Key Stage 3

Each year of learning in Key Stage 3 English is built around specific core texts which cover the three literary disciplines: prose, poetry and drama. The authors and texts we select are robust; they offer gripping narratives, compelling characters and scenarios which enable students to test and expand their own understanding of human interactions and the potentialities around these (see curriculum maps). All students follow this programme of study. By focusing on authors whose texts offer timeless narratives in classical forms, we aim to provide a coherent curriculum which is interlinked and cohesive. By choosing authors whose vocabulary and grammatical structures offer avenues for growth, we push students to extend their familiarity with a richer palette of words and stylistic devices while the cultural knowledge becomes part of their world view. The language work grows out of the texts studied and consistent retrieval practice is used to build on prior knowledge.

Year 7 are taught in tutor groups, and years 8 & 9 classes are taught in mixed ability groups across the cohort. All students continue to follow the same programme of study.

Each summer term, there is a rigorous revision of the curriculum map and new materials are often developed at this point as we reflect on the implementation of the curriculum and seek to refine our learning strategies.

Key Stage 4

Our Key Stage 4 curriculum sets out to continue to develop the passion for English. In addition, we recognise that English is commonly used around the world as a trade language or diplomatic language. It is the language of science, aviation, computers, diplomacy and tourism. Finally, it is the language of international communication, the media and the internet. Our curriculum must prepare students for a lifetime of experiences as well as critical assessments at the end of the Key Stage.

All Key Stage 4 students follow the joint qualification pathway in English, following a course of study which will enable them to take the Language and Literature GCSE in the summer term of Year 11. Students in Key Stage 4 are set according to academic ability in English.

We have selected the AQA syllabus as the texts on offer provide a strong opportunity for progress and success. All students complete a full course of study, and we expect all students to sit both examinations (for Language & Literature). Differentiation is achieved through the choice of texts by individual teachers to match the ability of the set-in question.

Curriculum leaders at KS4 are constantly creating new materials and engaging resources to stimulate the learning of all students but particularly those who find the academic demands of a non-tiered examination a real challenge.

Membership of the English Hampshire Hub has also been useful in promoting a sense of shared ownership of the examination process and the teaching strategies which might promote strong progress at GCSE.

Key Stage 5

At KS5, we provide students with the opportunity to study three separate A-level options: English Literature, English Language and English Joint. Our focus is for our students to develop a greater sense of independence as part of a high challenge and robust specifications which will enable students to build on the skills they’ve developed at GCSE, by engaging creatively and critically with a wide range of texts and discourses. Students are guided towards A-levels which seem a good match for their skill set and possible projection for their career options.

We have chosen AQA as our examination board. The specifications give us the freedom to develop and tailor our own content, inject our own creativity and teach in a way that brings enjoyment to all students.

At A-level, we pride ourselves on the level of academic rigour and the extensive knowledge on offer for each of the three English disciplines. This is enabled through the combined teaching of two subject teachers for each A-level and enhances student experiences, both academically and pastorally. Consistency and communication between class teachers is paramount – offering students timed essays and regular opportunities for extended writing, periodically set as homework to consolidate understanding and reinforce the need for an independent and resilient approach to their own learning.

Catholic Social teaching and the English curriculum

Catholic social teaching is concerned with global social issues, and the Church’s stance is to tackle the issues and find a way to resolve them. There are a number of areas within our curriculum where students are exposed to these issues, and the Catholic viewpoint can be discussed.

For example:

1) Dignity of the Human Person: Life and dignity are supported through many areas of the curriculum – ranging from KS3 through to KS5. At KS3, many students have the opportunity to explore texts centred on injustice, identity and the mistreatment of others – especially those that concern larger themes and concepts linked to human experience (e.g. Romeo & Juliet, Trash, A Christmas Carol, Medea and our student voice units in Y7 & Y8). Additionally, Y7 have the opportunity to explore ‘voices of protest’ by understanding and evaluating humanity, respect and acceptance in society – focused on the eclectic experience of the many, to reflect on the self. Within KS4, many students uncover a multitude of reflections and emotional responses through their Literature qualification – especially those linked to the Literary heritage, as a lens to examine society, the human condition and religion.
2) Peace: The concept of peace can be observed in multiple areas of the English curriculum – especially that of our Y9 War Poetry unit. This offers students a real opportunity to understand and reflect on different male and female perspectives, as well as different poetic styles, during both historic and more modern conflicts. A plethora of poems are chosen to extend our understanding and exploration of central themes of conflict, and why peace and harmony can be achieved through unity.
3) The Common Good:  The common good forms a solid foundation for all English teaching across the key stages and the curriculum as a whole. Many students develop their own sense of the common good through their exposure to the rights and responsibilities we are given – as well as those witnessed and read in a variety of texts we study. One Y9 text in particular, ‘Noughts and Crosses’, shines a light on the sense of justice within society, whether that be through race, sexuality, identity, and issues moral guidance to the students – reminding them of our collective responsibility to do what is right and just.
4) The Option for the Poor and Vulnerable: Students are exposed to a variety of texts and scenarios, centred on the notion of the poor and the opportunities (or lack thereof) given in society. This can be pinpointed most prominently to texts such as Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ and William Blake’s ‘London’ at KS4 – as well as our KS3 transition book, ‘Trash’ which concerns the lives of three poor boys navigating a difficult moral situation, whilst living on a dumpsite. These texts allow students to consider our reactions and perspectives of the poor – offering alternative views and attitudes relating to the most vulnerable in society and how we can offer aid/support.
5) Dignity of Work: This and upholding human participation and fairness is something that lends itself well to the English curriculum. Most notably, Y7 are exposed to the realities of poverty and child slave labour in countries such as Bangladesh and India, through their ‘Voices of Protest’ unit. This allows students to understand the need for comfortable working conditions, fairness and equality in a working environment. Additionally, one of the other modern examples introduced into the Y7 curriculum can be found in the narrative text ‘The Breadwinner’. This text examines the hardship of poverty in a war-torn country, sexism and the difficulty of working conditions for young children attempting to support their family.
6) Solidarity: The permeates every part of the English curriculum, whether that be through a shared experience demonstrated in a Literature text or our reaction/perspective to an unseen Language text which offers an insight into challenging concepts. Often when reading a text, either in KS3, KS4 or KS5, students are offered a window into the lives of others and relate to a shared experience of pain, suffering, joy and jubilation. It is our shared understanding, integrity and personal reflections that allow us to come together.
7) Care for God’s Creation: Human experience concerns itself with the care for God’s creation and there are outstanding examples of this in KS3 and KS4. In Y8, students are able to explore a wide array of unseen poetry, exploring the concept of identity and the natural world. Poets such as Wordsworth, Blake and other Romantic poets, allow us to see through a window of creation and deliberately shape our attitude to appreciate and admire the bounteous form of all God’s creation. This can be seen more prominently in KS4, when students analyse and explore the Power & Conflict Poetry Anthology – examining the power and strength of God’s creation in poems regarding the power of nature, such as ‘The Prelude’, ‘London’, ‘Exposure’ and ‘Storm on the Island’.

To increase a student’s understanding of Catholic Social Teaching

The department emphasises the importance of dialogic talk/discussion-based learning. Most research suggests that students think more critically and evaluatively when having the opportunity to speak openly with peers and as a class. This provides students with a platform to discuss, process, question, and challenge different perspectives and attitudes – bolstering their ability to think more conceptually and evaluatively, which lends itself not only to the exam process at GCSE and A level, but provides students with the skill to think outwardly and conceptually about the world around them. One specific example is our ‘Let’s Think in English’ lessons held in Y7 and Y8. Once a half-term, students in Y7 and Y8 have a dialogic talk lesson where they discuss a deliberately controversial and thought-provoking narrative text and converse about the stimulating concepts expressed. These lessons are about thinking and discussion, therefore students do not write in these lessons and allows them to express themselves and forge an inquisitive and curious line of enquiry, ultimately benefitting their written responses in the long-term by replicating a more advanced way of thinking.

Supporting the disadvantaged

The department uses a range of resources and skills to support disadvantaged learners. A range of students have learning passports that include implementation strategies to support learning. One of the strategies that assists many SEND children is the use of learning maps or task lists. Others might include glossaries of key words, printouts of PowerPoints (for students or in the case or hearing SEND, for the LSA to notate for later use), careful and suitable seating in class, use of specific pastel colour backgrounds on PowerPoints for those with visual stress or ensuring handouts are on a specific colour paper. In addition to this, disadvantaged students at Key Stage 4 (particularly those in Year 11) are invited to a specialised St Anthony’s Group to support extended analysis, progress and performance in English Language and English Literature.

