English

The department consists of eight full time English specialists all of whom teach across the full 11-18 age and ability range. The department is housed on two floors in the main school block along with the library which staff are able to make full use of in lessons. All of the English rooms are equipped with data projectors, interactive whiteboards and networked computers on which students are able to research and work in lessons.

Curriculum intent

It is key to the success of the English department that every member has a say and a stake in the development of the curriculum and the provision that we offer. The curriculum has been designed and written over many years and the courses that we offer are comprehensively in-house resourced. Pupils are encouraged to develop the skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. They will do this through the reading and writing of poems, plays and stories, as well as through role-play and dramatic activities. They will work on their own, in pairs and in groups, in the library, the computer room and in the classroom.

All resources are stored digitally which means that we can adapt them efficiently and share them easily with students. It is a fundamental part of everyday department practice that, whilst we have developed extremely high-quality resources, these are not rigidly delivered in a one size fits all approach, but as individual practitioners we use our knowledge as experienced professionals to adapt those resources to the needs of our own individual learners. It is our practice that we all teach the same unit at the same time so that (a) there is a coherent experience for students, and (b) informal teacher discussions enable the sharing of ideas and approaches. All English staff teach across the full age and ability range and whilst we have setted groups, there are no teachers who tend towards teaching one type of group rather than another.

Students in Key Stage 3 experience a wide range of literature texts, both modern and 19^th century, from Treasure Island in Y7, to Animal Farm in Y8 and Blood Brothers in Y9. They are also introduced to Shakespeare through their study of The Tempest in Y7 and more in-depth work on Shakespeare with Romeo and Juliet in Y9. Students are encouraged to think and write creatively writing ghost stories in Y7, horror stories in Y8 and dystopian fiction in Y9. We study war poetry in Y8 and begin Power & Conflict poetry at the very end of Y9. Students encounter non-fiction texts in the World Today unit in Y7 and Greek Mythology in Y8. Writing in a specific form and for a specific audience such as letters, leaflets etc is also integrated within the literature tasks that we deliver. We are great believers in the power of speaking: the end of Y7 culminates in a public speaking competition where tutor groups compete against eachother. It is our intention that students enter KS4 having laid a very solid foundation in KS3 for all of the skills that they will be assessed on at GCSE.

Students work in exercise books and these act as a record of the work that they have done. All units begin with an individual knowledge organiser for that unit (blue sheet) and most end with a green assessment sheet. As a department we are moving to more whole class ‘green sheet’ assessment sheets as both a visible, practical and effective means of evidencing progress and developing skills.

Lessons are structured in a variety of ways but our endeavour is always for students to discuss, reflect, challenge and ultimately to become increasingly independent readers and writers and to enjoy the pursuit of English for its own sake. A qualification in English demonstrates that one is a skilled reader and an adept writer with the ability to evaluate an opinion, the skills to argue a viewpoint and the imagination to empathise with another’s situation.

Curriculum links to the whole school Aims

The English department at Balcarras offers a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum which covers each of the 3 main literature genres (prose, drama and poetry) with an increasing depth of challenge at each stage. We also teach non-fiction texts and writing to encourage students to see how writing may be shaped to achieve particular outcomes and ends.

We encourage success in all its forms and mark positively with a focus in each formal assessment on ‘what went well’ (www) accompanied by and ‘even better if’(ebi) or ‘next steps’ statement as part of the high expectations that we have for every pupil. We ensure equal access in that all students follow the same English curriculum adapted according to need. We believe in the expertise of our teachers who know their students and are equipped with the skills to deliver our curriculum in an appropriate and relevant manner.

Students spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered through discussions of issues raised in the texts that we study. Examples of this would include the effects of class in society in Blood Brothers, the taking of personal responsibility in An Inspector Calls and the uses and abuses of power in Animal Farm. We develop students ‘cultural capital’ by reading and discussing Greek myths in Y8 and Y10 and consider the relevance of the moral questions posed to our lives today. We also explore toxic masculinity in Romeo and Juliet and the notions of kingship and moral leadership in Macbeth. Cultural capital is also reinforced in the contextual areas that we cover in WW1 and Power & Conflict poetry, the Russian Revolution in Animal Farm in which we also address concepts of democracy and individual liberties, and the treatment of the poor in Victorian England in A Christmas Carol with a focus on Dickens’ message (through Scrooge’s transformation) of kindness, community and generosity of spirit.

We run theatre trips where we can to see performances of the texts that we study such as Blood Brothers and An Inspector Calls. We also organise a Macbeth theatre workshop for Y11 each year with an RSC educational outreach practitioner and have also arranged for a theatre company to come in to school to do a performance of Macbeth. A few Y8 students are currently taking part in a creative writing workshop across the Cheltenham schools’ partnership and we have also taken Y13 students to hear the AC Bradley Memorial lecture. We have very strong links with the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford who run an A level study day for us each year in the autumn term and a Y7 day in the summer term. The end of each academic year culminates in a Y7 inter-tutor group public speaking competition performed in front of the whole year group.

Progression of skills