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English

Key Stage 3

During KS3, students take part in a wide variety of engaging activities, developing their skills in Reading, Writing and Speaking and Listening. They explore, analyse and create a wide range of fiction and non-fiction, including poetry, prose and media texts and they also participate in Speaking and Listening activities, such as role-play, group discussions and presentations.

Key topics:

Year 7

* 'The Island'

* Poetry

* Media: magazines and advertising

* A novel: 'Skellig' by David Almond or 'Private Peaceful' by Michael Morpurgo

* Horror stories

* 'Macbeth' by William Shakespeare

Year 8

* 'Frankenstein'

* Music Project

* Slavery

* Poetry

* A novel

Year 9

* Place: holiday brochures, settings, travel writing etc.

* 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens

* 'Much Ado about Nothing' by William Shakespeare

* 'Blood Brothers' by Willy Russell

* Power and Conflict poetry

* 19th century non-fiction

* Creative writing

 Key Skills:

Reading

Pupils are taught to develop an appreciation and love of reading, and read increasingly challenging material independently through:

* Reading a wide range of fiction and non-fiction, including in particular whole books, short stories, poems and plays with a wide coverage of genres, historical periods, forms and authors. The range will include high-quality works from pre-1914 and contemporary literature, including prose, poetry and drama, Shakespeare (two plays), seminal world literature

* Choosing and reading books independently for challenge, interest and enjoyment.

* Re-reading books encountered earlier to increase familiarity with them and provide a basis for making comparisons.

* Understand increasingly challenging texts through:

* Learning new vocabulary, relating it explicitly to known vocabulary and understanding it with the help of context and dictionaries

* Making inferences and referring to evidence in the text

* Knowing the purpose, audience for and context of the writing and drawing on this knowledge to support comprehension

* checking their understanding to make sure that what they have read makes sense.

Pupils are taught to read critically through:

* Knowing how language, including figurative language, vocabulary choice, grammar, text structure and organisational features, presents meaning

* Recognising a range of poetic conventions and understanding how these have been used

* Studying setting, plot, and characterisation, and the effects of these

* Understanding how the work of dramatists is communicated effectively through performance and how alternative staging allows for different interpretations of a play

* Making critical comparisons across texts

* Studying a range of authors, including at least two authors in depth each year.

Writing

Pupils are taught to: write accurately, fluently, effectively and at length for pleasure and information through:

* Writing for a wide range of purposes and audiences, including:

* Well-structured formal expository and narrative essays

* Stories, scripts, poetry and other imaginative writing

* Notes and polished scripts for talks and presentations

* A range of other narrative and non-narrative texts, including arguments, and personal and formal letters

* Summarising and organising material, and supporting ideas and arguments with any necessary factual detail

* Applying their growing knowledge of vocabulary, grammar and text structure to their writing and selecting the appropriate form

* Drawing on knowledge of literary and rhetorical devices from their reading and listening to enhance the impact of their writing

Pupils are taught to plan, draft, edit and proof-read through:

* Considering how their writing reflects the audiences and purposes for which it was intended

* Amending the vocabulary, grammar and structure of their writing to improve its coherence and overall effectiveness

Grammar and vocabulary

Pupils are taught to consolidate and build on their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary through:

* Extending and applying the grammatical knowledge acquired at KS2

* Studying the effectiveness and impact of the grammatical features of the texts they read

* Drawing on new vocabulary and grammatical constructions from their reading and listening, and using these consciously in their writing and speech to achieve particular effects

* Knowing and understanding the differences between spoken and written language, including differences associated with formal and informal registers, and between Standard English and other varieties of English

* Using Standard English confidently in their own writing and speech

* Discussing reading, writing and spoken language with precise and confident use of linguistic and literary terminology

Spoken English

Pupils are taught to speak confidently and effectively through:

* Using Standard English confidently in a range of formal and informal contexts, including classroom discussion

* Giving short speeches and presentations, expressing their own ideas and keeping to the point

* Participating in formal debates and structured discussions, summarising and/or building on what has been said

* Improvising, rehearsing and performing play scripts and poetry in order to generate language and discuss language use and meaning, using role, intonation, tone, volume, mood, silence, stillness and action to add impact.

Key Stage 4

During Years 10 and 11, most students follow courses in GCSE English Language and GCSE English Literature, leading to two GCSE qualifications. Some students follow a combined course, called GCSE English, leading to one GCSE English qualification.

Throughout Year 10, students will complete controlled assessments which will contribute to their final GCSE grade. After completing their controlled assessments tasks, Year 11 students will prepare for the GCSE English, English Language and English Literature exams.

Key Topics:

Year 10: Controlled Assessments

English Language

Study of spoken language

'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck

Two creative writing tasks

3 speaking and listening tasks: presenting , discussing and listening, role play.

English

'Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare

'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck

Literary Heritage poetry

Two creative writing tasks

3 speaking and listening tasks: presenting , discussing and listening, role play.

English Literature

'Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare and poetry from the English Literary Heritage

Year 11: GCSE Exam Preparation

English Language/English Exam Preparation

Non-fiction reading and analysis

Writing for a range of audiences and purposes

English Literature

'Conflict' poetry from the AQA poetry anthology 'Moonlight on the Tides'

Unseen poetry

A collection of short stories from the AQA anthology 'Sunlight on the Grass'

'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck

Key Skills:

Speaking and Listening

(English and English Language)

* Speak to communicate clearly and purposefully; structure and sustain talk, adapting it to different situations and

audiences; use standard English and a variety of techniques as appropriate.

* Listen and respond to speakers’ ideas and perspectives, and how they construct and

express meanings.

* Interact with others, shaping meanings through suggestions, comments and questions and drawing ideas together.

* Create and sustain different roles.

Reading

(English and English Language)

* Read and understand texts, selecting material appropriate to purpose, collating from different sources and making comparisons and cross references as appropriate.

* Develop and sustain interpretations of writers’ ideas and perspectives.

* Explain and evaluate how writers use linguistic, grammatical, structural and presentational features to achieve effects and engage and influence the reader.

* Understand texts in their social, cultural and historical contexts. (English only).

Writing

(English and English Language)

* Write to communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, using and adapting forms and selecting vocabulary appropriate to task and

purpose in ways that engage the reader.

* Organise information and ideas into structured and sequenced sentences, paragraphs and whole texts, using a variety of linguistic and structural features to support cohesion and overall coherence.

* Use a range of sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate punctuation and spelling.

Study of Spoken Language (English Language only)

* Understand variations in spoken language, explaining why language changes in relation to contexts.

* Evaluate the impact of spoken language choices in their own and others’ use.

GCSE English Literature

Respond to texts critically and imaginatively, select and evaluate textual detail to illustrate and support interpretations.

Explain how language, structure and form contribute to the writers' presentation of ideas, themes and settings.

Make comparison and explain links between texts, evaluating writers' different ways of expressing meaning and achieving effects.

Relate texts to their social, historical and cultural context; explain how texts have been influential and significant to self and other readers in different contexts and at different times.

Quality of Written Communication

Students must also:

* Ensure that text is legible and that spelling, punctuation and grammar are accurate so that the meaning is clear.

* Select and use a form and style of writing appropriate to purpose and to complex subject matter.

* Organise information clearly and coherently, using specialist vocabulary when relevant.

Full Curriculum Statements can be downloaded below: