“The English team endeavour to immerse the students into a range of texts that represent our changing world and population, looking back to our roots and ahead to our futures, considering both the universal experience of humanity and the diverse nature of society, thus creating educated, critical and responsible people. We prioritise equipping our students with the repertoire to access every room in the real world, promoting confident, articulate and well-read students who are able to think critically about language and literature, with high expectations of themselves, regardless of any barriers they might face. We want to foster intellectual curiosity and enable them to express themselves, encouraging our students to connect with the world around them and their place within it. Through our enrichment opportunities, we nurture a deeper appreciation of the subject and provide a rounded, culturally rich education that enhances the learning of our students, develops character, resilience and confidence.  Ultimately, we want to champion English and all it offers our students, not only in the belief that they will internalise a love of the subject and wish to study it beyond GCSE, but with the focus of creating informed future leaders.” – Moreton’s English Department.

KS3 Curriculum – English

Throughout each unit of work, KS3 students are introduced to a variety of fiction and non-fiction tasks designed to encourage discussion and challenge to ignite a passion for learning. The English department has worked creatively and innovatively to ensure that an irresistible curriculum is on offer so that all students are inspired, engaged in their learning and reach their full potential. Students are assessed on their reading and writing skills each half-term and the assessment objectives used are based upon the GCSE assessment objectives with GCSE question stems being used to inform the tasks and assessments set.

Across the units of work, students are are exposed to cultural classics such as ‘Noughts and Crosses’ and the emotionally epic ‘Blood Brothers’, delve into genres such as The Gothic Tradition and look at Greek myths and legends, to ensure that students are introduced to a rich and wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts from across the literary canon and from many different eras. There is a great emphasis on writing skills and spelling, punctuation and grammar with the intention being that students become competent and confident writers. Throughout KS3, students develop the skills required in KS4 so the transition to GCSE study is seamless.

The English department runs a range of enrichment and extra-curricular activities and competitions including theatre trips, ‘Quote-Off’ challenges, poetry recitals, creative writing workshops, entry into national competitions and debate opportunities.

We also are incredibly proud of our school library, run by our department, but championed across the whole school in Curriculum Reading Time. Students are given time to immerse themselves in reading and various reading initiatives are run across the school to encourage reading for pleasure.

KS4 Curriculum – English

Students in Key Stage 4 are taught GCSE English from the AQA exam board, which enables students to experience analysing language and reading interesting literature texts. Along with a Shakespeare play, students study a 19th century novel, modern prose, a selection of poetry and non-fiction texts. Their work is assessed by their GCSE examination at the end of year 11. Students have found the course to be both challenging and relevant to their own experiences and future ambitions.
Students are encouraged to participate in a range of speaking and listening tasks, such as drama activities, to allow them to explore texts in a variety of ways. Students are regularly assessed for a range of skills in writing, reading and speaking and listening with teachers giving regular feedback to ensure students know how to improve.

The English team believe that ensuring students are challenged and enjoy their lessons is imperative to their success in the subject. Therefore, staff always find new ways to develop innovative lessons using new technology and techniques, such as interactive whiteboards and using iPads. However, we also believe that students’ own creativity should be encouraged and they produce imaginative pieces of work. Literacy is encouraged in all aspects of the curriculum and an enjoyment of reading is encouraged.

English Curriculum Overview