English
In Year 7 students have been studying the theme of Identity and Culture through the lenses of literature and non-fiction. Students have been building on the historical learning that took place in Summer 1: such as South Africa’s apartheid era, the migration of those from the Caribbean and South Asia and the tyrannical brutality of despotic leaders and, after analysing the way the voices of those who experienced these times is portrayed through various literary and non-fiction texts, have been creating their own voices, being able to write evocatively, persuasively and passionately about travel, culture and destinations from across the globe.
Similarly, during the summer term, Year 8 students have been studying a scheme of learning on Minority Voices through the base text of Long Way Down, a novel written entirely in verse, where they have looked at writers’ creation of a voice and have recreated their own ‘voices’. This has been an excellence transitionary module that has seen our students prepared for the next step of their learning journey into Year 9.
KS4 Update
In the summer term, Year 9 students breached the gap the between KS3 and KS4 by looking at their first GCSE text: ‘An Inspector Calls’. Students have been analysing the creation of character and how those characters’ develop through course of the play, linking the play’s purpose to the contextual issues of its 1945 origin and the Edwardian setting. Students will be examined on this text and others in the summer of 2025 when they take their GCSE English Literature exam.
In Year 10, pupils have been revisiting the skills for the GCSE English Language Paper 1 exam. This is based around the analysis and then production of creative writing. English Language Paper 1 was the paper that students were examined on and their results were incredibly pleasing for this stage of their development. These skills will be taken forward with them as they move into Year 11 and they begin to prepare for their final exams.
KS5 Update
Year 12 students have completed their Progression Exams and their results are, once again, incredibly pleasing. There is much work to do still and students should be spending the summer break working on their NEAs, the first drafts of which are due in during the first week back. This are an incredibly vital part of both A Level courses and contribute significantly to the students’ overall success, allowing also for freedom of research and expression outside of the examination context.
We wish all of our students in both Year 11 and Year 13 the best of luck with the results of their exams and look forward to hearing the success stories in August.
Rewards in English
We LOVE recognising how amazing our students are in English and our young people may have noticed our Brag Board on the English corridor. Every half-term, the Class Act (class) with the most Reward Points will be awarded a prize (get your child to ask their teacher for more details).
Until September…
From all of us in the English Department, we hope you have a safe, enjoyable and restful summer break and we will see you in September.