What do students study in English?

At Key Stage 3 students develop their abilities in a wide range of areas including:

• word, sentence and text level literacy skills
• speaking and writing for public formal purposes
• evaluating the way language is used
• varieties of fiction and non-fiction
• reading and responding to classic and contemporary texts
• identifying the significance of layers of meaning
• detecting and using devices to shape the reader’s responses
• exploring social and moral issues

In Year 9 students respond in depth to Shakespearean drama.

At Key Stage 4 students take two GCSE courses: English and English Literature.
Topics covered include:

• Original Writing
• Media
• Modern and pre-1914 prose fiction
• Modern and pre-1914 poetry
• a Shakespeare play
• Twentieth Century Drama
• non- fiction
• Poems from other cultures and traditions

How many lessons of English do students get?

At Key Stage 3 students have seven hours a fortnight.

At Key Stage 4 students receive seven hours per fortnight as part of their preparations for two GCSEs: English Language and English Literature.

What is the teaching like in English?

Students are taught in mixed attainment groups in all years. In Years 7 and 8 students are taught in their Tutor Group classes. In Year 9 they are taught in smaller groups.

There is a wide variety of teaching styles and activities to develop students’ abilities and motivate them.

We believe in continuous improvement for both our students and ourselves, taking our guiding principle from Michael Fullan: ‘You don’t have to be sick to get better!’ We therefore monitor, audit and evaluate a wide range of evidence to identify further scope for enhancing our teaching and student enjoyment of the subject.

Are there extra-curricular activities?

We offer a Homework Club on Fridays after school. Due to heavy demand, the Spring and the start of the Summer Terms are exclusively dedicated to Key Stage 4 Coursework and Poetry. These sessions are popular, attracting around 20 students a week. Students enjoy them and mostly come voluntarily, offering spontaneous positive feedback.

In addition during Activities Week in July, we organise a whole week of highly popular English and Drama based activities for seventy Key Stage 3 students. These have proved consistently enjoyable for all and further increased the level and scale of motivation in the classroom.

For 2007 we have taken this enrichment opportunity a step further with a week’s residential in Somerset, involving forty five Key Stage 3 students, mostly Year 7.

How well resourced is the Faculty?

We have a dedicated suite of English classrooms. Each is fitted with Interactive Whiteboards and audio and video facilities. We constantly update our selection of books and plays.

How do I contact the English Faculty?

Please contact Ms Grimley, Acting Head of English, at the school.
Contact details are here.