English and Languages

English

The English curriculum develops over five years and is sequenced to ensure a breadth of study and develop mastery through embracing a range of text types from across the ages, along with developing analytical, exploratory, critical and comparative skills. At the heart of our curriculum, we consider the ‘human condition’ and we are passionate about students seeing their past, present and future in texts to spark their ambition.

Year 7 begins with the study of Greek myths, most notably Homer’s Odyssey, an epic tale of the fall of Troy and Odysseus’ ten-year journey home; pupils will also be introduced to the art of rhetoric. It also introduces works from Shakespeare and his representation of the marginalised in society. Pupils complete the year delving into voices in poetry and prose.

Year 8 begins with Gothic fiction using The Woman in Black and other Gothic extracts to consider how writers convey societal fears. In the Spring term pupils will study Richard III to examine ambition and the writer's role in communicating morality. In the Summer term pupils study a modern novel written in verse, Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, which builds upon the concepts in Richard III and propels these ideas into our contemporary world.

Year 9 begins with an exploration of 19^th Century fiction from a range of authors including Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Allan Poe and Arthur Conan Doyle building on gothic conventions explored in Year 8. In the Spring term pupils will experience war and conflict through literature including prose and poetry. In Summer term pupils will read a non-fiction text, I am Malala.

Year 10 marks the start of the two year GCSE curriculum, where pupils will study and master the texts required for GCSE Literature alongside developing, revising and practising GCSE English reading, writing and speaking skills.  Our set text studies include: Macbeth by William Shakespeare; A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens; An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley; and Power and Conflict Poetry.

In Year 11, pupils sit AQA GCSE English Literature and Language qualifications.

 

	Autumn term	Spring term	Summer term
Year 7	The Odyssey by Homer  Greek myths and legends    What does it mean to be brave and resilient?	Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare  Tragedy:    How is conflict represented in society?	Rhetoric in the world around me  The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave How do I engage with the world around me?
Year 8	The Woman in Black by Susan Hill  Gothic Fiction    Why are we afraid of the unknown?	Richard III by William Shakespeare  Ambition in Shakespeare     What are the consequences of my actions?	Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds  The modern novel and descriptive writing    Is revenge ever justified?
Year 9	To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee  Modern texts    The marginalisation of the outsider	WW1 poetry and Journey’s End by R C Sherriff  Voices from war and revolutions    What is the reality of conflict?	An Inspector Calls by J B Priestley  GCSE Transition unit: Modern dram texts
Year10	A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens  Social responsibility  Human identity and the outsider    Language paper 1	Macbeth  Honour and pride  Duality of man  Corruption and tyranny of power    Language paper 2	Spoken language and Anthology poetry  The human impact and consequence of War  Power of nature  Human identity and voice
Year 11	An Inspector Calls and unseen poetry  Society and responsibility  Language paper 2 revision	Revision	Revision

Modern Foreign Languages

The Modern Foreign Languages curriculum aims to provide pupils with a rich core knowledge and build their ability to communicate effectively in a foreign language over the course of five years. 

The curriculum is structured in such a way to build core knowledge in pupils in Year 7, 8 & 9. It builds upon these foundations into GCSE study, starting from Year 10, mastering this knowledge ready for terminal exams.   

In Year 7, pupils learn to describe themselves and establish the basic groundings of common grammar and phonics. As pupils progress through the years, they learn a wider variety of vocabulary, introduced through a knowledge organiser and formed sentences, students are exposed to a variety of grammatical structures which supports them in becoming fluent linguists.  The foundations of language, verb structures and a range of tenses are covered repeatedly in the first few years of the course in order to secure this core knowledge, with topic-based vocabulary introduced in order to build pupils’ ability to converse on a range of topics.

In Year 11, pupils sit AQA GCSE language qualifications, mainly in French or Spanish.  Students also have opportunities to take qualifications in home based languages.

French

Spanish