English
Intent
English is at the heart of the curriculum because it enables students to have the ability to think critically about themselves and the world around them and because it is a facilitating subject for further education, careers, engagement and mental well-being. We enable students to be analytical and want them to make informed decisions about their responses to the texts they read. We want students to read widely across genres to enhance their cultural capital and give them an increased sense of empathy, self-agency and freedom of imagination whilst also being able to build and sustain an argument or viewpoint. We want to develop students’ ability to craft writing, including knowledge and skills of rhetoric and grammar so that they can express themselves effectively and creatively. We strive to send them out into the world as skilled communicators and confident writers with a rich literary knowledge and lifelong love of reading; as a result, we prepare them for life.
At KS4 we build upon the knowledge and skills of KS3 where students have experienced a range of texts and have been taught explicitly the skills and knowledge for reading, writing and spoken language. Students will understand the interconnectedness of English Literature and English Language at KS4 and for those who chose to progress to KS5 will build upon and strengthen skills of argument, language analysis and interpretation at KS5.
English Key Stage 3
| KS3 | Module 1 | Module 2 | Module 3 |
| Year 7 | Telling Tales Core Text: Trash | 19th Century Life Core Text: Great Expectations | Shakespeare Core Text: The Tempest |
| Key Concepts | Identity; justice; honesty; relationships; narrative structure; figurative language; poverty; what it means to be a successful scholar | Social commentary; benefactor; morality; hierarchy; class system; justice; punishment; adults and children; poverty; charity | Fathers and daughters; kings and leaders; power; love; control; conflict; colonialism; symbolism and motif; |
| Year 8 | Fake News Core text: Animal Farm | Gothic Horror Core Text: Anthology | Shakespeare Core Text: Romeo and Juliet |
| Key Concepts | Allegory; Russian Revolution and rebellion; conflict; power and control; justice; rhetoric; viewpoint and perspective; dystopian fiction; propaganda, media representation; fake news | Conventions of genre; role of women; patriarchy; supernatural; science and religion; conflict and power | Love; hate; church and religion; power; tragedy; chorus; gender; loyalty; honour; gender roles; patriarchy; vengeance |
| Year 9 | Modern Play Core Text: A View From a Bridge | Science Fiction Core Text: War of the Worlds | Shakespeare Core Text: Merchant of Venice |
| Key Concepts | Familial love; tragedy and its conventions; power, love and conflict; immigration; identity; belonging and honour; sexuality; patriarchy; betrayal; justice; script | Conventions of genre; society and science; exploitation; colonialism; imperialism; power and conflict; Empire and Victorian England; | Anti-Semitism; role of women; patriarchal society; villains; symbolism; justice; mercy; law; comedy; wealth and trade; |
English GCSE – AQA
| KS4 | Module 1 | Module 2 | Module 3 |
| Year 10 | Poetry Cluster 1 A Christmas Carol Non-Fiction Extracts | Poetry Cluster 2 Macbeth Non-Fiction/Fiction Extracts | Poetry Cluster 3 Spoken Language |
| Key Concepts | social responsibility, justice, power, conflict, supernatural, charity, family, beauty, joy, redemption, forgiveness, fear, poverty, Victorian ideas and values, industrialisation… | ambition, power, appearance, reality, good vs evil, justice, guilt, kingship, succession, supernatural, hierarchy, war, conflict, nature | Power, conflict, identity, social responsibility, nature, war, viewpoint, debate, evaluation |
AQA English Literature A Level
| Year | Module 1 | Module 2 | Module 3 |
| 12 Love Through the Ages | The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Pre-19th Century Poetry from AQA Anthology Unseen poetry | Othello by Shakespeare Non-Examined Assessment (NEA) Text 1 | Exam Preparation Non-Examined Assessment (NEA) Text 2 |
| Key Questions | What is love? How is love presented at different times? What similarities and differences are there between texts? | How has the author presented a key theme in the text? How has the author presented a key character? What do we know about contextual details? Why are these relevant? | How can you improve your responses? Which texts link? Why do they link? Why is context important? What critical reading do I need to complete? |
| Year 13 Texts in Shared Contexts | Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams The Handmaid’s Tale by Angela Carter Feminine Gospels by Carol Ann Duffy | Revision of all set texts Exam Preparation Submission of Non-Examined Assessment | Final Exams |
| Key Concepts | What are the issues in modern times literature? How have they been presented? What links are there between the texts? What are the cultural influences? | How can I build a secure argument? How can I improve my revision? What further critical theory can I research and apply? |
AQA English Language A Level
| Year | Module 1 | Module 2 | Module 3 |
| 12 Language and the individual NEA Language in Action | Textual variations and key vocabulary Language and Power and theorists Speech Act Theory Accommodation theory Face Acts | Language diversity and key vocabulary Language and Gender and theorists Non-Examined Assessment (NEA) Style Model | Exam Preparation and writing skills Non-Examined Assessment (NEA) Investigation |
| Key Questions | What is forensic linguistics? How can it be used to identify/classify/objectify/exclude? Can students use key terminology and metalinguistics? Consideration of sociolect/idiolect/dialect/convergence/divergence/face threatening etc. | How has the speaker/writer presented their agenda in the text? What clues are there for multiple analysis of meaning? How does the contextual information affect delivery and reception of language? Style model NEA – what factors do you expect to find in particular genres? How are these replicated in your own? | How can you improve your responses? What linguistic or purpose links can you find and interpret? Why is context important? What critical reading do I need to complete? |
| Year 13 Language diversity and change NEA Language in Action | Child language acquisition (spoken and written) Language change – from the printing press to present day and beyond. | Revision of all key theorists and terminology Exam Preparation Submission of Non-Examined Assessment | Final Exams |
| Key Concepts | How and why has English changed over the last 200 years? What links are there between context and language change? What are the cultural influences? How do children acquire language? Which theorists do I need to support my ideas? | How can I build a secure argument? How can I improve my revision? What further critical theory can I research and apply? |
