English

We believe it is vital to encourage students to find pleasure in their own work and to develop critical and enquiring minds. We aim to provide a curriculum which is broad and challenging and which encourages students to become confident and engaged in their learning.

At Highgate Wood School, we believe studying English helps a young person develop a range of vital skills that will help them as individuals and as part of the wider world.  We want our students to enjoy confident self-expression, enabling them to continue creating and exploring their own sense of identity.  This works best when in dialogue with others, and we want to help students’ written and verbal communication to be increasingly skilful: precise, clear and, at times, playful.  We want students to be able to determine writers’ and speakers’ viewpoints, and to exercise alert judgement and discrimination in forming their own.  We feel that each student should be encouraged to participate fully in developing both real and imaginary worlds for the benefit of themselves and others, and we know that language is a vital tool in this endeavour.

Developing skills and knowledge in English follows a spiral pattern in that skills students will have been introduced to in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 are developed throughout Key Stage 3, 4 and 5.  Students will learn increasingly more subtle and sophisticated techniques in both language and literature, and be able to access texts on increasingly more abstract levels.  By the end of Key Stage 3, students will also have been introduced to some new skills that are then consolidated and assessed at Key Stage 4, for example applying knowledge of the context of a text to deepen understanding and comparing two or more different texts.  Throughout Key Stage 5, students begin to learn about critical theory, applying critical frameworks such as feminist or post-colonial perspectives to deepen their understanding of the text and its relationship to the world.

When a student leaves Highgate Wood School, we want them to be confident in processing and articulating their thoughts and feelings using spoken and written language, and in understanding those of others.

English is taught in Years 7-8 in mixed ability tutor groups, with broad attainment-based groupings in Year 10 and 11.

It is with students as individuals that we start and finish, and this is particularly important in relation to target setting, where government practice concentrates on whole cohorts. We believe that the most important information relates to how a student may improve their skills and so we focus as much on raising individual achievement as we do raising statistical levels of attainment.

In Key Stage 4 English lessons, students study towards two separate GCSEs: one in English Language and one in English Literature. Across Years 10 and 11, they will read a range of texts and learn the skills required to prepare them for the four exams (two for each GCSE) they will sit in the summer of Year 11.

In Year 10, students will begin with a short unit on unseen poetry in order to establish key analytical skills and for teachers to be able to give students some early feedback on their writing. This will be followed by study of the first set of poems from the AQA Poetry Anthology – a set text which students will receive a copy of for study both at home and in class. Both unseen poetry and the taught anthology poems will eventually be examined in Paper 2 of the Literature GCSE.

By half term, students will also have begun practicing and developing the skills needed for the reading section of Paper 1 of the Language exam, where they will respond to extracts from literary fiction, again focussing on the writer’s craft. At Christmas, students will begin reading the 19th century novel, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. This is followed by the study of a second set of poems from their anthology, followed by the Shakespeare play Macbeth. Both Macbeth and Jekyll and Hyde are examined in Paper 1 of Literature. Again students will receive their own copy of these texts to annotate, which will become key revision material in the lead-up to exams.

In the Spring term, students will practice and develop their writing skills for Paper 1 of the Language exam where they are required to write creatively—either narrative or descriptive writing or a combination of both. Students will then be ready to take internal exams at the end of Year 10: Paper 1 of Literature and Paper 1 of Language.

During the summer term of Year 10, students will begin studying the skills for expressing a viewpoint which are assessed in the writing section of Language Paper 2. This will lead to an assessment before the summer break of their spoken language ability, for which they will receive a standalone grade on their GCSE certificate. When they return in Year 11 students will study the play An Inspector Calls for Paper 2 of the English Literature exam. They will then move on to the study of non-fiction texts from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. They will explore different writers’ viewpoints and perspectives found in unseen non-fiction extracts and how to respond to them in Paper 2 of the English Language exam. They will then use what they have read as a springboard for developing their own writing for Language Paper 2 Section B, where they are expected to express views and opinions.

A Level English Language and Literature combines a literary and linguistic study of the variation and richness in the English language. If you’re interested in studying a wide range of non-fiction texts and speech transcripts as well as a modern range of literature, and you’re keen on doing some creative writing, this would be a good choice for you. During the course there will be opportunities to produce original work and develop your own writing, as well as study the use of language by others. At the end of the course, you will have mastered not only critical writing but creative writing as well.

