English - Key Stages 3 and 4

Many people have a love for reading and writing.  Reading or creating inspiring, imaginatively constructed and impactful texts can provide a real source of enjoyment.  When studying English Language, 'Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing', you will explore how different writers use narrative and descriptive techniques to engage and interest readers. You will develop your writing skills and write clearly, coherently and accurately using a range of vocabulary and sentence structures. When studying English Language, 'Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives', you will explore the writers' ideas, intentions and emotions and how texts are carefully constructed for different purposes and effects. You will be able to reflect on your own writing and consciously craft non-fiction texts to achieve different purposes and effects.

GCSE English Language

Two exams.  Each paper is 1 hour 45 minutes with 25% on reading and 25% on writing.  English Language Paper One (Explorations in creative reading and writing) is based on fiction reading and writing. English Language Paper Two (Writer’s viewpoints and perspectives) is based on non-fiction reading and writing.

GCSE English Literature

Two exams. English Literature paper one (Shakespeare & the 19th century text) is 1 hour 45 minutes. English Literature paper two (Modern texts and poetry) is 2 hours 15 minutes.

GCSE English, despite being a compulsory subject, is a fantastic pathway to all career paths. We all need to be strong communicators whether that be through writing, spoken word and the way in which we read information to inform all of the above.

Great pathways include: journalism, producing, directing, authors, publishing, law, teaching, public relations, advertising, and interpreting and translating work.

Half-term one begins with a ‘fast read’ of ‘Blackberry Blue’ by Jamila Gavin whereby students are immersed in the world of heroism and fantasy. Students will listen to the reading of the short stories whilst working on the summary skills.

Half-term one will continue with the theme of short stories and students will use their knowledge of ‘Blackberry Blue’ and other well-known short stories like Joan of Arc and Hercules to plan, create, edit their own short story. This creative writing will form part of assessment one.

Half-term two and three Students will complete a ‘fast read’ of the ‘The Graveyard Book’ and once they have read the story in its entirety, students will then dissect methods that the writer has used to help shape meaning and the gothic genre, and themes. Students will try to mimic methods in their own gothic tale. The writing of a gothic story will form part of their end of year assessment.

Half-term four Students will look at poetry through the ages to secure poetic form and terminology; this will allow students to understand the writer’s intention and contextual influence. The focus will be on engaging with and increasing enjoyment in poetry and its performance.

Half-term five and six will consist of exploring Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ where students will watch, perform and read scenes from the comedy play. Alongside this students will analyse how relationships are presented within the play, whilst also considering the historical context of society within Shakespeare’s life and ancient Greece.

What will assessments consist of in Year 7?

Year 7 assessment one: comprehension, narrative arc and writing the opening of their own heroic tale

Year 7 end of year assessment: assessing key terms and concepts from throughout the year, a small analysis task and writing the opening of their gothic tale

What is the set homework in Year 7?

1. A weekly reading journal entry - completed online, via their English Google Classroom
2. Revising commonly misspelled words and key tier 2 vocabulary (specific to our subject but helpful for others)

Half-term one Students will study the rise of Gothic and Gothic Romanticism. They will look at a variety of Gothic texts, revise gothic conventions, sentence levels, literary devices, and SPaG from Year 7. Reading for meaning interleaved with. Their analytical writing will focus on texts such as ‘The Castle of Otranto’, ‘Dracula’, ‘Great Expectations’, ’Lady of the House of Love’ and ‘The Landlady’.  This scheme will be interleaved with a study of media where they will critically explore the conventions and apply their knowledge to the creation and marketing of their own Gothic film poster using Canva.

Half-term two will consist of a study of  an anthology of poetry and lyrics. Students engage with real world dilemmas and inequalities through the symbolic imagery. We will aim to build upon our emotional intelligence when critically exploring topics surrounding moral compass, morality, cultures and human experience.

Half-term three  and four will focus upon the  study of Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’  Students will be able to critique Shakespeare’s presentation of power, control and ‘the other’. We will focus on analysis of key scenes culminating in a rhetorical speech on the character of Caliban. 

