English

The learning journey begins by exploring the form of fiction by reading the contemporary bildungsroman adventure novel, Hargrave’s ‘Girl of Ink and Stars’. Students will use it as a platform to develop their knowledge and skills of creative writing and analytical reading. We aim to build upon experiences from KS2 by opening them up to new and increasingly complex subject specific terminology and thematic vocabulary. We then move onto studying Shakespeare, specifically ‘Romeo and Juliet’. We have made a conscious decision to study the full text as an in-depth introduction to Shakespeare developing on their KS2 knowledge. We want our students to develop their confidence in tackling unfamiliar contexts, concepts and vocabulary to develop their reading skills of inference, deduction and analysis of writer’s craft/methods. The curriculum then moves onto a study of poetry keeping the theme of love and relationships which includes poems from a range of cultures to enable a rich study of the human condition through the representation of different voices. The year ends by studying the theme of conflict and relationships in non-fiction using the anchor text of ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’ and writing their own non-fiction in response to issues raised. 

At the beginning of Year 8 students will revisit the fiction form by studying Gothic literature. We will explore Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ as well as extracts from other Gothic novels during this study. Students will build on their fiction experiences from Year 7 by studying and analysing the specific conventions of the Gothic and using these to develop their creative writing. In the Spring term, students will study the play form, specifically Shaw’s ‘Pygmalion’. This have been chosen as it explores the big ideas of power, justice and satire. We want our students to build on their experiences of Shakespeare from Y7 and introduce a modern play to enable them to explore and understand the playwright’s craft as well as engage with these themes via analytical and personal, creative responses. Following this, students will study a range of poetry exploring the theme of social justice building on knowledge of methods learned in Year 7. Students end the year by revisiting non-fiction, to continue to explore the key themes of power and justice. Students will use this as a platform to develop their own non-fiction writing and personal voice. 

During this pivotal year, students will revisit all of the forms previously studied and embed knowledge and skills as well as experience different voices and opportunities to respond. The year begins by studying detective fiction: ‘The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’. As part of this unit, students will read and respond to texts analytically and deepen their creative writing skills by focusing on whole text structural techniques. Students will then study Shakespeare’s King Lear which builds on knowledge of language, methods and themes from previous years, specifically the big ideas of conflict and the abuse of power as well as the Shakespearean tragedy. They will then revisit poetry by continuing to explore the theme of conflict and developing their understanding of how poetry is used for purpose. The end of Year 9 brings a revisit of non-fiction, a critical essay exploring gender and ideology: ‘We Should all be Feminists.’ This unit enables students to strengthen their understanding of non-fiction and experience the critical essay form; students will also produce their own non-fiction writing as a result of their reading. 

Their journey here begins by bringing together their study of fiction and creative writing by understanding how to respond to AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1: Creative Reading and Writing. They then begin their study of GCSE Literature by reading and crafting exam responses for Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. Following this, they complete their initial study of AQA GCSE Literature Paper 1:Shakespeare and the 19th Century Novel by reading and responding to Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’. They then move onto AQA GCSE English Literature Paper 2: Modern Texts and Poetry by exploring the AQA Power and Conflict poetry anthology. They finish the year by revisiting the art of rhetoric for AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2: Writer’s Viewpoints and Perspectives and their Spoken Language Endorsement. 

The final year of study begins by reading and crafting exam responses to J.B. Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’ which features as part of their AQA GCSE English Literature Paper 2 examination. Alongside this we also revisit and practice non-fiction reading and comparison skills for AQA English Language Paper 2. The remainder of the term is spent revising poetry in preparation for their first set of mock examinations. Following this, teachers will craft a bespoke series of revision lessons in order to address the needs of the individual students in preparation for the second set of mock examinations and the final examinations in Summer. 

Assessment in English takes many forms to enable all students to feel successful. We use ongoing formative assessment such as our ‘do now’ activity at the start of each lesson; low-stakes quizzing; direct and cold call questioning and mini whiteboards to check for understanding and teacher circulation with live feedback during independent practice. Teachers will also assess understanding in the form of Trust-wide summative assessments. Students respond to assessment by acting on feedback which can take the form of re-teaching, editing/redrafting work or additional practice using green pen. Teachers have learning conversations about the outcomes of assessment and respond by adapting lessons and long-term plans to ensure the core knowledge is being remembered and the skills are progressing.