St. Edmund's Catholic School

English

Aims

To provide for the learning needs in English of every student, regardless of sex, race or ability.
To encourage, at every opportunity, the skills of learning, both independently and collaboratively.
To foster the skills of effective and confident written and spoken communication in a wide range of specific situations.
To develop skills of technical accuracy.
To emphasise planning, drafting and redrafting as an essential part of the writing process.
To encourage the skills of active reading and listening.
To encourage the reading of literature from various ages and cultures.
To develop a growing understanding of the nature of language; its creativity and power, the conventions of standard English, the status of dialect and the importance of purpose and audience.
To encourage a continuous interest in language in the environment.

Content of Subject

Key Stage 3

The Department has developed schemes of work which are based upon the objectives and key elements of National Literacy Strategy. Pupils will follow a carefully constructed programme of activities which will target skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening and drama. Film and Media Studies is also an important addition to our Schemes of Work.

The Curriculum

Pupils in Years 7 and 8 follow six modules of approximately six weeks in length. Pupils in Year 7 are following the New Curriculum 2008 with some revisions made in each module.
Module 1 - Creative writing, Module 2 - Poetry, Module 3 - Modern Novel, Modules 4 and 5 - Non-Fiction and Module 6 - Shakespeare and Myths and Legends. Year 9 follow a similar modular system which includes modules in Drama, Non-fiction, The Novel and Shakespeare, developing skills in preparation for Key Stage 4.

Assessment at Key Stage 3

Assessment is carried out at the end of every six weekly module with specific task reflection that has been studied in the module. Students will all complete one APP (Assessing Pupil Progress) diagnostic tests in Reading and Writing & Speaking and Listening throughout the year.

Skills

In general, pupils develop skills to improve their understanding of reading, their word and sentence structure usage and develop confidence in speaking and listening - all of which are stipulated in the Literacy Strategy.

At Key Stage 3 the Speaking and Listening activities will include opportunities to : explore, hypothesise, explain, describe, narrate, debate, persuade, argue, to give consideration to ideas encountered in literature and the media, to analyse and develop independent thought, to listen attentively and respond with due consideration of audience and impact.

The written work will consider aspects of discourse structure, grammar, paragraphing, full stops, question and exclamation marks. Pupils will be encouraged to write in a variety of different forms including notes, diaries and personal letters. They will be asked to write original poetry, stories, character descriptions, information articles, to research information on a given topic, to write advertisements, and newspaper articles.

When reading the students will study a variety of pre-twentieth century prose, verse and drama, by established writers of merit. They will study modern writers of high critical standing and will also be encouraged to read independently and develop their own ideas seeing the advantages and pleasures of reading.

Intervention

Literacy Plus Units (LPUs) have been set up for pupils in Year 7 who have not progressed to Level 4. Further intervention support is available to students who continue to perform below Level 4. This will be in the form of a Reading Challenge and a Writing Challenge course specifically for Year 8 students. However, in Year 9 Booster Classes are used to improve pupil performances across the ability range. Individual tuition and guidance may be offered to students who need extra support.

Key Stage 4

The school follows the AQA A Syllabus in English and English Literature GCSE.

There are separate exams for English and English Literature. English is 40% coursework, of which 20% is for Oral Communication, and 60% written examination. English Literature is 30% coursework and 70% written examination.

Assessment at Key Stage 4

Assessment is a combination of teacher assessment and examination.

AQA A English and Literature allows for two tiers of entry: Foundation (Grade G-C) and Higher (Grade A* - D).

Post 16

AS Level English Literature (AQA Specification A)
AS is taken in Year 12 where pupils study the Literature of World War One. There are 2 units of work. Unit 1 is exam-based studying one poetry text and wide reading. Unit 2 is coursework based studying one prose text and one drama text.

A2 Level English Literature (AQA Specification A)
A2 is taken in Year 13 where students study a further 2 units on the Literature of Love Through the Ages. The units are again both exam and coursework.

Retake English (AQA A)
Assessment will be 40% teacher assessment of coursework, which is then moderated by the Examining Board and 60% external marking of the written examination.

Homework

Purpose

To encourage independent learning and to help develop students reading and writing ability.

Content

A Piece of writing or research relating to current class work; private reading and/or learning.

Frequency

One written homework and one reading, research or learning homework each week.

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