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. 

Two written exams.  Each paper is 1 hour 45 minutes with 25% on reading and 25% on writing.  Each paper contributes 50% towards the final grade.

Careers that may interest you if you particularly enjoy English Language include Journalism, Publishing, Teaching English, Law, Public Relations, Advertising, and translating and interpreting work.

Half Term 1 - ‘Stories You Should Know’, interleaved with ‘Creative Writing’.

We believe that in order to access and understand the world of literature with enjoyment and the confidence to critique, our students need to know some of the staple stories that writers often refer to (allude to). With this in mind, we have selected stories that aim to build students’ knowledge of important mythical, biblical and religious allusions in order for them to better access literature this year and beyond. 

The stories have been chosen to complement allusions central to the core texts: A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (AMND) and The Graveyard Book (TGB).

The interleaved creative writing scheme will work to consolidate and secure key grammar and literacy skills developed at Key Stage Two when applying them to their own writing.

Half Term 2 & 3 - ‘Refugee Boy’, Shakespeare, interleaved and ‘Poetry Through the Ages’

During half-term 2, students will investigate current affairs and anti-racism through the play ‘Refugee Boy’. During the reading of this play, students will take a look at the media coverage of events such as: The Windrush Generation, migration, the refugee experience and prejudice and discrimination in society - both within the context of the play and our society. The issues (key themes) raised in the plays and poems allow our students to question, reflect and develop morally, culturally and academically through discussion , drama, debate, reading and research.

After the reading of ‘Refugee Boy’, students will research and explore an introduction to Shakespeare through investigating the context of the time and how society was constructed.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is used as the anchor text off which the poetry unit hinges.  The idea behind spending a whole term on each anchor text is to ensure students have time to review and delve deeper into literary texts through drama, investigative research and character development.

Through the poetry unit, students are taken on a journey through literature allowing them to see how the art of literature has transformed from oral tradition to what we see today. 

Half Term 4&5 - The Graveyard Book interleaved with Gothic Fiction

Students develop their journey through literature through the gothic genre.  This should help to embed an appreciation of the genre and the possibilities of conventions and innovations within genres - linking to ideas explored in Media Studies too.

The interleaved scheme aims to build students’ confidence and skills when exploring and investigating unseen texts through extract analysis.

The Graveyard Book was chosen partly for its intertextual possibilities and sense of challenge, but also through the writer’s vivid imagery and use of structure to increase tension. Students will be able to make several links to the allusions they studied at the beginning of the term and analyse their meaning and significance, thereby developing their cultural literacy.

Half Term 6 - Non-Fiction unit linked to TGB themes prevalent today.

Newspaper Writing on a key theme evident in the class text:

• Education
• Community
• Compassion and forgiveness
• Love and Loss
• Good vs Evil

Students will have spent some time producing newspaper articles throughout the year, and this is where they will tie all of their knowledge from the year into one project. In this project we want to see their investigative journalism flourish and for them to begin critically exploring current affairs via the themes explored in the classroom. Furthermore, students should be able to demonstrate their own critical application in how they present and structure their newspaper article.

Year 8 - critics

Half Term 1- Stories you Should Know, interleaved with Protest Poetry

We believe that in order to access and understand the world of literature with enjoyment and the confidence to critique, our students need to know some of the staple stories that writers often refer to (allude to). With this in mind, we have selected stories that aim to build students’ knowledge of important mythical, biblical and religious allusions in order for them to better access literature this year and beyond. 

The stories have been chosen to complement allusions central to the core texts: ‘The Tempest’ and 'Where the World Ends’ (WTWE).

The interleaved protest poetry scheme aims to enrich the students’ critical minds and analysis of unseen poetry. They will consider how and why writers showcase their opinions through their careful selection of language, form and structure.

Half Term 2&3 - Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ interleaved with the Art of Rhetoric.

