Teaching Staff

• Mrs Peterson: Curriculum Lead
• Mr C McDonnell: Second in Department

• Mr G Westgate

• Miss G Powis

• Mrs R Hanwell

• Ms C Louden

• Ms A Best

• Mrs K Davison (Librarian)

Why English is Important

English rightfully sits at the heart of the curriculum because language is power. Spoken by over 1.75 billion people worldwide, it is the language of everyday life and global connection, shaping business, science, culture and creativity. Mastery of English unlocks every other subject, strengthens communication, and opens doors to future study and employment.

Our departmental intent statement outlines we feel that English is an exceptionally important subject for our students:

We aim to:

• Develop a lifelong love of English.
• Inspire a culturally enriching knowledge of literature through drawing from the literary canon alongside texts that reflect the richness of voices in our diverse society.
• Grow empathetic and engaged citizens through careful text choice, reflecting contemporary concerns and debates including class, gender and intolerance and discrimination
• Foster creativity and enable students to explore their unique perspectives through various forms of expression, including writing and speaking
• Prepare students for work and life through developing important skills such as communication, teamwork, adaptability, problem solving, public speaking and leadership
• Suitably challenge students of all abilities
• Be experiential and link topics studied in school to the wider world, including external visits and welcoming a range of speakers into our school.

Our curriculum is designed to develop a lifelong love of English, inspiring students to read widely and to value the beauty and complexity of language. Through carefully chosen texts, we introduce students to the great works of the literary canon while celebrating the richness of voices in our diverse society. This blend nurtures a culturally enriching knowledge of literature and sparks curiosity about the world.

Reading and discussing literature allows students to grow as empathetic and engaged citizens. They encounter characters and ideas that reflect contemporary concerns—class, gender, prejudice and injustice—encouraging them to question, debate and develop their own moral and social understanding.

We also foster creativity and self-expression by giving students opportunities to write, speak and perform in a range of forms. From storytelling and debate to public speaking and poetry, students learn to communicate with confidence, work collaboratively, and adapt to new challenges—skills that prepare them for life and work beyond school.

Our curriculum challenges and supports all learners, offering stretch for the most able and guidance for those who need it, while connecting classroom study to the wider world. Visits, guest speakers and real-world experiences help students see how English shapes culture and society and why their own voices matter.

Key Stage 3

At KS3, students study a broad and diverse range of texts, genres, and writing forms designed to nurture a love of literature, develop analytical thinking, and build confident communication skills. Our curriculum is structured into three modules per year, each containing three focused units, allowing students to explore literature thematically and progressively.

Curriculum design is centred around a four C model:

Content-specific: Every piece of key knowledge and every subject skill that students will master in each unit of work will be specified.

Cumulative: Knowledge and skills from previous units are revisited explicitly and systematically and are interleaved to build retention through the curriculum and through assessments.

Coherent: Instructional sequences are consistently planned and delivered across all stages to ensure that students acquire and demonstrate a sufficient grasp of the key knowledge and subject skills relevant to their year group and stage. Learning objectives for every lesson are clear in terms of what substantive and disciplinary knowledge will be addressed.

Challenging: All students are challenged through learning in depth, but also supported through careful scaffolding and teacher adaptations to ensure sufficient challenge for all learners. All students are expected to become ‘experts’ in the key knowledge and subject skills. Our curriculum is at least as challenging as the National Curriculum for English.

If you want to view our detailed LTPs for English, you can access them here:

Year 7 LTP link

Year 8 LTP Link

Year 9 LTP Link

Year 7 Overview – Developing Character and Voice

In Year 7, students explore how writers create and develop character and voice across a range of literary forms:

Module 1: Characterisation Across Forms

• 1a) Descriptive writing and character creation.
• 1b) Characterisation in non-fiction (biographies, memoirs).
• 1c) Novel study (Animal Farm) exploring character and context.

