Curriculum Intent

Our knowledge-rich curriculum will inspire our students to appreciate the power of language and the opportunities that it provides for success in an ever-changing society and empower them to develop curiosity, imagination, expression, empathy and tolerance. Through our inspirational teaching we will build their confidence, creating literate, independent thinkers who are empathetic and go on to become life-long learners.  The English Curriculum is founded on a shared love of language and literature and, within our department, we endeavour to explore a variety of themes and ideas that are universal and relevant to today. Our students will fully understand that English is at the very heart of every aspect of learning and shapes our understanding of human experience. 

Impact

Our curriculum will ensure that the key skills and information needed at GCSE level is taught from Year 7 (at a Key Stage 3 level) as this will deepen knowledge and understanding of a variety of skills, texts and historical contexts.  We will expand students’ knowledge and understanding by building on skills learned in previous years and ensuring that they learn how to become more critical and analytical as they go up the years.  We will also expand their knowledge further through relevant trips, visiting companies and real-life experience that links to their studies and key texts.

KS3

Students study a range of exciting topics in KS3 with an equal focus on Reading and Writing skills where they are encouraged to develop ideas, argue their point of view and explore the ideas and contextual factors behind given texts.  Pupils will be encouraged to read, act and create their own pieces of writing around a variety of topics and ideas.

KS4

At KS4 level, students revisit and further develop the skills they learnt at KS3 with encouragement and guidance to explore and analyse given texts in more depth.  Pupils are taught how to approach a range of topics, skills and questions in preparation for their GCSE exams in English and they learn the Language and Literature units simultaneously to ensure that all skills are being continuously revised and improved whilst covering new topics and texts.