All pupils study English at Key Stage 3. They develop their skills in reading, writing, and speaking and listening through following a varied programme of study. All pupils are expected to read widely and have a lesson for private reading once every two weeks. Pupils study a range of texts, from Shakespeare and modern poetry, fiction and non-fiction and have opportunities to write creatively. Their work is regularly assessed against the 16 assessment focuses and each half term pupils complete an assessment in reading, writing and speaking and listening which provides an overall level.

At Key Stage 4 students study either

·             GCSE English Language and GCSE English Literature or

·             GCSE English Language and GCSE Media Studies or

·             GCSE English Language and the AQA Entry Level Certificate

 

They prepare a folder of coursework covering a variety of different tasks, which is submitted to an external examiner, as well as working towards final examinations.

In GCSE English Language the students present four coursework responses to Reading and Writing, comprising: Shakespeare, Prose Study, Media and Original Writing. They also complete three internally assessed speaking and listening activities. For their examinations there are two papers involving creative writing, analysis of non fiction texts and a question based on poetry from different cultures.

In GCSE Media Studies the students complete coursework in music, TV, film and magazines. There is a focus on design and analysis of actual media texts using ICT. They then take an examination at the end of Year 11; the topic for 2011 is The Popular Press.  

In GCSE English Literature the students present three coursework responses to Reading and Writing comprising: Shakespeare, pre1914 prose study and modern drama. For their examinations there is one paper involving two tasks: analysis of post-1914 prose, and a question based on an anthology of pre and post 1914 poetry.

Many students continue their studies into Key Stage 5, and we run very popular and successful courses in English Literature, English Language and Media Studies.