English and Media Studies
In the English and Media Department we are passionate about our subjects and we aim to share this enthusiasm with our students. We aspire to develop young people who love reading for pleasure and who appreciate the works of a diverse selection of writers in order to broaden their understanding of the world.
We aim to develop students as skilful communicators: consciously crafting their writing to appeal to different audiences; engaging with a variety of texts, including film and media; adapting their spoken language to suit a range of contexts and purposes; and actively seeking to evaluate and improve their work.
We endeavour to guide our students to become self-motivated, independent and collaborative learners who take pride in their work and who can appreciate the importance and relevance of English and Media in their lives outside school. As a team, we strive to instil into our students the qualities of imagination, creativity and eloquence, thus preparing them fully for higher education and the world of work.
Key Stage 3
Programmes of Study in Years 7, 8 and 9 have been written to ensure progress across a range of reading, writing and speaking & listening objectives.
Students study poetry, prose, drama, non-fiction and media, and have opportunities to use IT and the library. Each module of work lasts for approximately six weeks and contains at least one formal assessment opportunity for reading, writing or speaking and listening.
READING
Our Programmes of Study include opportunities for individual, group or home-based reading activities. We lead students to explore different genres and writers' intentions, concentrating on style, characterisation, plot, setting and atmosphere. It is our intention that the range of activities on offer will prepare students for the reading demands of Key Stage 4.
WRITING
Students are involved in a variety of writing tasks for different purposes and audiences, some individual, some collaborative. Using modelling and scaffolding, students are taught the ingredients of different text types, increasing in sophistication from Year 7 through to Year 9. The importance of careful planning, drafting and proof reading are emphasised throughout schemes of work.
SPEAKING AND LISTENING
In lessons, various speaking and listening activities take place as talk is at the heart of learning experiences. All units of work include speaking and listening tasks, giving the opportunity for individual development, as well as collaborative oral work, often leading to self and peer assessment.
ASSESSMENT
Assessing Pupil Progress (APP) is a structured approach to assessing English that enables teachers to track students’ progress in reading and writing more systematically and thoroughly at Key Stage 3. The strategy provides teachers with useful diagnostic information about students’ strengths and weaknesses.
Students will build up a portfolio of evidence which will take the form of a folder which will stay in school with the English teacher. Key pieces of work will be assessed using the Assessment Focuses and put into this portfolio.
The assessment criteria are as follows:
Reading
AF1 – use a range of strategies, including accurate decoding of text, to read for meaning;
AF2 – understand, describe, select or retrieve information, events or ideas from texts and use quotation and reference to text;
AF3 – deduce, infer or interpret information, events or ideas from texts;
AF4 – identify and comment on the structure and organisation of texts, including grammatical and presentational features at text level;
AF5 – explain and comment on writers' use of language, including grammatical and literary features at word and sentence level;
AF6 – identify and comment on writers' purposes and viewpoints, and the overall effect of the text on the reader;
AF7 – relate texts to their social, cultural and historical traditions.
Writing
AF1 – write imaginative, interesting and thoughtful texts;
AF2 – produce texts which are appropriate to task, reader and purpose;
AF3 – organise and present whole texts effectively, sequencing and structuring information, ideas and events;
AF4 – construct paragraphs and use cohesion within and between paragraphs;
AF5 – vary sentences for clarity, purpose and effect;
AF6 – write with technical accuracy of syntax and punctuation in phrases, clauses and sentences;
AF7 – select appropriate and effective vocabulary;
AF8 – use correct spelling, handwriting and presentation.
Speaking & Listening
AF1 – Talking to others in purposeful and imaginative ways to explore ideas and feelings;
AF2 – Talking with others, listening and responding to others, including in pairs and in groups;
AF3 – Talking within role play and drama, creating and sustaining different roles;
AF4 – Talking about talk, understanding the range and uses of spoken language.
