English at Abbotsholme

Key Stage 3

In Years 7, 8 and 9 pupils cover a range of topics and texts that enable them to improve their reading, writing, speaking and listening skills.

The Department follows aspects of the statutory N.C. programmes of study. Pupils learn to appreciate a range of texts including: poetry; prose; non-fiction; media and drama. They study texts from the English Literary Heritage and from different cultures. In lessons, pupils are supported in exploring their personal interpretations of text in discussion and through their writing. Lessons encourage active engagement and responsibility. A taste of what we do:

Year 7

Autobiography, personal writing; animal/people poetry (symbolism) including Blake, Storey and Wallis; The Demon Headmaster (drama); extracts from Bram Stoker’s Dracula; media texts- alternative fairy tales incl. Shrek and Princess Bride; brochures and persuasive writing.

Year 8

Shakespeare’s world (historical and social context); Romeo and Juliet; Holes by Louis Sachar; Poetry incl. Armitage and Sandberg; media – Chicken Run.

Year 9

Macbeth; descriptive writing; The Boy in Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne; Love poetry, traditional and modern; media analysis.

At GCSE we follow the AQA syllabi: English; English Language and English Literature.

Both courses cover the study of non-fiction and media texts; writing for different purposes; speaking and listening tasks; the study of drama, poetry and prose including Shakespeare; texts from the Literary Heritage and from other cultures.

Additionally, for the joint course, pupils study spoken language and two further literary texts.

Examples of literature studied this year include: The Merchant of Venice; A Christmas Carol; To Kill a Mockingbird; Of Mice and Men; Henry V; Romeo and Juliet; The Woman in Black; Touching the Void, war poetry and poetry from the AQA Anthology Moon on the Tides.

Students whose first language is not English are coached for the I.E.L.T.S. exam in Academic English when they are in the Sixth Form. Their score in this exam is included in their university applications. We also offer AQA’s Certificate in English which is a one year GCSE course.

At A Level we follow the AQA English Literature syllabus A

AS involves the study of poetry of the First World War; Birdsong; Journey’s End; Black Adder; and extensive wider reading including non-fiction texts.

A2 involves the study of a wide range of literature themed around ‘Love through the Ages’, including Much Ado About Nothing; Tess of the D’Urbervilles; A Streetcar Named Desire; and further poetry, drama and prose from Chaucer to modern day.