English

A love of literature underpins everything we do in the English department. It is this enthusiasm we aim to pass on to students, lifting literature off the page in activities that are creative and relevant. We encourage personal reading to prepare students for the outside world, equipping them with academic excellence and transferable skills.

Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9)

Learning is dynamic and vibrant with an emphasis on fostering an enjoyment of books and language, whilst developing technical accuracy and flair in writing. Pupils study a range of texts, including novels, poems and non-fiction. We encourage children to become self-motivated and often one half term’s homework will be devoted to an individual project. These currently include producing a Shakespeare project and a Vampire Hunter’s Guidebook. Pupils engage with language both on the page and through oral work, such as dramatic role-play, speeches, monologues and debate.

Dsc 0148

GCSE (Years 10 & 11)

Programme of study - Year 7
Programme of study - Year 8
Programme of study - Year 9
Programme of study - Year 10
Programme of study - Year 11

Examination Board: AQA

Pupils are set by ability for GCSE and study both English Language and English Literature. These are taught side-by-side, enabling students to see how the skills they learn are relevant to both disciplines. Currently, students read Macbeth, An Inspector Calls and The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as studying an anthology of poetry which spans a range of literary periods up to the present day.

Senior English

Trips

We are keen to lift literature off the page for our students, and keep an eye out for productions of any of the texts we study. We often take trips to the theatre in London. Recently, we have seen Macbeth at the Globe, The Winter's Tale at the Barbican and War Horse and Jane Eyre at the National Theatre. We also run a trip to The Globe every year for Year 9 students.

Extra Curriculum

ClubDayTime
Creative Writing ClubTuesdays1.10 - 1.40pm
Debate ClubWednesdays1.10 - 1.40pm
"Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another's skin, another's voice, another's soul." Joyce Carol Oates