English-Department-Programme-of-Study-2022.23.pdf

From Year 7, the English curriculum is built upon the key foundation skills of language analysis and the ability to write extended pieces of work in a range of forms.

Whilst the topics vary from traditional plays by Shakespeare to the more contemporary study of iconic figures of the 20th century, such as Nelson Mandela, students are taught to analyse the written word critically and with growing independence, applying these writing styles to their own work.

These skills are revisited in every unit of work so that across time their application is firmly embedded in students’ understanding of the subject.

All of the Schemes of Work are written to deliver cultural capital, often in tandem with our Christian ethos.

The Year 9 unit exploring language change over time, uses the Genesis story of Creation to look at the way in which this allegory has become a fundamental part of our literary heritage as well as underpinning the core values of loyalty, love, and trust.

Cross-curricular links also ensure that we deliver cultural capital, for example, in the Autumn term Year 9 students study World War One in History alongside ‘Journey’s End’ in English whilst a battlefields trip coincides with Remembrance Sunday.

Progress is assessed through agreed termly core assessments.

At Key Stage 3, class data folders allow each teacher to identify individual underachievement and to track the progress of key subgroups: girls/boy split and Pupil Premium students.

At Key Stage 4, these core assessments are cross marked and moderated, thus sharing good practice and ideas across the Department.

The Department’s Key Stage 4 tracking sheet clearly identifies underperformance across groups and subgroups, signposting to teachers where further teaching is required, either to a whole class or to subgroups or identified individuals.

Teacher feedback is central to fill gaps in learning and this is clearly identified in students’ books by the use of the purple pen. Students also have the opportunity to upgrade their own work identified by using a green pen.

Students not making the expected progress are firstly dealt with via communication with home; this often has a positive impact on engagement in the classroom and work output.

Six-week blocks of intervention sessions also target Year 11 students at risk of not achieving their potential: delivered twice a week, this enables students to practise a discrete skill and then have written feedback for the following week.

English-Learning-Journey.pdf

Examination Board: AQA

The following is an overview of the syllabus to be taken by all classes. There are two examinations in this GCSE, both taken at the end of Year 11.

Paper 1; 1 hr 45 mins; 80 marks

Section A: 50%

• Students will read a previously unseen literary text from C20 or C21
• The questions will be structured to lead them through the passage
• There are four questions, each more challenging than the last
• The questions assess the students’ ability to read unseen texts.

Section B: 50%

• One writing question: 24 marks for content and 16 for spelling and grammar
• There will always be a choice between a written prompt and visual image, linked to the Section A text

Paper 2; 1 hr 45 mins; 80 marks

Section A: 50%

• The students will read two previously unseen texts; one text will be C19, the other C20 or C21
• There are four questions, each more challenging than the last
• The students will be required to compare the texts and focus on the language used

Section B: 50%

• One writing question: 24 marks for content and 16 for spelling and grammar
• The question will prescribe purpose and form, but it will always require the student’s perspective

For further information, please contact Mrs J Sheriff, Director of Learning for English - jsheriff@archbishops.kent.sch.uk

Examination Board: AQA

The following is an overview of the syllabus to be taken by all classes. There are two examinations in this GCSE, both taken at the end of Year 11.

For all of the texts studied, students may not take a copy in with them; excerpts may be included in the examination paper, but reference to the wider text and quotations as evidence must come from memory.

Paper 1; 1 hr 45 mins; 64 marks

Section A: 50%

• One question on a prepared Shakespeare play
• There will be an extract provided (for detailed language work)
• The answer needs to link the passage provided to the wider text

Section B: 50%

• One question on a prepared C19 novel
• There will be an extract provided (for detailed language work)
• The answer needs to link the passage provided to the wider text

Paper 2; 2 hrs 15 mins; 96 marks

Section A: 36%

• One question on a prepared modern text – prose or drama

Section B: 31%

• Choose one question from two on fifteen prepared poems
• The students will answer one comparative question – one poem will be named in the question and second will be the candidate’s choice

Section C: 33%

• First, the students will answer one question on a previously unseen poem
• Second, they will answer a question comparing the first unseen poem with a second one

For further information, please contact Mrs J Sheriff, Director of Learning for English - jsheriff@archbishops.kent.sch.uk