Half-term five and six will be spent studying ‘Where the World Ends’ by Geraldine McCaughrean critique’ the effect of the writer’s choices and how they shape meaning; the key focus being on analysing characterisation, imagery and tone through the author's choices in language and structure.This will build on from Y7 investigative analysis and critiquing Shakespeare’s choices when analysing ‘The Tempest’.

Half-term one and two students will study an anthology of texts called ‘Diverse Shorts’ which contain important messages on how to be a good human being. Focusing on both transactional writing and analytical writing a diverse range of ideas and perspectives are explored.

Half-term three and four will focus upon the study of Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Students will continue to develop their analysis and critical reading skills. They will look closely at choices the writer makes in terms of language/form/structure and how these contribute to overall meaning. We will guide them to make informed judgements about the play using evaluative language.

Half-term five and six students will study the play ‘DNA’ by Dennis Kelly. Following the completion of a read-through of the play, students will develop their ability to express fluently and effectively through dramatisation and discussion. We will focus on our understanding of the language of drama and use students' inference skills to convey thoughts, feelings and perspectives.

Half Term 1 and half-term 2 - English Literature Paper 2 An Inspector Calls interleaved with English Language Paper 2 Writing.

In 2019, the exam board stressed the importance of students engaging with wider issues of inequality, injustice, gender, race, age, democracy etc.  Students begin here to grapple with those ideas in their own writing, inspired by some of the issues thrown up in the play.

We have decided to start the year with the study of a modern play in order to encourage students to critically explore concepts such as sound and lighting during performance. By starting with a modern play we are providing the students with an engaging introduction to the GCSE course that will equip them with necessary skills to interpret other texts at a deeper level.

The reason for pairing ‘An Inspector Calls' with the writing component of Language Paper 2 is to focus on the transactional and persuasive devices used within the monologues of key characters. This demonstrates and teaches students how to read a text with a critical lens, but also how to transfer the skills of accomplished writers into their own creative writing.

 At the end of half terms 1 and 2 students will be able to demonstrate their knowledge of An Inspector Calls and write about the play using GCSE vocabulary and demonstrating skills required for examinations.

Students will also be able to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in persuasive writing for section B of Language Paper 2.

Half Term 3 and half-term 4 - English Literature Paper 1: A Christmas Carol or Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Interleaved with a creative writing task (Language Paper 1)

Through the critical exploration of methods used by Dickens and Stevenson, students will gain a conceptualised understanding of the use of creative methods to shape meaning and engage and impact readers. Through developing this understanding we are supporting students to become conscious crafters of their writing.

Half Term 5 - PPEs. PPE preparation, interleaved with the Spoken Language Endorsement.

At this point in the year students will be able to demonstrate their learning in the end of year pre-public examinations. This will be via a full Language Paper 2 and a closed book assessment of An Inspector Calls.

Once PPEs have been completed, students will move onto the compulsory and important part of the GCSE course - the Spoken Language endorsement. This aspect of the course offers students an opportunity to reflect on their progress through the course so far and their choice of topic is hopefully influenced by their studies.

 Half Term 6 - Close study of Macbeth as a Lit text

Students engaged with and gained an understanding of Macbeth in year 9; now they will study it as a literary text. Students will now closely examine and analyse the characters, themes and language features of the play. Students will also consider the importance and impact of structural features of the play with a view to writing critically about Shakespeare’s ideas at a high level.

 How are they assessed and taught exam practice throughout  the year?

Students will complete walking talking mocks for Language paper 2 throughout the academic year. Alongside the walking talking mock (which is where teachers give students a real exam paper, go through the timings and requirements of each question) students will also complete - from half-term two - biweekly PLP (Pause, Let’s Practice) tasks. Students will, overtime develop confidence in exam practice through regular independent time practice, with whole-class feedback. Students will also be taught what revision looks like in English with time set aside to create revision resources.

What will their formal assessments be?

Assessment one: Language paper 2, Q5 and one ‘An Inspector Calls’ essay (closed book exam).

PPEs: a full Language Paper 2 and a full Literature paper 1 (Shakespeare and the 19th century text (‘A Christmas Carol)

What does homework look like in Year 10?

