Key Stage 3
At Key Stage 3, Year 7 and 8, our aim is to embed reading and secure writing into each topic so that students can access texts across the school and be ready for the demands of an ever changing curriculum. The need for our students to be confident readers has never been greater. The new GCSEs have an emphasis on independence, accuracy and breadth of study so we endeavour to ensure that students cover a wide range of genres, text types and, of course, two Shakespeare plays.
In Year 7 students are streamed into sets and they have 4 one hour lessons per week. Topics of study in Year 7 include the novel, story writing, 19th Century fiction and Romeo and Juliet. At least 30 minutes a week is dedicated to reading and spelling strategies and we make good use of our Learning Resource Centre and the Accelerated Reader programme.
In Year 8 students are still set by ability and also have 3 one hour lessons per week. Topics in Year 8 include the non-fiction reading and writing, Poetry and The Tempest. Again, the Learning Resource Centre plays a continued role in supporting the reading culture across our school.
Key Stage 4
At Key Stage Four we begin in Year 9. The new GCSE specifications, which were taken for the first time in 2017, require all students to take both English Language and Literature. This is a challenging and well-respected course designed to offer the students a wide breadth of study. The course assessment is 100% examination and students will be awarded two GCSEs.
Both the English Language and Literature elements have two examinations. Reading and writing skills, through the study on fiction and non-fiction texts, are equally weighted at 50% each. The accuracy of written work is vital and now has almost a third of the marks assigned to spelling, punctuation, grammar and use of vocabulary. We make use of a variety of resources, including visiting authors, for example, as a stimulus for students own creative writing and up-to-date materials are used from current newspaper and media texts to enable students to produce convincing and appropriate transactional and functional pieces including formal letters and reports. Literature offers students texts as diverse as poetry from 1789 to the contemporary novel or play and includes authors from the canon as well as a detailed study of a Shakespeare play.
Key Stage 4 Courses Offered
Level 2 Qualification
Link to Website and specification
|GCSE English Language||Eduqas|
GCSE English Literature