English Curriculum

Our understanding of English informs the way in which we communicate with, interact with, form opinions of and understanding the world and all relationships that we make. This is why we intend for all of our learners to be competent and confident in all areas of communication within writing, reading, speaking and listening. The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment and being inquisitive. Our intent is to give students the input and understanding to be able to read easily, fluently, with good understanding and with enjoyment.

With regular reading lessons and links to literacy throughout the year, we intend for our students to develop the habit of reading widely and often — for both pleasure and information — and alongside this to acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language, and to appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage by exploring a range of cultures, eras and viewpoints. Home learning extends and supports these values outside the classroom too. We also place importance on ensuring that our students are able to write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences, and to use discussion in order to learn — elaborating and explaining their understanding and ideas while listening to and building upon the contributions of others. Moving towards GCSE, students should identify a range of language and structural techniques and use these to analyse texts and extracts.

Students will explore a variety of texts that encourage learning of cultures, society and British values, allowing them to learn and debate morals, viewpoints and opinions, and in turn be able to apply the skills of summary, inference, comprehension, analysis and explanation to demonstrate new learning, challenge ideas and forge personal responses to characters and themes within texts and extracts. Students are encouraged to share viewpoints and discuss answers, and as they move towards GCSE, presenting ideas carefully and listening and responding to other viewpoints will further support communication skills for the future.

Teachers adapt their individual lessons accordingly to ensure all students are appropriately challenged, and students with educational needs are supported to enable them to make progress and learn the same skills on the learning journey in preparation for success at GCSE. Teachers work closely with the SEN department and through research to ensure a variety of resources and teaching styles are used to have the most effective impact on both challenge and supported learning. The curriculum is carefully planned to ensure progression of challenge through text choices and assessment to demonstrate skill, with all teaching leading a range of skills towards the assessment objectives for GCSE as well as the life and communication skills needed for the future.

KS3 English

In our lessons, we implement the curriculum by immersing students in a range of texts and tasks that enhance spoken English, reading comprehension, writing and analysis skills. Through studying novels like Holes by Louis Sachar and Boys Don't Cry by Malorie Blackman, alongside plays such as William Shakespeare's Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream, students develop a nuanced understanding of themes, language, and context. Reading lessons focus on building new vocabulary, honing inference and evidence-based skills, and analysing language and dramatic techniques. Satellite texts by Maya Angelou, Edgar Allan Poe, Sita Brahmachari, and Emily Bronte deepen their understanding of central themes, allowing for rich comparative discussions and connections.

Spoken English is interwoven throughout lessons, with activities emphasising Standard English in formal contexts. Students practice expressing their ideas confidently, using paralinguistic features, and structuring their arguments effectively. These skills are further reinforced through debates, dramatic readings, and role-playing.

Writing tasks are varied and purposeful, including analytical paragraphs, creative narratives, and transactional texts. Students focus on planning, editing, and revising to improve coherence, effect, and accuracy in SPaG. Creative exploration is encouraged, with students experimenting with literary and rhetorical devices to suit different audiences and purposes, building both technical skill and personal voice.

KS4 English

At Key Stage 4 in years 9 and 10 we teach the AQA English Literature GCSE course. Students will develop their reading, writing and discussion skills through a wide range of texts including the Power and Conflict poetry anthology, An Inspector Calls, Romeo and Juliet, A Christmas Carol and various forms and collections of Unseen poetry. Reading skills are supported and modelled by staff so that inference, deduction, analysis and exploration are all skills students can utilise when reading. When writing about the texts we support, model and encourage students to write about their interpretations and share their ideas using high level vocabulary, paragraph and sentence structure, using punctuation for effect and linking techniques and contexts to further extend their viewpoints and understanding. We use the structure What, How, Why to encourage creativity and personality through their written responses.

In Year 11 we further hone and extend these skills through the English Language GCSE that works through skills of retrieval, analysis, exploring language and structural techniques, summarising details and comparing key aspects and viewpoints whilst analysing opinions. Both papers cover a range of fiction and non-fiction and so students are challenged with a wide variety of texts and past papers to learn and display their skills.

KS5 English Language

Students will develop their learning of the course through analysis of articles and linguistic theories, discussing their own opinions on results and using accurate subject terminology to express their own perspectives by using theorists and models to support their responses. They will develop their understanding of how language is representative through group and independent research, which will be presented in a variety of forms, including articles and speeches. Pre-lesson learning, questioning, and interleaving of prior knowledge bridge the discussions from within the classroom, prompting students to question and critique theories. Students will also develop their independent research skills and apply their knowledge of appropriate linguistic methods to a variety of texts from a similar genre to support their own creative writing piece.

KS5 English Literature

Students will read critically and learn to make evaluative judgements about a range of texts across varied contexts and cultures from 16th Century England up to 21st Century United States and beyond. The use of lesson materials will facilitate class discussions on the themes and ideas of a range of texts. Whilst wider reading of critical theories will begin in the classroom and continue through independent learning. Our students gain a large understanding of historical context as well as literary forms, methods and interpretation. Students will develop their communication skills through formal and academic writing.

Texts covered throughout the course on Paper 1: Othello, The Great Gatsby and the Pre-1900 anthology; for the NEA: The Kite Runner. Texts covered on Paper 2: Feminine Gospels — Carol Ann Duffy, A Streetcar Named Desire — Tennessee Williams, The Help — Kathryn Stockett, and Unseen Prose.

Throughout the course, students will gain an awareness of a variety of texts, cultural contexts and analytical skills that prepare them for their GCSE exam and future life. They will be able to look at authors' intentions and messages linked to the wider world of culture and society, and analyse personal response, shaped arguments and opinions. The course encourages critical thinking; it encourages a love of reading and writing, and students become analytical readers who identify themes, characterisation, plot devices, structural devices and use of language techniques to create imagery.

Students are taught the necessary technical language needed to analyse texts and poems, learn quotations, and demonstrate confidence and knowledge in response to questions and examinations. These skills develop memory and the facility to interpret, dissect and critique. Exposure to classic and modern writing — and to first-class writing — is intended to help students to become creative in themselves.

English complements the work that students learn in other subjects, and for some it will be the basis of a career in which they use the written word — journalist, PR, publicity, author, teacher, lawyer, curator — for impact and effect. The Spoken Language assessment prepares students for interviews, speaking professionally and clearly, preparing and presenting their ideas and meeting deadlines.

The aim is to ensure that all students make progress throughout the course and are equipped to the best of their ability. Students should take pride in their work, and their assessments demonstrate learning, revision and progress as they build on prior learning. Student work demonstrates confidence and progression of learning as the curriculum is taught and becomes more challenging, and students leave English ready to succeed in a range of academic destinations including sixth form, college, universities and apprenticeships.