Strategic Leader of English = Mrs M Kennedy
The English department consists of seven members of staff. Within the department there are two assistant leaders of English who are responsible for ensuring the progress and welfare of learners in English in Years 7 -9.
Mr Drummond is in charge of the Year 7 and 8 curriculum
Ms Z Beswitherick who is in charge of Reading
The department has a strong focus on learners achieving their personal best whilst developing a love for language and literature through reading.
We work closely with the ASPIRE centre to ensure that learners are supported in lessons where there is extended writing and reading. We also have literacy groups for learners who need extra support in English and learners in these groups will study an extra hour of English a week in their curriculum time.
Learners in Year 7 – 11 are working towards GCSE exams with the EDEXCEL exam board. These students will be assessed on the number grade 1-9 system.
At KS3 our curriculum intent is to build a love of the subject. We aim to ensure we cover a wide range of topics but have a focus on contextualising learning to allow learners to see how English skills are valuable skills which will help them for the rest of their lives.
In Year 10 and 11 learners start their GCSE course where they study a range of different texts which include Macbeth, A Christmas Carol, An Inspector Calls and Conflict Poetry. We begin reading some of these texts in Year 9 to ensure all learners leave us having read and enjoyed each of these texts.
Learners in Year 7, 8 and 9 complete a range of different assessments within each module and these assessments take the form of written exams, presentations and writing tasks.
In Year 10 and 11 learners will sit at least on assessment each half-term based on their current module of study.
The expectation for home learning is that students will complete a minimum of one home learning activity per week. Learners should be regularly reading independently in order to develop both their own writing ability and their analytical skills.
An after school drop-in clinic is available for students who are struggling with any aspects of English. For Year 11, an exam focussed revision session is on Monday Red Week evenings between 3pm – 4pm. We usually encourage learners to bring their own revision but also run focused revision sessions as we get closer to the exam.
Throughout the year a variety of enrichment opportunities take place. Competitions and special sessions will also take place throughout the course of the academic year linked to key events, such as World Book Day and National Poetry week.
The English department also run a rainbow reading challenge for Year 7 and 8 in which learners are challenged to read and complete a certain number of activities, which lead to a certain number of points. These points link to rewards and badges which learners can wear on their blazers and are presented in the end of term assemblies. We display the successes of these learners in the English corridor in order to help promote a reading culture.