English and Languages

English

The English curriculum builds up over five years and is sequenced to ensure a breadth of study, and develop mastery through a chronological study of classic and modern literature, along with developing analytical, exploratory, critical and comparative skills.

Year 7 begins with study of the Greek myth of Homer's Odyssey, an epic tale of the fall of Troy and Odysseus' ten year journey home. It also includes study of classic texts from Chaucer and Shakespeare.

Year 8 introduces pupils to the power of rhetoric, from ancient to modern times. It includes in depth study of the poetry of the Romantics and the Gothic genre.

Year 9 includes a broad study of 'the Human Condition', as expressed through a range of texts. It includes studying poetry inspired by World War 1 and covers modern drama works.

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.

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

Year 7

Autumn 1

Homer – The Odyssey

Family Relationships
The human impact and consequences of war
Honour and pride

Autumn 2

Rhetoric

What does my voice sound like?

The formation of human identity through spoken word.
Exploration of contemporary issues.

Spring 1

Spring 2

An Introduction to Shakespearean plays and sonnets

How are the marginalised represented in society?

Inequality.
Prejudice.

Summer 1

Summer 2

Voices in poetry and prose

How do I empathise with the experience of others?

Love.
Relationships.
Pride.

Year 8

Autumn 1

Autumn 2

Gothic fiction: The Woman in Black by Susan Hill and other extracts

Why are we afraid of the unknown?

Human fears.
Gothic conventions.

Spring 1

Spring 2

Shakespeare and ambition: Richard III

What are the consequences of my actions?

The depiction of evil in literature.
Morality.
Kingship.

Summer 1

Summer 2

The modern novel and descriptive writing: Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Is revenge ever justified?

Social injustice.
An exploration of modern verse.

Year 9

Autumn 1

Autumn 2

Short stories for the 19th Century

How can appearances be deceiving?

Revisiting gothic conventions in other texts.
The creation of tension and suspense in literature.

Spring 1

Spring 2

Voices from war and revolutions

What is the reality of conflict?

The human impact and consequence of War.
The human inevitability of death.
Inequality of power and conflicting voices.

Summer 1

Summer 2

Non-fiction reading and writing: I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

Social injustice and conflict.
Strength in the face of adversity.

Year 10

Autumn 1

Autumn 2

A Christmas Carol

Responsibility.
Poverty.
Joy.

Language Paper 1

Skills and exam practice.
Reading - Section A.
Writing – Section B.

Spring 1

Spring 2

Macbeth

The duality of man.
The tragic hero.
The influence of the supernatural.

Language Paper 2

Skills and exam practice.
Reading - Section A.
Writing – Section B.

Summer 1

Summer 2

Power and Conflict Poetry

The power of nature.
The power of man.
The consequence of conflict.

Spoken Language

The art of rhetoric revisited.

Year 11

Autumn 1

Autumn 2

An Inspector Calls

Social injustice.
Responsibility.
Morality.

Unseen Poetry

The study of a range of poems.
Comparison of poems.

Spring 1

Spring 2

Revision

To supplement in class revision, we recommend York Notes AQA GCSE Literature and Language revision guides and using QuoteMaster to support the revision of key quotes.

Summer 1

Summer 2

Final Revision and Exam Preparation; Language and Literature

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 in common grammar. As pupils progress through the years, they learn a wider variety of vocabulary, as well as being able to communicate in the future and past tenses.

The foundations of linguistic knowledge, verb structures and a range of tenses are covered in depth repeatedly in the first few years of the course in order to secure this core knowledge, with topic-based vocabulary covered in order to build pupils ability to converse on a range of subjects.

In Year 11, pupils sit AQA GCSE language qualifications, mainly in French.

French

Year 7

Autumn 1	Je me présente Meeting and greeting, Likes and dislikes. Numbers, Dates, ages and birthdays Describing yourself, your survival kit. Classroom objects, the alphabet, classroom instructions.
Autumn 2 Spring 1	En famille Family, physical descriptions, characteristics, possessive articles, animals, Avoir and Etre – adjectives
Spring 2 Summer 1	Où j’habite Where I live, describing your home, avoir and etre, saying what you can do in town, Nouns, habiter in present tense, il y a/ il n’y a pas de.
Summer 2	Mes passetemps Free time, sports and activities. Faire and Jouer. What you like doing, describing what other people do. Describing future plans with friends, time. Near future tense

Year 8

Autumn 1

Autumn 2

Les Vacances
Countries, Holidays, holiday plans
Using past tense. Weather in the imperfect.

Spring 1

Spring 2

Mon identité

Avoir and être, Opinions on music and clothes. Talking about last weekend. Clothes and fashion, a recent trip out in perfect tense, music, French singers, cinema and TV.

Summer 1

Summer 2

Mon collège.
School subjects, describing timetable, school uniform, French school system, giving opinions and reasons and reasons. School rules. time, describe previous school trip

Year 9

Autumn 1 Autumn 2	Qui suis-je Family relationships, Describing friends, going out in town, describing weekend routine, talking about life when you were younger. Talking about role models.
Spring 1	Ma vie sociale d’ado Describing social activities Facebook, technology, describing life before technology, Music festivals
Spring 2 Summer 1	Le temps des loisirs Sport and music, Cinema and TV Life online, books and culture, eating out.
Summer 2	Jours ordinaires, jours de fête Daily life, food and culture, family celebrations, festivals and traditions. Traditions in other French speaking countries

Year 10

Autumn 1 Autumn 2	De la ville à la campagne Describing a region, including how it used to be, discussing what to see and do. Describing plans and weather.
Spring 1	Le mode de Vie Personal information: Lifestyle healthy eating and exercise, at the doctor, alcohol and substance abuse.
Spring 2 Summer 1	Moi dans le monde The environment, Rights and responsibilities, charity and voluntary work. Homelessness and poverty.
Summer 2	Le grand large Holidays, Out and about: Visitor information, Local amenities, accommodation, basic weather. Personal information: Leisure activities, booking and reviewing hotels, ordering in a restaurant, talking about holiday disasters.

Year 11

Autumn 1	Le collège School subjects and opinions, school rules, pressures at school, re-visit timetable and telling the time.
Autumn 2	Il faut bosser Future plans, education and work: Work and work experience, simple job advertisements, applications and CV
Spring 1 Spring 2 Summer 1	Revision
Summer 2

Autumn 1	School subjects and opinions, school rules, pressures at school, re-visit timetable and telling the time.
Autumn 2	Future plans, education and work: Work and work experience, simple job advertisements, applications and CV
Spring 1 Spring 2 Summer 1	Revision
Summer 2