English Literature offers the opportunity to experience a wide range of different literary texts that will develop your aesthetic sensibilities and communication skills as well as your cultural and critical awareness. English Literature is a popular course for those thinking of a career in law, politics, journalism, publishing or the creative arts. It is also highly valued by universities and is considered a “gateway” subject to many degrees especially for students wishing to pursue courses in the arts or humanities. The department runs trips to the theatre and to literary seminars to enhance students’ experience
of the subject.

English is popular in the sixth form: we offer both English Literature and English Language at AS and A2 and follow the Edexcel specification for both courses.

Key Stage 3

English is taught in Years 7-8 in mixed ability tutor groups, with broad attainment-based groupings in Year 10 and 11.

It is with students as individuals that we start and finish, and this is particularly important in relation to target setting, where government practice concentrates on whole cohorts. We believe that the most important information relates to how a student may improve their skills and so we focus as much on raising individual achievement as we do raising statistical levels of attainment.

Key Stage 4

In Key Stage 4 English lessons, students study towards two separate GCSEs: one in English Language and one in English Literature. Across Years 10 and 11, they will read a range of texts and learn the skills required to prepare them for the four exams (two for each GCSE) they will sit in the summer of Year 11.

In Year 10, students will begin with a short unit on unseen poetry in order to establish key analytical skills and for teachers to be able to give students some early feedback on their writing. This will be followed by study of the first set of poems from the AQA Poetry Anthology – a set text which students will receive a copy of for study both at home and in class. Both unseen poetry and the taught anthology poems will eventually be examined in Paper 2 of the Literature GCSE.

By half term, students will also have begun practicing and developing the skills needed for the reading section of Paper 1 of the Language exam, where they will respond to extracts from literary fiction, again focussing on the writer’s craft. At Christmas, students will begin reading the 19th century novel, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. This is followed by the study of a second set of poems from their anthology, followed by the Shakespeare play Macbeth. Both Macbeth and Jekyll and Hyde are examined in Paper 1 of Literature. Again students will receive their own copy of these texts to annotate, which will become key revision material in the lead-up to exams.

In the Spring term, students will practice and develop their writing skills for Paper 1 of the Language exam where they are required to write creatively—either narrative or descriptive writing or a combination of both. Students will then be ready to take internal exams at the end of Year 10: Paper 1 of Literature and Paper 1 of Language.

During the summer term of Year 10, students will begin studying the skills for expressing a viewpoint which are assessed in the writing section of Language Paper 2. This will lead to an assessment before the summer break of their spoken language ability, for which they will receive a standalone grade on their GCSE certificate. When they return in Year 11 students will study the play An Inspector Calls for Paper 2 of the English Literature exam. They will then move on to the study of non-fiction texts from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. They will explore different writers’ viewpoints and perspectives found in unseen non-fiction extracts and how to respond to them in Paper 2 of the English Language exam. They will then use what they have read as a springboard for developing their own writing for Language Paper 2 Section B, where they are expected to express views and opinions.

Key Stage 5

A Level English Language and Literature combines a literary and linguistic study of the variation and richness in the English language. If you’re interested in studying a wide range of non-fiction texts and speech transcripts as well as a modern range of literature, and you’re keen on doing some creative writing, this would be a good choice for you. During the course there will be opportunities to produce original work and develop your own writing, as well as study the use of language by others. At the end of the course, you will have mastered not only critical writing but creative writing as well.

English Literature offers the opportunity to experience a wide range of different literary texts that will develop your aesthetic sensibilities and communication skills as well as your cultural and critical awareness. English Literature is a popular course for those thinking of a career in law, politics, journalism, publishing or the creative arts. It is also highly valued by universities and is considered a “gateway” subject to many degrees especially for students wishing to pursue courses in the arts or humanities. The department runs trips to the theatre and to literary seminars to enhance students’ experience
of the subject.

English is popular in the sixth form: we offer both English Literature and English Language at AS and A2 and follow the Edexcel specification for both courses.

Additional Information

The English Department aims to provide an atmosphere of mutual respect in which every student feels equally valued. Our aim is for all students of English to have equal access to, and enjoyment of, the curriculum regardless of sex, race, disability, religion or belief or sexual orientation. Within the teaching of English we aim to reflect and celebrate the diversity of experience and background found in the school community.

We are a hard-working team and believe all teachers should have the highest expectations of all students in terms of effort and attitude. We do all that we can as teachers to encourage success. We recognise that teaching and learning strategies need to cater for the needs of all students and constantly strive to create a learning environment which is exciting and dynamic.

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