Vision

“When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.” Maya Angelou.

Our experienced and creative team aim to foster and inspire a love of language and literature in our students. We provide opportunities for all our students to develop as independent, confident, empathetic and successful learners with high aspirations who will know how to make a positive contribution to their community and the wider society.

We strive to enthuse and engage our students through our curriculum design and to enable students of all abilities to achieve excellence in English through our high expectations for each student. We focus on developing students’ moral, spiritual, social and cultural understanding through the texts we teach. We explore and challenge prejudice and stereotyping so our students are prepared for life in modern Britain and are tolerant, open minded, thoughtful people. Our curriculum design develops students’ ability to speak and write fluently enabling them to communicate their ideas and feelings to others. We seek, through improving students’ reading and listening skills, to ensure that others can communicate successfully with them. We are passionate about the importance of English as a subject that fosters empathy and a broad perception of culture and the world around them. We equip students for life beyond the classroom by enabling them to understand and scrutinise big ideas and by encouraging them to independently articulate their viewpoints.

YEAR 7

Overview/core aims for the year:

Students are introduced to the universality of Literature through the study of a challenging range of modern and literary heritage texts including poetry, Shakespeare, fiction and non-fiction. They explore a variety of literary texts, spanning across differing cultures and time periods, shaped by the world in which they have been set. Through these, we will explore each writer’s messages, the methods to explore the human condition.

In year 7 pupils study the Gothic genre, Animal Farm, language and manipulation, Romeo and Juliet and Love poetry.

Core knowledge to be learnt in Year 7:

• What is English and Literature?
• Why talk matters and how to adapt our own talk.
• How writers, communicate their views.
• The context behind each text and how they compare to perspectives today.
• The conventions of a variety of different forms and purposes of writing as well as how to apply these conventions themselves.
• The conventions of narrative writing.
• Language and structural devices to engage a reader.
• To know and understand George Orwell’s views on society and how this is communicated through his novel Animal Farm.
• To know and understand the context of the Russian Revolution, socialism and how these ideas feature in the novel.
• To know how Orwell has utilised his novel’s plot, characters and themes to contribute to his overall message.
• Who Shakespeare was and why we study it today.
• How Shakespeare has utilised his play’s plot, characters and themes to contribute to his overall message.
• To know and understand different poets’ thoughts and feelings towards key ideas in society and how these are communicated.
• The context behind each poet’s views and how they compare to perspectives today.

YEAR 8

Overview/core aims for year 8:

Students explore rich cultural texts which have been shaped by the world in which they have been set. They explore the theme of experience and voice.

Students study John Steinbeck’s novella, ‘Of Mice and Men’, opinion article writing, Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado about Nothing’, experiential nonfiction as well as poetry.

Core knowledge to be learnt in Year 8:

• What life was like for migrant workers.
• The concept of writer’s voice.
• What it means to write with cohesion in essays.
• The conventions of writing opinion articles.
• Consolidate how to read and derive meanings from poems – use subject terminology to identify poetic devices (rhyme / rhythm / alliteration / simile / personification / imagery) – select rich language choices as the basis for analysis.
• The conventions of a Shakespearean comedy.
• What life was like in the Elizabethan/Jacobean era and how the Shakespearean audience reacted to the comedic plays.
• How relationships are formed and developed between different groups of people, specifically ones who have previously been neglected or rejected from society.
• Understand how a writer reflects contextual factors in their writing.

YEAR 9

Overview/core aims for year 9:

Students study texts which explore themes of Power and Conflict and political movements. They explore texts which have been directly impacted by the world around them and will be considering how this influences a writer’s perspective. Students study ‘Lord of the Flies’, poetry, writing dystopia and ‘An Inspector Calls’.

Core knowledge to be learnt in Year 9:

• Key aspects of plot; state key characteristics of main characters; characterisation techniques; symbolism of settings; symbolism of objects.
• Key conceptual vocabulary linked to unit (thematic and linguistic).
• To comprehend the ideas of ‘text as construct’ and ‘writer’s intention’.
• Thematic concerns surrounding Power and Conflict in set poems.
• The difference between connotation and denotation.
• The role of war photography and media coverage of conflict.
• The concept of dystopia.
• To know examples of dystopian fiction.
• Ideas surrounding social responsibility and apply to the social context.
• How to use language to present social ideas.
• How to make connections between characters and their contexts.
• How characters’ attitudes are linked to social class.
• To consider how one’s attitude towards others can have detrimental outcomes.
• Identify and comment on overarching themes within a written work and their timelessness in society.

