Quick Links

Useful Links

Committed to excellent standards of teaching in partnership with a variety of local and national organisations contributing towards system-wide improvement.

Visit Site

GSO Test

English Programme of Study

Key Stage 3

 

Year 7

Year 8

Autumn Term 1

Curious Incident of The Dog In The Night Time

Reconnection Curriculum



Shakespeare Showcase - Reconnection Curriculum 

Pupils have been exposed to a different range and quantity of Shakespeare depending on their primary school experience. This topic allows pupils to explore a number of extracts that they may or may not have previously explored. 

Teachers will be able to choose the extracts and texts to suit their class. All pupils will learn about themes and characters and be able to explore and analyse Shakespeare's language in depth.

This will also lay the foundations for the expectations of the Literature GCSE where a complete Shakespeare text is to be studied.

Pupils will build on the skills acquired at KS2 and Y7 where they are reading for meaning and understanding the conscious crafting of authors.

Autumn Term 2

Shakespeare Showcase 

Follows on from pupils' reading for meaning expectations at KS2. 

To develop the pupils' inference skills as this entirely underpins their English Language and Literature studies up to Year 11 exams.

The topic also exposes pupils to a broad range of topics which is outlined in the KS3 Curriculum.

The topic is engaging for a new Y7 cohort of Boys and there are a plethora of multi-media opportunities to support their studies.

19th Century Literature is a challenging era of literature and therefore sets an adequate challenge for all in the lead up to their GCSE expectations.

Y7 are not in sets for the first half term and therefore class teacher should start with suitable extracts that can ensure access by all pupils with an initial focus being on 'reading for meaning' and exploring connotations

This topic is also supporting the schools' mantra of READ READ READ by exposing pupils to a wide range of texts.

Shakespeare Showcase 

Pupils have been exposed to a different range and quantity of Shakespeare depending on their primary school experience. This topic allows pupils to explore a number of extracts that they may or may not have previously explored. 

Teachers will be able to choose the extracts and texts to suit their class. All pupils will learn about themes and characters and be able to explore and analyse Shakespeare's language in depth.

This will also lay the foundations for the expectations of the Literature GCSE where a complete Shakespeare text is to be studied.

Pupils will build on the skills acquired at KS2 and Y7 where they are reading for meaning and understanding the conscious crafting of authors.

Spring Term 1

Novel Study - Animal Farm 

This is a GCSE text which the department previously delivered to the whole cohort. We have transitioned from Animal Farm to Blood Brothers so the text, experiences and resources are now being utilised in Y7. 

The text has been used in Y7 as it is a clear example of a writer deliberately creating meanings and having an intended message for the reader.

This builds on the skills learned in Autumn 1 as students are not only reading for meaning but are also gaining an awareness of writers making deliberate choices to achieve attending message and effect

Higher sets will be able to make links to the Russian Revolution. Lower ability sets will be able to see the portrayal of negative leadership.

Novel Study - Of Mice and Men

The main novel being studied in Y8 is an old GCSE text which builds on many of the themes explored last term during English Language lessons.

More able classes will cover all aspects of the text whereas lower ability may need to focus more on extracts and skip some more mature topics.

Pupils will continue to learn and understand that characters are more than just a fictional creation but are also used allegorically to represent wider issues in society. 

This novel will help pupils to further develop their empathy skills and awareness of the wide range of discrimination typically found in societies.

Pupils will learn to explore the structure of texts with a particular focus on foreshadowing, dramatic irony, tension and cyclical structures which will help them in both their future Language and Literature GCSE studies.

Spring Term 2

Novel Study - Animal Farm 

Continuation of Novel Study 

Due to the amount of text exposure learners need, this topic is explored throughout the Spring Term. 

Novel Study - Of Mice and Men 

Continuation of Novel Study

Due to the amount of text exposure learners need, this topic is explored throughout the Spring Term. 

Summer Term 1

Poetry - War Poets 

Pupils have previously covered some poetry at KS2 but historically find this one of the hardest text types to explore. This is taught at this point as pupils have already gained confidence in reading for meaning from Autumn and exploring the writer's intentions from Spring. 

In order to expose pupils to a wide range of poetry the other GCSE Anthology Cluster choice is partly used here alongside other examples of War poetry. 

This will also provide a basis for their English and History Y8 studies. 

Higher ability pupils will be challenged by comparing poems and the writer's intended effect.

This unit of work will also allow for pupils to create different formats of writing to reflect their learning.