Assessment

Assessments are designed to test both knowledge and skills gained at a particular stage. Students are assessed regularly by their class teachers through the marking of classwork, the assessment of homework tasks and the half termly timed AOTs (assessment objective tests) which all students must take. Each student is provided with an instructive comment, a target and a grade (KS3 A-E, KS4 9-1), for a substantial piece of work produced. All Key Stage 3 teachers use the Key Stage 3 assessment criteria, a skills-based model which is rigorously monitored through moderation sessions. Students complete a variety of reading and/or writing tasks each year (6 in total) to assess their ability to apply key skills developed and knowledge gained throughout their learning journey, building on the themes/concepts experienced in previous texts. The AOTs may inform the six-week data drop, or this may be awarded based on an amalgamation of test and classwork.  In this way, individual progress is measured and whole cohorts are also reviewed regularly. Students have an assessment book that follows the student throughout Key Stage 3.

Similarly, at KS4 and KS5, students are regularly assessed with each component/topic covered. Regular assessment through mock examinations, provide a clear pathway for continued progress, feedback and development. Consistent assessment in all areas of English Language and Literature, provides students with numerous opportunities to reflect, improve and develop their skills and knowledge for enhanced performance. ARE and target grades are regularly reviewed and scrutinised to ensure students are challenged through a robust programme of assessment and evaluation.

We have a clear understanding of what children need to learn and by when. This is reflected in the rich profusion of texts we have to offer throughout the curriculum, going above and beyond the requirement outlined in the National Curriculum and promoting inclusivity. High Prior Attainers are supported in English by offering a more advanced reading group, to ensure students are appropriately challenged and focused on thinking critically about themes and concepts relating to the human condition.

Extra-Curricular and Cultural Capital

Within the English department the development of Cultural Capital is addressed through a students’ personal, social, spiritual, moral and cultural development. This is achieved through both the formal and informal curriculum.

Personal development includes work on growth mindset and the development of confidence through public speaking. Social development includes working in groups to listen to the views of others and present ideas based on a variety of texts. Initiatives to enhance a student’s spiritual development are achieved through a response to literature, for example, analysing how a student feels if they were a character in a story, or the appreciation of the beauty of language through poetry. Moral development is promoted in a number of ways including exploring the consequences of behaviours of characters in novels and having an opportunity to debate and discuss. Opportunities for cultural development are achieved through a multitude of texts and poetry exposing students to unfamiliar traditions.

In normal times, the department offers theatre trips, both locally and nationally, visiting authors and exciting exposure to contemporary adaptations of text.

Development of Literacy through English

Reading and writing in English is vital to personal and academic development, and our curriculum offers a multitude of opportunities for students to mature and grow further. Our department literacy policy ensures students enhance their academic prowess and progress, both through the reading of challenging texts and discussing complex issues to enhance the understanding of the human condition, and individual ability to apply literacy skills in all facets of life.

Prioritising disciplinary literacy:

• Dialogic talk/discussion-based learning is an integral component of our curriculum, as well as intrinsic to our teaching and learning methods (e.g. ‘Let’s Think in English, nominated questioning & class debates). This provides opportunities to discuss challenging themes and offers key points to review subject specific vocabulary.
• Offer bespoke teaching of subject specific vocabulary throughout our curriculum – inculcating a culture of revision and challenge, throughout a students’ learning journey.

Giving students the ability to read complex academic texts:

• Reading a robust profusion of texts and building cultural capital in the curriculum, develops knowledge and learning throughout each student’s learning journey.
• Emotional literacy is enhanced exponentially through constant exposure to challenging literature, developing intrigue, curiosity and questioning.
• Encouragement for students to access our Library Learning Centre – offering an eclectic taste of Literature from around the globe and a real multitude of first-class writers from different cultures.

We have also compiled a wider reading list for Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 students – you can download the list here.

Targeted vocabulary instruction:

• Writing offers an opportunity for students to put their knowledge and skills into practice. High scrutiny of technical accuracy, flair and creativity allows students to feel confident in their ability to produce high-quality writing and innovation is fostered at every juncture.
• Methods of reflection, review and redrafting, ensure students are constantly learning as part of their continued development and writing skill.
• Implementation of vocabulary read and learnt through reading, is encouraged to be used in writing tasks.
• Encouraging students to include an ambitious range of vocabulary in their writing, as a result of their critical reading of various texts.