year 7 Extension ActivitiesYear 8 Extension Activities 2022Year 9 Extension Activties 2022