Poetry - Love and Relationship 

Pupils will begin to build on prior learning from Y7 to explore wider themes explored in poems. Having looked at power and conflict in Y7 they will now explore love and relationships which is a more mature topic. 

Students will explore a couple of GCSE poems as well as others from outside the anthology restriction.

Pupils will now expand their exploration of language to also consider how form and structure are used to create meanings.

Pupils will learn how to use prior learning to tackle an unseen poem.

Pupils will also be building on their skill of persuasive and critical thinking to form their own opinions of topics, themes and poems

Summer Term 2

Poetry - Power and Conflict 

Continuation of Poetry 

Due to the amount of text exposure learners need, this topic is explored throughout the Summer Term. 

Poetry - Love and Relationship 

Continuation of Poetry 

Due to the amount of text exposure learners need, this topic is explored throughout the Summer Term. 

 

English Programme of Study: Key Stage 3

Department for Education - Purpose of Study

Reading

Students should be taught to:

  1. develop an appreciation and love of reading, and read increasingly challenging material independently through:
    1. reading a wide range of fiction and non-fiction, including in particular whole books, short stories, poems and plays with a wide coverage of genres, historical periods, forms and authors. The range will include high-quality works from:
      1. English literature, both pre-1914 and contemporary, including prose, poetry and drama
      2. Shakespeare (two plays)
      3. seminal world literature
    2. choosing and reading books independently for challenge, interest and enjoyment.
    3. re-reading books encountered earlier to increase familiarity with them and provide a basis for making comparisons.
  2. understand increasingly challenging texts through:
    1. learning new vocabulary, relating it explicitly to known vocabulary and understanding it with the help of context and dictionaries
    2. making inferences and referring to evidence in the text
    3. knowing the purpose, audience for and context of the writing and drawing on this knowledge to support comprehension
    4. checking their understanding to make sure that what they have read makes sense.
  3. read critically through:
    1. knowing how language, including figurative language, vocabulary choice, grammar, text structure and organisational features, presents meaning
    2. recognising a range of poetic conventions and understanding how these have been used
    3. studying setting, plot, and characterisation, and the effects of these
    4. understanding how the work of dramatists is communicated effectively through performance and how alternative staging allows for different interpretations of a play
    5. making critical comparisons across texts
    6. studying a range of authors, including at least two authors in-depth each year.

Writing

Students should be taught to:

  1. write accurately, fluently, effectively and at length for pleasure and information through:
    1. writing for a wide range of purposes and audiences, including:
      1. well-structured formal expository and narrative essays
      2. stories, scripts, poetry and other imaginative writing
      3. notes and polished scripts for talks and presentations
      4. a range of other narrative and non-narrative texts, including arguments, and personal and formal letters
    2. summarising and organising material, and supporting ideas and arguments with any necessary factual detail
    3. applying their growing knowledge of vocabulary, grammar and text structure to their writing and selecting the appropriate form
    4. drawing on knowledge of literary and rhetorical devices from their reading and listening to enhance the impact of their writing
  2. plan, draft, edit and proof-read through:
    1. considering how their writing reflects the audiences and purposes for which it was intended
    2. amending the vocabulary, grammar and structure of their writing to improve its coherence and overall effectiveness
    3. paying attention to accurate grammar, punctuation and spelling; applying the spelling patterns and rules set out in English Appendix 1 to the key stage 1 and 2 programmes of study for English.

Grammar and vocabulary

Students should be taught to:

  1. consolidate and build on their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary through:
    1. extending and applying the grammatical knowledge set out in English Appendix 2 to the key stage 1 and 2 programmes of study to analyse more challenging texts
    2. studying the effectiveness and impact of the grammatical features of the texts they read
    3. drawing on new vocabulary and grammatical constructions from their reading and listening, and using these consciously in their writing and speech to achieve particular effects
    4. knowing and understanding the differences between spoken and written language, including differences associated with formal and informal registers, and between Standard English and other varieties of English
    5. using Standard English confidently in their own writing and speech
    1. discussing reading, writing and spoken language with precise and confident use of linguistic and literary terminology.

Spoken English

Students should be taught to:

  1. speak confidently and effectively, including through:
    1. using Standard English confidently in a range of formal and informal contexts, including classroom discussion
    2. giving short speeches and presentations, expressing their own ideas and keeping to the point
    3. participating in formal debates and structured discussions, summarising and/or building on what has been said
    4. improvising, rehearsing and performing play scripts and poetry in order to generate language and discuss language use and meaning, using role, intonation, tone, volume, mood, silence, stillness and action to add impact.