English

Department vision

As a department, we aim to encourage the development of sensitive, articulate, and thoughtful individuals who can use language effectively and appropriately in a wide range of situations. We reinforce specific values and objectives that are linked with whole school aims. Our aim is to enable students to develop into sensitive, critical, and efficient readers who form the habit of reading for pleasure, interest, and information. In discussions and written work, we foster rational attitudes and arguments that are free of prejudice and supported by evidence.

Year 7

Year 7

E7

Year 7: The origins of English

Ancient origins

  • Epic of Gilgamesh, the Iliad
  • Greek mythology (heroes)
  • Creation myths
  • Homer’s Odyssey, Simon Armitage

Links to legends

  • Beowulf (Heaney & Headley)
  • Journey to the West
  • King Arthur
  • A Monster Cals Patrick Ness

The art of rhetoric

  • Shakespeare - Julius Caesar
  • Famous speeches (Paradise Lost, Lincoln, MLK Jr, Obama)
  • Cicero & Aristotle
  • Extracts from Forsyth, Heinrichs & Leith

Romance

  • Chaucer, Knight’s Tale
  • Patience Agbadi, Telling Tales
  • Shakespeare, Romeo & Juliet & A Midsummer Night’s Dream
  • Keats, La Belle Dame Sans Merci
  • Tennyson, The Lady of Shalott

Year 8

Year 8

E8

Year 8: The development of form

CYCLE A - The sonnet from

Petrarch to Shakespeare to Donne to Wordsworth to Duffy and Dharker

CYCLE B - Comedy through time

  • Aristophanes, Lysistrata
  • Chaucer, ‘Miller’s Tale’
  • As You Like It
  • Restoration comedy
  • Oscar Wilde

CYCLE C - The story of the novel

  • Extracts from Oroonoko, Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver’s Travels, Pamela, Pride & Prejudice, Catcher in the Rye, Purple Hibiscus
  • Dickens, Great Expectations

CYCLE D – Fairy and Folk Tales

  • Grimm’s Fairy Tales
  • Hans Christian Anderson
  • The Arabian Nights
  • Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Year 9

Year 9

E9

Year 9: Into the world

CYCLE A - The Gothic tradition

  • Gothic anthology (The Castle of Otranto, Vathek, The Monk, The Italian, Northanger Abbey)
  • Dracula, Frankenstein
  • Emily Brontë – Wuthering Heights
  • Angela Carter, The Werewolf

 

CYCLE B - War writing

  • A selection of war poetry (including Owen & Sassoon)
  • RC Sherriff, Journey’s End

 

CYCLE C - Tragedy through time

  • Oedipus the King (Sophocles)
  • The Monk’s Tale (Chaucer)
  • The White Devil (Webster)
  • Othello (Shakespeare)
  • A View from the Bridge (Miller)
  • Things Fall Apart (Achebe)

CYCLE D - Freedom

  • Olaudah Equiano
  • Civil rights – biographies & speeches
  • Extracts from Baldwin, Angelou (Ch 19, I Know Why…) Morrison, Milk & Coates
  • Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

Years 10 & 11 - English Language & Literature

At KS4 (Year 10 and 11), our focus is on preparing our students for the AQA English Language and Literature GCSE examinations. Our curriculum is designed to give students the skills and knowledge they need to become confident and effective communicators. We place a strong emphasis on developing students' reading skills, as well as their ability to express themselves clearly and persuasively through oracy. Additionally, we work to develop students' examination skills, so that they are well-prepared for the rigorous demands of both examinations. Through a variety of engaging and challenging activities, students will have the opportunity to expand their vocabulary, improve their grammar and punctuation, and build their understanding of literary texts from a range of different time periods and cultures. 

Year 10 & 11 Subject roadmap for English Literature & English Language

E1011

Year 10

 

T1

T2

T3

T4

T5

T6

Year

10

Language

(2 lessons per week)

Language Paper 1

Language Paper 2

Q1 / Q2 / Q3

Explicit / implicit information

Analysis language and structure

Q4

Critical evaluation

Q5 – Narrative and descriptive

Writing

Q1 / Q3

Explicit / implicit information

Analysis of language

Q2 / Q4

Summarising and comparing

Comparing writers’ attitudes and methods

Q5

Transactional writing

Literature

(3 lessons per week)

Jekyll and Hyde

 

Poetry Cluster 1

War Poetry

WW1 and earlier

Charge of the Light Brigade

Exposure

Bayonet Charge

 

Modern Warfare

Remains

War Photographer

Women & families in war

Kamikaze

Poppies

Macbeth

 

 

Poetry Cluster 2

Romantic poetry

Industrial revolution / romanticism / French revolution

London

The Prelude

Ozymandias

Storm on the Island

Poetry & society

My Last Duchess

Checking Out Me History

Tissue

Emigree

 

Year 11

 

T1

T2

T3

T4

T5

T6

Year

11

Language

(2 hours per week)

Paper 1 / Paper 2 Revision and Practice

Paper 1 / Paper 2 Revision and Practice

 MOCK EXAMS – November and February

Literature

(3 hours per week)

Lord of the Flies

Unseen Poetry / Conflict Poetry Revision

Literature Revision

 

Advice for Parents & Carers

At KS3, encourage your child to read a variety of texts in English, such as books, newspapers, and magazines. This will help to improve their vocabulary and comprehension skills.

For students studying English at KS4, it is important to encourage your child to read widely and to focus on the analysis of texts. Encourage them to read critically and to think about the themes, characters, and language used in the texts. Parents and carers can also support their children by helping and encouraging students to prepare and revise for exams.  Your child’s English teacher will be able to recommend study guides for both English Literature and English Language.