1. Seneca Learning - consolidating and revising the studied text through online quizzing
2. Revision task: making flashcards, building character profiles, quote explosions, using their flashcards, mind-dumps, etc.

Half Term 1 - An Inspector Calls revision, interleaved Language Paper 2, question 5 and speech writing - plus performances.

The reason for pairing ‘An Inspector Calls' with the writing component of Language Paper 2 is to focus on the transactional and persuasive devices used within the monologues of key characters. This demonstrates and teaches students how to read a text with a critical lens, but also how to transfer the skills of accomplished writers into their own creative writing.

Students will complete walking talking mocks for Language paper 2 throughout lessons. During these fortnightly sessions teachers will model and breakdown the approaches to each question, ensuring that students feel confidently equipped to complete questions independently.

Walking Talking Mocks (Language Paper 2) are scheduled throughout the half-term in preparation for their PPEs in November.

Half Term 2 - PPEs. Shakespeare revision, interleaved with unseen poetry.

Revision and reflection on last year's PPEs. Students will be given feedback that allows them to focus on key targets through tailored preparation and responsive teaching.

The reason for studying Shakespeare after ‘An Inspector Calls’ is to encourage students to critically examine the text with the techniques deployed by playwrights still in mind. This will develop their critical analysis of Shakespeare’s text as a play, rather than piece of fiction.

Walking Talking Mocks (Language Paper 1) are scheduled throughout the half-term in preparation for their PPEs in February.

A new tailored scheme to support unseen poetry skills. This unit factors in the exam board changes for 2022 only (TBC); the poetry anthology has not been selected in order to reduce the cognitive load on students and allow them to revise and consolidate their knowledge of Literature texts that they have previously studied.  

Half-term 3 - 19th century texts, interleaved with unseen poetry

After studying both plays, students will move onto 19th century fiction in order to refresh and consolidate their knowledge of these two examination texts. In addition, students will grasp and explore the concept of great readers as great writers where they apply examined methods in their own writing. This will be assessed in half-term 4.

The unseen poetry unit will continue alongside this in order to support and enrich students' understanding of the conscious choices writers make to shape meaning.

Half Term 4 - Language Paper 1, with an explicit focus on conscious crafting of writing

Students will be encouraged to reflect, dissect and edit their own writing in preparation for the PPEs and end of year examinations. Using previous knowledge and skills from the last half term, students will demonstrate their abilities as writers who craft their work for effect and impact.

Revision and reflection on progress from PPEs and in-class assessments.

Tailored preparation and responsive teaching.

Half Term 5 - All Language and Literature Revision.

During this final half-term, before the students sit their GCSE exams, students will receive highly tailored and personalised preparation for the National exams.

Throughout the year students would have received explicit teaching of how to revise and how to improve their confidence and understanding of the examinations through retrieval practice and the spaced-learning approach. These skills will be repeated and consolidated as teachers use responsive teaching in order to diagnose areas to develop, whilst also encouraging students to be reflective readers and writers.

Half Term 6 - Exams

How are they assessed and taught exam practice throughout the year?

Students will complete walking talking mocks for Language paper 2 throughout the academic year. Alongside the walking talking mock (which is where teachers give students a real exam paper, go through the timings and requirements of each question) students will also complete - from half-term two - biweekly PLP (Pause, Let’s Practice) tasks. Students will, overtime develop confidence in exam practice through regular independent time practice, with whole-class feedback. Students will also be taught what revision looks like in English with time set aside to create revision resources.

What will their formal assessments be?

PPE 1: Language paper 2, section A only (they will have written and performed a speech for their Speaking and Listening endorsement in the first three weeks and one 19th century essay (‘A Christmas Carol’ or ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’) and one ‘Power and Conflict’ essay (of the studied poems)

In-class (January): One ‘Mabceth’ essay.

PPE 2 a full Language Paper 1 and a full Literature paper 2 (‘An Inspector Calls’, ‘Power and Conflict’ and the unseen poems.

What does homework look like in Year 10?

1. Seneca Learning - consolidating and revising the studied text through online quizzing
2. Revision task: making flashcards, building character profiles, quote explosions, using their flashcards, mind-dumps, etc.