Key Stage 4
At Key Stage 4, we follow the AQA syllabus for two GCSE courses: English Language and English Literature. All students are entered for both examinations. These courses, spread over Years 10 and 11, have been structured to incorporate the compulsory elements of the National Curriculum. Lessons are planned to cover the skills and texts for both courses simultaneously, for example using a text studied for the Literature examination as the basis for a writing task for the English Language course.
Please see the links for a summary of the specifications and advice on revision and study guides.
PLEASE NOTE that for Literature, we follow the route through units 1, 2 and 3.
Our current programme of study is as follows:
Year 10
Autumn term 1:
| English Language |
English Literature |
|
Writing controlled assessment based on a media text
Speaking and listening – group discussion
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Autumn term 2:
| English Language |
English Literature |
|
Reading controlled assessment based on literature text
|
Study EITHER novel or play for exam |
Spring term 1:
| English Language |
English Literature |
|
Spoken language study written controlled assessment
Opportunity for alternative group speaking and listening
|
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Spring term 2:
| English Language |
English Literature |
|
Writing controlled assessment – commissions piece
Speaking and listening – role play
Prepare for examinations – writing skills, reading media and non-fiction texts
|
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Summer term 1:
| English Language |
English Literature |
|
Opportunity for alternative reading controlled assessment
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Study EITHER novel or play for examination – whichever was not covered in the autumn term |
Summer term 2:
| English Language |
English Literature |
|
Opportunity for alternative speaking and listening role play
Opportunity for alternative reading controlled assessment
|
Study half of the poetry cluster for examination
|
Classes may not stick rigidly to the timings above, allowing teachers to focus on specific skills in response to the quality of student work.
There will be ‘windows’ for controlled assessment tasks rather than specific dates.
At teachers’ discretion, there will be opportunities for alternative and additional controlled assessments and speaking and listening assessments. These will be discussed with students where necessary.
Year 11
Autumn term 1:
| English Language |
English Literature |
|
Writing controlled assessment – text transformation
Opportunity for alternative speaking and listening role play
Prepare for examination – reading and writing media and non-fiction
|
Study a Shakespeare play plus linked texts from the literary heritage for reading controlled assessment |
Autumn term 2:
| English Language |
English Literature |
|
Opportunity for alternative writing controlled assessment – commissions
Opportunity for alternative speaking and listening – group discussion
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Spring term 1:
| English Language |
English Literature |
|
English language examination
Opportunity for alternative controlled assessments
|
Study remaining half of poetry cluster for examination |
Spring term 2:
| English Language |
English Literature |
|
Opportunity for alternative controlled assessments
|
Revision for examination (novel, play, poetry) |
Summer term 1:
| English Language |
English Literature |
|
Revision for resit examination
|
Examination |
Summer term 2:
| English Language |
English Literature |
|
Examination
|
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At present we are selecting from the following texts for English Language and English Literature:
Novel – Of Mice and Men
Play – An Inspector Calls
Poetry cluster from ‘Moon on the Tides’ – ‘Relationships'
Key Stage 5
We currently offer Media Studies and English Language & Literature at A Level, as well as a one year BTEC course in Media Studies.
Programmes of study are as follows:
Programme of Study: GCE English Language and Literature B
Half term 1: introduction to language and literature study e.g terminology, note-taking, essay writing (2 weeks)
Start Unit 1 anthology work
(Students to read text ready for study next term: Jane Eyre, and start reading log)
Half term 2: continue to work through Travel, Transport and Locomotion anthology pieces.
Continue Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea reading log
Terminology starter lessons
Practise exam questions on anthology pieces
Unseen text work based on theme of anthology
Half term 3: unit 2 coursework part A - exploration of the pair of texts in a way that brings out understanding of the main theme of 'Love'. based on an in-depth examination of two extracts of between 500-800 words. (1200-1500 word essay)
Unit 2 coursework part B: creative piece linked to the texts studied. (500-800 words)
Half term 4: continue with coursework drafts and write introduction describing planning and research carried out. Also complete bibliography.
Half term 5: unit 1 - revision of anthology pieces and practise exams based on them. Also revise how to approach unseen pieces in the exam. Lots of exam practices.
Half term 6: introduction to A2