units of work in Year 7:

The units of study for Year 7 are organised around a Big Question, Why do we study English?

• Transition (four weeks): Mythology - The Origins and Evolution of Storytelling
• Modern novel (ten weeks): Darkside, by Tom Becker 
• Poetry (six weeks): An Introduction to Poetic Form
• Non-fiction (six weeks): Speeches - Finding Your Voice  
• Dystopia (four weeks): Creative Reading and Writing 
• Shakespeare (eight weeks): The Tempest and The Hate U Give - Voices Against Oppression

units of work in year 8:

The units of study for Year 8 are organised around a Big Question, How do writers use literature to comment on social issues? 

• Creative Writing (four weeks): Horror and Terror in the Gothic 
• Modern novel (ten weeks): Animal Farm, by George Orwell
• Poetry (six weeks): Poetry as Protest 
• Non-fiction (six weeks): Speeches - Using Your Voice 
• Prose as Protest (four weeks): Fictional Voice as Political Commentary 
• Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing - Women in Shakespeare 

units of work in year 9:

The units of study for Year 9 are organised around a Big Question, How does our society impact our writing?

• Creative Writing and Recreative Writing (seven weeks): The Art of Storytelling 
• Tragedy (seven weeks): Genre Through Time - Othello 
• Poetry (six weeks): Comparison, commentary and context 
• Rhetoric (six weeks): Spoken Language Endorsement for GCSE 
• GCSE English Literature (summer term): An Inspector Calls

YEAR 10 AND 11

All students sit English Language and English Literature as two separate GCSEs and these are taught as an integrated course. The assessment for both GCSEs is 100% exam with the 1-9 grading system.

GCSE ENGLISH LANGUAGE (AQA)

Paper 1 – Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing
1 hour 45 minutes
80 marks (50% of GCSE)

To prepare students for this paper, we read a variety of extracts from 20^th and 21^st century fiction to support continual development of their reading and analytical skills.

Paper 2 – Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives (50%)

1 hour 45 minutes
80 marks (50% of GCSE)

Language paper 2 requires students to develop an in depth understanding of how writers of non-fiction convey their ideas, opinions and feelings about a topic and putting those skills into practice.

Additionally, students complete their Spoken Language Endorsement in year 9. While this non-examined component comprises 0% of the final GCSE grade, it is a formal assessment necessary to endorse their GCSE English grade and it develops invaluable public speaking and rhetorical skills that pupils will take with them into any career path they choose.

Non-examination assessment: Spoken Language Endorsement (0% of GCSE)

GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE (AQA)

Paper 1 – Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel
1hour 45 minutes
64 marks (40% of GCSE)

Paper 2 – Modern texts and poetry
2 hour 15 minutes
96 marks (60% of GCSE)
 

CURRENT MAIN TEXTS STUDIED FOR ENGLISH LITERATURE:

• Shakespeare: ‘Macbeth’
• 19th-century novel: ‘A Christmas Carol’
• Modern text/drama: ‘An Inspector Calls’ (play)
• Poetry: AQA Power and Conflict poetry cluster

This course encourages students to develop a lifelong appreciation for literature by looking closely at narrative and genre and different critical approaches to texts, providing scope for independent wider reading.

Students will explore a range of carefully-chosen texts, drawing on the Gothic tradition, Elizabethan and 19th century drama, poetry of the Romantic era and contemporary literature of the 20th-21st century.

The coursework component for A-level English Literature allows students considerable freedom in their choice of topic and lends itself to a variety of creative approaches.

Exam Board: OCR

Component 1:

• Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’
• Samuel Taylor Coleridge: 15 collected poems
• Henrik Ibsen's 'A Doll's House'

Component 2:

• Angela Carter’s ‘The Bloody Chamber’
• Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’
• Unseen Gothic appreciation

Component 3:

• Literature post-1900
• 2000-word coursework responding to J. D. Salinger’s ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ and Tennessee Williams' 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
• 1000-word coursework responding to an independent study of 21st century poetry

Year 2 Subject Content

Component 1: Shakespeare and Poetry pre-1900; 40% overall assessment

• Drama and poetry pre-1900
• Henrik Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’
• Revision of ‘Hamlet’ and Coleridge poems

Component 2: Drama and Prose Post-1900; 40% overall assessment

• Comparative and contextual study
• Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’
• Critical appreciation of Gothic
• Revision of ‘The Bloody Chamber’

Component 3: Literature post-1900; 20% overall assessment

• Literature post-1900
• J. D. Salinger’s ‘Catcher in the Rye’ and plays of Tennessee Williams
• Independent study: 21st century poetry

Assessment

• 1 closed book exam on Shakespeare and Poetry pre-1900 (3 texts: 1 Shakespeare, 1 drama, 1 poetry); 2-and-a-half hours; 40% overall assessment
• 1 closed book exam on Drama and Prose Post-1900 (2 prose texts); 2-and-a-half hours; 40% overall assessment
• 1 critical essay and 1 comparative essay (3 texts: 1 poetry, 1 prose, 1 drama)

Career Opportunities / Routes

English graduates follow career paths as diverse as journalism, publishing and working in the legal profession, to working in TV and media, education, retail and writing.

enrichment

The English department offer a range of opportunities for students to widen their experiences of English outside of lessons, including:

• Debate Club
• Poetry Club
• Young Writers Poetry and Creative Writing Competitions
• Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge
• Guest Speakers and Workshops
• Trips: GCSE Poetry Live!, RSC Productions, Shakespeare’s Globe etc

LIBRARY LESSONS

Once per fortnight, all students in Years 7-8, and some in Year 9, have an English lesson in the library. During this, students take part in the Accelerated Reader programme, where they choose books appropriate to their reading level and complete quizzes on the books. Students are re-tested throughout the year to ensure that the recommended reading material is suitable and challenging enough to make progress.