English

Aim

Encourage a passion for reading and writing creatively
Introduce and develop key skills
Prepare students for GCSE style exams
Introduce students to a variety of texts
Develop students’ understanding of the authors’ methods

Topics covered

In each year, students will:

Study a modern text
Study a Shakespeare play
Examine 19th Century fiction and non-fiction
Study poetry
Develop their writing skills
Examine unseen texts
Write and deliver presentations to the class (spoken language)

Here is a list of some of the texts that we study each year. Texts are selected by the class teacher:

Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck
Animal Farm George Orwell
To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee
Face Benjamin Zephaniah
Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare

Teaching groups

Students are taught in mixed ability groups. However, these groups change from year to year. Apart from a small group, students are never set in English.

Assessment

Students complete assessments at the end of each half-term. These are based on the new GCSE exams. All students are given a Paper 1 style exam at the end of the year. This is based on the GCSE paper in which they read a piece of unseen fiction. They then have four reading questions, followed by a writing task.

How to support at home

Encourage students to read a variety of texts
Read with your child
Encourage students to check all of their written work