Year 10

Overview/core aims for year 10:

Studnets study literature texts which explore themes of ambition, social responsibility and power. They continue to develop a passion for reading and writing as well as the ability to question, analyse and explore a range of ideas presented by writers.

Core knowledge to be learnt in Year 10:

• How writers craft texts through the use of structure, characterisation and language choices to create meaning.
• Key conceptual vocabulary linked to unit (thematic and linguistic).
• To comprehend the ideas of ‘text as construct’ and ‘writer’s intention’.
• Thematic concerns surrounding ambition, the abuse of power and the influence of the supernatural in
• Thematic concerns surrounding social responsibility, selfishness and British values in A Christmas Carol.
• To know what Victorian ideals were and how they differ, and are similar, to those of contemporary Britain.
• Thematic concerns and develop knowledge surrounding Power and Conflict and its significance in different cultures in GCSE poetry cluster.
• How to approach unseen texts and explore how they have been constructed to create meaning.
• Evaluation of a statement using language and structural analysis to support
• How to express greater critical autonomy when responding to texts
• How to structure own narrative writing to create effects and develop meaning.
• Expression of ideas to convey attitudes and ideas for different purposes and audiences.
• How to plan and deliver an engaging speech with social relevance.
• How to successfully respond to the needs of an audience when delivering a speech.

Year 11

Overview/core aims for year 11:

Students study literature texts which explore themes of ambition, social responsibility and power. They continue to develop a passion for reading and writing as well as the ability to question, analyse and explore a range of ideas presented by writers.

Core knowledge to be learnt in Year 11:

• How writers craft texts through the use of structure, characterisation and language choices to create meaning.
• Key conceptual vocabulary linked to unit (thematic and linguistic).
• Comprehend the ideas of ‘text as construct’ and ‘writer’s intention’.
• Thematic concerns surrounding social responsibility, the abuse of power and issues of class in An Inspector Calls.
• To know what Victorian ideals were and how they differ, and are similar, to those of contemporary Britain.
• Thematic concerns and develop knowledge surrounding a variety of unseen poems.
• How to compare the crafting techniques used in different unseen poems.
• How to approach unseen texts and explore how they have been constructed to create meaning.
• Evaluation of a statement using language and structural analysis to support
• How to express greater critical autonomy when responding to texts
• How to structure own narrative writing to create effects and develop meaning.
• How to express ideas to convey attitudes and ideas for different purposes and audiences.

YEAR 12

Overview / core aims for year 12:

Through the study of language and literature students have further opportunities to write in imaginative ways and to develop their ability to express complex ideas in a sophisticated and coherent style. They are introduced to a wide range of texts and interpretations and are encouraged to explore critical theory and contextual influences whilst developing their own analytical skills. Students develop subject knowledge of texts across a range of literature or non-literary texts from novels to plays to poetry to non-fiction extracts. Students are introduced to genre concepts and conventions, new literary or linguistic terminology, critical theory and relevant contextual information for texts. They are supported to become better independent learners with regard to wider reading, research skills and vocabulary knowledge and some opportunities are built in for re-creative writing.

Core knowledge to be learnt in year 12:

• The significance of genre or narrative perspectives within texts
• Dramatic methods and stagecraft (such as in ‘Othello’ for English Literature)
• Relevant themes, big ideas and contextual factors (such as historical or socio-political contexts of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’) relating to the texts under study
• How and why authors or text producers adapt genre conventions to suit audience, purpose and context
• New linguistic terminology to include word classes, spoken language conventions
• Key literary theories (feminism, Post-Colonialism, Structuralism, Marxism etc.) which apply to work on the NEA for Literature A Level or those more socio-linguistic theories which are relevant to Langlit texts – Grice, Labov etc.

YEAR 13

Overview / core aims for year 13:

Students consolidate and revise textual, linguistic and theoretical knowledge gained in year 12. They develop analytical or recreative writing skills and reading skills, refine exam technique and exam performance (eg. essay writing, comparative writing and question timings)

Core knowledge to be learnt in year 13:

• Refinement of textual knowledge including reconsideration of initial learning in light of secondary criticism, context and literary theory (Lit)
• Critical approaches for the NEA or exam texts
• Independent knowledge building (alongside teacher support / coaching) for the NEA
• Exam performance strategies for the terminal examinations
• Core textual knowledge of the novel and play, dramatic techniques and stagecraft (Langlit)