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St Alban’s Catholic High School Domine Ut Serviam - Lord, that I may serve

  • English

    Subject Vision

    English is a core subject taught to all students from years 7-11. We also have an excellent take up of the subject at A level.

    We teach all students, right across the year groups, in mixed ability groupings

    Through our ambitious English curriculum, we strive to cultivate a comprehensive and dynamic learning environment that empowers students to become skilled and passionate communicators, critical thinkers, and lifelong learners. We aim to foster a love for language, literature, and literacy while equipping students with the necessary skills to succeed academically, professionally, and personally.

    We strive to do this through:

    • Excellence in Language and Literacy
    • Cultivating Critical Thinking
    • Promoting Cultural Understanding 
    • Creating Lifelong Readers

    What resources are available to support learning?

    A variety of materials are available in lessons and online. Each student is given access to our carefully curated SharePoint area that is stocked with extra resources to support learning outside of the classroom. Homework is delivered via structured homework booklets  that support the retrieval of key knowledge and allow students to further their understanding of topics studied within the classroom.

    Key Stage 3 Curriculum Overview

     

    Year 7

    Year 8

    Year 9

    Aut.1

    My Voice – Our World

    Dystopian Fiction- The Hunger Games

    The Modern Novel- Of Mice and Men

    Aut.2

    The origins of story telling- myths and legends.

    Dystopian Fiction- The Hunger Games

    The Modern Novel- Of Mice and Men

    Spr.1

    Modern Novel Study – The Bone Sparrow

    The Tempest

    Outsiders in the Gothic

    Spr.2

    Modern Novel Study – The Bone Sparrow

    Norse Mythology

    The power of language – Rhetoric

    Sum.1

    Narrative poetry

    The Gothic

    Conflict in ‘Romeo and Juliet’

    Sum.2

    Stories from the stage.

    Voices in Shakespeare.

    Powerful Voices

    Protest poetry

    Where does this subject lead me?

    KS4 English

    The core knowledge gathered across KS3 study in English is fundamental preparation for the GCSE English Language and GCSE English Literature courses that students will go on to study in KS4. All students study both English Language and Literature at GCSE.  Students are taught in mixed ability groupings with plenty of opportunity for all students to have access to challenging and ambitious material.  For more information, please see our Key Stage 4 section below.

    Sixth Forms, colleges and employers require either a grade 4 or 5 or above in English and we are tenacious in our commitment to help our students acquire the grades they need in English for the next steps in their future.

    Having confident English knowledge and an ability to write in a range of contexts, is a fundamental skill for all subject areas.

    Key Stage 4 Curriculum Overview

     

    Year 10

    Year 11

    Aut.1

    Modern Play - An Inspector Calls

    Language Paper 2

    Literature- Poetry anthology – Power of Man cluster

    Aut.2

    19th Century novel - Jekyll and Hyde

    Language: Paper 1 revision
    Literature: Poetry Anthology and Macbeth revision

    Spr.1

    Shakespeare play - Macbeth

     

    Language: Paper 1 & 2 reading revision

     

    Literature: Revision of ‘Jekyll and Hyde and ‘An Inspector Calls’

    Spr.2

    Shakespeare play - Macbeth

    Language: Revision of writing for paper 1 and 2.

     

    Literature: Revision of poetry and ‘Jekyll and Hyde’

    Sum.1

    Introduction to Language Paper 1 and Anthology Poetry

    Revision

    Sum.2

    GCSE speaking and listening NEA

    Language Paper 2

    Literature- Poetry anthology – Power of Man cluster

    How is it assessed?

    All students will be entered for both GCSE English Literature and Language qualifications. Students will sit two papers for each English discipline and complete a speaking and listening non exam assessment as part of the GCSE English language course. The exam board we use for both GCSE English Language and English Literature is AQA.

    There is no written coursework in English.

    Where does this subject lead me?

    Many students go on to study English Language and English Literature at A Level and beyond at university. English is a is a highly respected qualification that demonstrates the ability to think critically, be skilled communicators and explore the impact of history and culture on important works of Literature.

    For more information on our A level English options, please see our Key Stage 5 section below, which contains information on:

    • A level English Language
    • A level English Literature

    Key Stage 5 Curriculum Overview

    English Language

     

    Year 12

    Year 13

    Aut.1

    Language and Gender

     

    Language and Accent/Dialect

    Language Change

     

    Language Acquisition

    Aut.2

    Meanings and Representations

     

    Language and Occupation

    Language Change and Technology

     

    Language Acquisition and World Englishes

    Spr.1

    Meanings and Representations

     

    Language and Occupation

    Meanings and Representations

     

    PPE Revision

     

    Coursework

    Spr.2

    Coursework (Language in Action)

    Revision of key texts;

    Completion of NEA

    Sum.1

    PPEs and Coursework (Language in Action)

    Revision of key texts;

    Completion of NEA

    Sum.2

    Coursework (Investigation)

     

    English Literature

     

    Year 12

    Year 13

    Aut.1

    Love through the Ages

     

    Othello and The Great Gatsby

    Texts in shared contexts

     

    A Streetcar named Desire

     

    The Color Purple

    Aut.2

    Love through the Ages

     

    Othello and The Great Gatsby

    Texts in shared contexts

     

    A Streetcar named Desire

     

    The Color Purple

    Spr.1

    Unseen Poetry (Modernism and Post-modernism)

     

    Pre-1900 Poetry Anthology

    Texts in shared contexts

     

    Feminine Gospels

     

    Unseen Prose

    Spr.2

    Begin NEA core taught text Dracula

    Texts in shared contexts

     

    Feminine Gospels

     

    Revision of Yr 12 texts

    Sum.1

    NEA taught text: Dracula

    Revision

    Sum.2

    NEA independent guided research

     

    Where does this subject lead me?

    Studying English Language at A Level grants skills in analysing texts, data collection with analysis, and the ability to look at the cultural and historical impact on how language was formed. The course prepares you to engage with a variety of further education

    English Language is 80% exam and 10% coursework.

    English Literature 80% exam and 10% coursework.

    Careers Information

    English Language

    Our students move into a range of professions such as: forensic linguistics, translation, law, STEM, journalism, linguistics, criminology, media, speech therapy, advertising and many more.

    English Literature

    Students often take their studies further, by studying Literature at University. Furthermore, they also take the next steps into: journalism, writing, history, publishing, education and many more.

    Other Information

    Students get access to online critical journals for both English Literature and English Language, as well as an invite to a Book Club that broadens their horizons of literary fiction.

    Past trips in Literature have been to The Globe Theatre.