English

Weaving a tapestry of life through the joys and experiences of English Language and Literature. 

Our curriculum is an ambitious exploration of the ‘Human Experience,’ providing a rich context for students’ learning. Students follow an integrated English Language and Literature course. This encourages students to travel on a wider social, moral, cultural and emotional journey, while simultaneously enjoying the symbiotic relationship between reading, writing and spoken language. Students study a diverse, exciting range of texts and have a variety of opportunities to become confident, independent writers. Our curriculum encourages connectivity to enable students to appreciate the curriculum’s relevance to them as individuals, and to enable links to be made to both school and a wider context. 

Core knowledge that holds relevance and interconnectivity within all aspects of the course is threaded throughout each unit of work, weaving a rich tapestry of comprehension, strengthening students understanding and confidence in approaching a range of unfamiliar texts. Such knowledge is taught and learned cumulatively with core knowledge and skills becoming increasingly complex.  English Language and Literature are taught simultaneously with a view that intertextuality leads to embedded, powerful knowledge. Students’ knowledge and understanding of both ‘core’ and ‘contextual’ vocabulary is also incrementally cemented appropriately according to age and ability, so that students can appreciate meanings in both familiar and unfamiliar texts. 

Reading is actively promoted to support our enthusiastic readers and writers (including poetry).  We aim to encourage readers of all ages and abilities to read positively and widely, offering a breath of opportunity within the curriculum itself and beyond the classroom, with extra curricula activities designed to stimulate a love and passion for reading. We pay close attention to those learners with additional needs to ensure that they receive additional reading support and curriculum time, which is essential not only for our subject, but so that they can access a wider curriculum offer and are not disadvantaged by a reading deficit. It is our aspiration that the extra curricula activities we provide also expand cultural horizons, with an additional focus on disadvantaged students and those with additional needs. 

Assessment takes place regularly to identify learner profiles and gauge progress: timely intervention for any learners falling behind. We aim to foster and maintain close links with parents and carers to ensure that students are fully supported in their learning to best fulfil their potential. 

Ultimately, we aim to ensure that we provide rich opportunities, guide and support them to become confident speakers, discriminating and tolerant listers, and proficient readers and writers. There is a clear recognition that students ultimately sit GCSE examinations, but it is our view that it is equally important to provide all our students with the appropriate skills, knowledge and confidence for further and higher education, the workplace and beyond. The English curriculum diagnoses prior learning and incrementally develops the core skills required for success at GCSE and beyond.