This year’s Shakespeare play is ‘The Tempest’. During this unit, students will develop their critical thinking skills when exploring key concepts such as colonisation and ‘The Other’ and the conflict surrounding hierarchy. Students will write a speech exploring the character of Caliban, whilst exploring how characters and themes have developed throughout the play.

Half Term 4&5 - Where the world Ends interleaved with Nature, and the idea of the sublime (linked to Romantic ideas)

A second novel in KS3 aims to crystallise enjoyment, engagement and confidence with a whole literary text. Students will be able to make intertextual links to the allusions that they studied at the beginning of the term and analyse their meaning and significance, in turn developing their cultural literacy.

Interleaved scheme: As year 8 students, it is important that we make links between literature and the wider world. In the interleaved scheme students will investigate and produce presentations on issues such as Chernobyl. They will look at extreme weathers and write poems about them, contrasting them with the beauty of nature and its benefits. The appreciation of nature forms a huge part of the literary world, whether it be a simple setting, description of the weather conditions, or as a metaphor to express mood and feeling. Students will work to create their own piece of writing where they too try to use weather as a metaphor/symbol for a wider issue.

Half Term 6 - Non-Fiction unit linked to WTWE themes prevalent today.

Speech writing, consolidating and improving their speeches from half-term 2 and 3

• LGBTQI+
• Gender expectations: patriarchy, toxic masculinity, misogyny
• Religion
• Mental Health
• Loneliness
• Community

Year 9 - scholars

As a department, we reviewed our entire Year 9 curriculum to ensure that we were enriching our students morally, academically and culturally. In order to do this, we have placed a heavy emphasis on building an inclusive curriculum. A curriculum that celebrates, explores, and places a much needed spotlight on a range of perspectives outside of the traditional literary canon.

Half-term 1 and 2 - Now or Never, by Bali Rai, interleaved with war poetry

A new text to 2021.

Narrated by Private Fazal Khan, a young Muslim soldier in Company 32 of the Royal Indian Army Service Corps, shares his experiences of fighting in World War II under the British Forces.

Students will take a dive into history and the British Empire, whilst building a greater - more holistic - understanding of the British army and all involved. Students will explore racial prejudice, discrimination and conflict, whilst developing the exploration of ‘The Other’ from Year 8 and how writers use metaphors and symbols to shape meaning.

The scheme will be interleaved with war poems from a range of perspectives and cultures in order to offer greater insight into how war impacted the lives of many. Students will develop their literary scholarship through their personal and analytical responses to the selected poems.

Half Term 3 and 4 - Diverse Texts, interleaved with Speech Writing

During these interleaved units students will actively participate in discussion, debate, reflection and critical thinking. Students will explore current affairs through the experiences, voices and perspectives of others - opening them up to build their emotional intelligence and vision of the world we live in. They will use short extracts to inspire their own persuasive speeches, securing and reapplying skills developed in Year 8’s ‘The Art of Rhetoric’ scheme.

Half-term 5 and 6 - Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’, interleaved with Creative Writing (descriptive)

An age-old vendetta between two powerful families erupts into bloodshed.

A story of star-crossed lovers.

A tragedy.

From Year 7’s comedy, to Year 8’s tragicomedy, to Year 9 and the tragedy. Students will have explored an array of Shakespeare’s devices, themes and plot structure. Here they will look at the true genre of tragedy, including the influence of historical Greek Tragedies. 

Students will develop a critical approach to exploring Shakespeare, critiquing his presentation of themes such as: love, violence, power, ambition and destiny and fate. They will read, watch, perform and analyse key scenes and method choices in order to gain a true understanding of the power of language, structure and form in literature.

This scheme will be interleaved with creative writing, where students will mimic methods used by the writers they have explored from Year 7 to Year 9 in order to produce a convincing and compelling piece of writing.

By the end of Year 9, students should have a deeper understanding and appreciation of language and literature and how writers convey their attitudes, views and feelings through the careful employment of language, form and structure.

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. 

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. 

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. 

Half Term 1 - An Inspector Calls revision, interleaved with 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