English

We are an enthusiastic department with a passion for our subject and a determination to get the best from our students. We aim to provide varied opportunities to enhance our students’ experience of English and make the subject relevant and engaging. We have a strong team of 12 specialist English teachers and work collaboratively to improve our practice. Some members of the department also teach Media Studies and Drama, which helps to forge strong curricular links between departments.  

There are 10 English classrooms, all of which are fitted with projectors. The majority also have interactive whiteboards, as does the department’s own computer room.   English staff also make use of the drama studio and the Media department’s radio/recording studio.

KS3 English

Importance of English key stage 3

English is vital for communicating with others in school and in the wider world, and is fundamental to learning in all curriculum subjects. In studying English, pupils develop skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing that they will need to participate in society and employment. Pupils learn to express themselves creatively and imaginatively and to communicate with others confidently and effectively.

Literature in English is rich and influential. It reflects the experiences of people from many countries and times and contributes to our sense of cultural identity. Pupils learn to become enthusiastic and critical readers of stories, poetry and drama as well as non-fiction and media texts, gaining access to the pleasure and world of knowledge that reading offers. Looking at the patterns, structures, origins and conventions of English helps pupils understand how language works. Using this understanding, pupils can choose and adapt what they say and write in different situations, as well as appreciate and interpret the choices made by other writers and speakers.

At the end of KS3 students are given a National Curriculum Level of Attainment.  To view level descriptors click here

KS4

From September 2010, students at KS4 study the WJEC specification for English, English Language and English Literature. This involves literary heritage study (including Shakespeare), the study of spoken English, media texts, contemporary literature, writing for different purposes and literature from different cultures. Students’ work is assessed through internally marked controlled assessments, speaking and listening assessments and external exams.

GCSE English Assessment	GCSE English Languaue Assessment	GCSE English Literature Assessment
GCSE English Scheme	GCSE English Language Scheme	GCSE English Literature Scheme
	FAQ English

KS5

The department delivers A Level courses in English Language and English Literature. We are very proud of our students’ successes at A Level and regularly see them go on to study English at university. For both subjects, we follow AQA Specification B

A Level English Language Summary

This specification is designed to encourage candidates to:

• develop methods of exploring and understanding spoken and written language in use
• understand the roles of purposes, audiences and contexts and the impact of these pressures upon language production and reception
• use linguistic methods to analyse and investigate a variety of extracts taken from everyday sources.

AS outline

At AS, this specification enables candidates to explore the fundamental structures and functions of writing, speech and conversation and how language functions in different social contexts:

• Unit 1: Categorising Texts
• Unit 2: Creating Texts.

A2 outline

At A2, the specification explores the nature and functions of language, how its key constituent parts have developed under the influence of a variety of contextual factors and how these changes may be analysed and evaluated creatively:

• Unit 3: Developing Language
• Unit 4: Investigating Language.

A Level English Literature Summary

This specification is designed to:

• be accessible to the full ability range within AS/A2
• encourage candidates to read widely and independently both set texts and their own choices
• offer a substantial body of texts which candidates will be invited to explore in terms of form, structure and language, as well as contexts and different viewpoints
• offer greater flexibility in the selection, teaching and assessment of texts to suit the various traditions of literature in English.

AS outline

At AS, Unit 1 introduces candidates to the central position of narrative in the ways in which literary texts work, involving many different aspects of literary representation. Unit 2 introduces candidates to aspects of genre. For the first three years of this specification tragedy is the dramatic genre to be studied:

• Unit 1: Aspects of Narrative
• Unit 2: Dramatic Genres.

A2 outline

At A2, Unit 3 teaches candidates to develop ideas on the significance of genre. Texts are grouped within the categories: Elements of the Gothic and Elements of the Pastoral. In Unit 4, candidates study a wide range of texts, the different ways of reading texts and critical ideas applied with discrimination to literary texts:

• Unit 3: Texts and Genres
• Unit 4: Further and Independent Reading.