Introduction
The English Faculty has the vision to continue to raise standards and realise the potential of all students, enabling them to acquire a thirst for reading and writing English whilst achieving their target or above.
With a history of outstanding progress from our students, we offer a range of challenging and exciting courses that are delivered by highly skilled and inspirational staff.
The new GCSE system no longer uses the traditional A-G grades. Our current Year 10 students will be awarded a number from 1-9, with ‘5’ being the new ‘C’ equivalent. This course is challenging and students should anticipate weekly homework from their teachers to reinforce their confidence and knowledge. Please note, the new GCSE courses do not include any coursework. Both language and literature are assessed by two exams for each subject at the end of Year 11.
Quality teaching does not stop at the end of Key Stage 4. Post 16 students are offered A levels in both language and literature.
Useful Links
Students will begin their English course with baseline testing.
They will read Northern Lights during this term.
Students will be given an initial assessment on their reading and writing skills during this term. During the first half-term they will be tasked with writing a character diary entry/monologue along with reading their core text. The second half-term will see students being given a mini assessment on how Pullman creates emotion in his writing.
Students will be exploring Travel Writing during this term. Focus will be on group work and collaboration supporting Growth Mindset.
During the second half of the term we will be looking at Poetry with a particular focus on different cultures. Students will explore how to analyse language and structure.
This term students will be asked to produce their own travel brochure along with analysing persuasive text. They will go on to compare two poems being asked to focus on viewpoint, language and contextual factors.
During the first half of this term we will be exploring Fantasy Writing with a focus on the core text Escape from Kraznir. Students will be asked to create characters and stories based on the fantasy genre.
The second half of this term will focus on Shakespeare's Macbeth and an exploration of Good vs Evil. Students will look at characterisations and stagecraft.
This term will culminate with two final assessments:
During the first half-term students will be asked to write as their character at a key point in a battle.
During the second half-term students will write about how Shakespeare presented the supernatural in Macbeth.