English

English

The Programme of Study for English is based upon the requirements of the National Curriculum for English. We believe we have developed a programme that is innovative, exciting and, above all, challenging to meet the needs of our students. All students follow the same programme which is delivered in half termly topic based units to ensure continuity, progression and accurate assessment. Teachers tailor the topic to suit the targets and ability of their class.

Key Stage 3

Course Overview

We assess our Key Stage Three pupils using APP (Assessing Pupils’ Progress). These assessments are kept in school and lead to thorough knowledge of each child’s strengths and weaknesses which are then used to inform our lesson planning. Each child is set a personalised target every half term to help them make progress. Pupils have 3 hours of English a week, but we also provide extra help for those who are struggling.

	Year 7	Year 8	Year 9
Autumn 1	Myths, Legends and Heros – studying the genre of myths and creative writing	Time Travellers – writing to inform, explain and describe including designing your own time machine!	Much Ado About Nothing – analysing the characters and language in set extracts
Autumn 2	Developing Mind and Body – sports based unit including a reading a novel called ‘Dream On’.	World War 1 – reading poetry and non fiction from this time.	Non Fiction Reading and Writing – analysis of topical texts and production of texts to suit audience and purpose.
Spring 1	Close Encounters- investigating the media and non fiction writing	‘Romeo and Juliet’ - investigating the plot, characters and themes using drama and group work activities.	The Apprentice – ‘Boardroom’ drama speaking and listening work and advertising an ‘unsellable’ object.
Spring 2	See the World – unit based on poetry from other cultures	Study of a novel - text chosen from a wide range to suit pupils’ abilities	Schools of the Past, Schools of the Future – investigation into schools from different eras and designing of own school for the future
Summer 1	Study of a novel or a play – text chosen from a wide range to suit pupils’ abilities	Titanic – pupils act out their escape from the Titanic and study topical non fiction texts.	Study of a novel or a play - text chosen from a wide range to suit pupils’ abilities
Summer 2	Introducing Mr. Shakespeare – introduction to Shakespeare: the man, his plays and his theatre	Murder Mystery – study of a crime scene, police interrogation drama and writing a formal report	GCSE Writing unit – Study of fiction writing for a GCSE Controlled Assessment.

Key Stage 4

All students take AQA GCSE English Language and AQA GCSE English Literature throughout years 10 and 11.

Specification Overview

English Language	English Literature
Unit 1: Understanding and Producing Non Fiction Texts – Exam 40%	Unit 1: Exploring Modern Texts – Exam 40%
Unit 2: Speaking and Listening – Controlled Assessment 20%	Unit 2: Poetry Across Time – Exam 35%
Unit 3: Controlled Assessment (3 pieces of work) – 40%	Unit 3: The Importance of Shakespeare and the English Literary Heritage – Controlled Assessment 25%

Pupils have four hours of English a week. We send parents a letter at the start of Year 10 informing them of the dates of all Controlled Assessments. Pupils complete most of the English Language course and the Controlled Assessments in Year 10. We then focus on English Literature (and if necessary revisit some units) in Year 11. Pupils are set personalized targets after each assessment to help them to progress further.

Course Overview

	Year 10	Year 11
Unit 1	Creative writing based on siblings - controlled assessment	Creative writing – controlled assessment
Unit 2	Spoken Language Study based on the drama ‘Waterloo Road’ – controlled assessment	Studying poetry anthology and preparing to respond to an unseen poem – exam preparation
Unit 3	Non fiction creative writing ‘Don’t Get Me Started On…’ – controlled assessment	Exploring cultures. Revision of ‘Of Mice and Men’ – exam preparation
Unit 4	Macbeth and poetry study – controlled assessment	Reading modern text (novel or play) or anthology prose – exam preparation
Unit 5	Extended Reading ‘Of Mice and Men’ – Controlled Assessment.	Revision of both texts for exam.
Unit 6	Reading and writing non fiction – exam preparation

Exams

Pupils have to take 3 exams across the 2 years. We split them up so that pupils can focus on each one.

Date	Exam
Yr 10 June	English Language Understanding and Producing Non Fiction 40%
Yr 11 January	English Literature Poetry Across Time 35%
Yr 11 June	English Literature Exploring Modern Texts 40%