Module 2: Character, Voice and Rhetoric

• 2a) Debate and discussion of Animal Farm developing student oracy skills.
• 2b) Rhetorical writing and persuasive speech presenting out own voices.
• 2c) Poetry exploring characterisation in poetry and performance

Module 3: Shakespeare and Adaptation

• 3a) Study of a Shakespeare play The Tempest (context, characters, plot and genre and vocabulary)
• 3b) Comparative analysis of audience responses to characterisation across time
• 3c) Creative rewriting and adaptation of Shakespearean characters

In year seven, students develop build upon KS2 foundational skills in literary analysis, creative writing, and spoken language, with opportunities to perform, debate, and write across genres.

Year 8 Overview – Exploring Emotion and Perspective

In Year 8, students examine how writers evoke emotion and present viewpoints through literature and rhetoric.

Module 1: Gothic and Atmosphere

• 1a) Writing Gothic fiction using structural techniques to create tension and atmosphere.
• 1b) Study of The Woman in Black and analytical essay writing.
• 1c) Gothic narrative poetry and performance.

Module 2: Voice, Viewpoint and Protest

• 2a) Comparative analysis of rhetorical texts
• 2b) Allegorical short stories exploring hidden viewpoints
• 2c) Protest poetry and original composition

Module 3: Love and Pain in Literature

• 3a) Study of a Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet (context, characters, plot and genre)
• 3b) Analytical essays on theme and character
• 3c) Comparative poetry and non-fiction exploring emotional complexity

This year builds on Year 7’s foundations, deepening students’ understanding of structure, genre, and emotional impact in writing and performance.

Year 9 Overview – Power, Identity and Conflict

In Year 9, students explore how literature reflects and challenges ideas about power, identity, and society:

Module 1: Dystopia and Rebellion

• 1a) Writing dystopian fiction from varied perspectives
• 1b) Study of Fahrenheit 451 and thematic analysis
• 1c) Non-fiction texts exploring real-world dystopias

Module 2: Language, Identity and Rhetoric

• 2a) Linguistic study of accent, dialect and code-switching
• 2b) Rhetorical speech writing and performance around the theme of identity.
• 2c) Study of Small Island and identity in post-war Britain

Module 3: War and Human Experience

• 3a) War poetry analysis and comparative essay writing.
• 3b) Study of prose fiction exploring trauma and survival.
• 3c) Original writing capturing the emotional impact of conflict.

Students refine their analytical and creative writing skills, preparing for the demands of GCSE English while engaging with powerful and universal themes and diverse voices.

Key Stage 4

At KS4, Students will study for two GCSE’s; one in English Language and one in English Literature. They will complete four exam papers at the end of Year 11 - two in English Language and two in English Literature. These exams are now graded 9-1 and are assessed by examination only.

In addition, students will complete a Spoken Language Assessment for their English Language GCSE which is separately endorsed by the exam board.

English Language

Qualification Details

Exam Board: AQA
Qualification Title: English Language
Qualification Specification Code: 8700
Qualification Webpage: Click here to visit the AQA webpage for the specification.

The English Language course we study has been designed to inspire and motivate students, providing appropriate stretch and challenge whilst ensuring, as far as possible, that the assessment and texts are accessible to the full range of students.

The specification enables students of all abilities to develop the skills they need to read, understand and analyse a wide range of different texts covering the 19th, 20th and 21st century time periods as well as developing their ability to write clearly, coherently and accurately using a range of vocabulary and sentence structures. Students continue to develop the skills they have been introduced to at KS3 and focus on developing their reading and writing. In English Language Paper 1, students will need to be able to identify implicit and explicit information, analyse language and structure and evaluate writers’ methods.  They must also be able to write creatively either writing to describe or narrate. Students need to be able to read a wide range of texts from different time periods. In Language Paper 2, students need to identify implicit and explicit information, be able to summarise and synthesis information, analyse language and compare writers’ perspectives and viewpoints.  They must also be able to write to express a viewpoint.

English Literature

Qualification Details

Exam Board: AQA
Qualification Title: English Literature
Qualification Specification Code: 8702
Qualification Webpage: Click here to visit the AQA webpage for the specification.

Studying English Literature encourages students to develop knowledge and skills in reading, writing and critical thinking. Through literature, students develop their cultural awareness and experience a range of influential writers. The specification enables students of all abilities to develop the skills they need to read, understand and analyse a wide range of different texts covering the 19th, 20th and 21st century time periods. In addition, students will develop their ability to write clearly, coherently and accurately using a range of vocabulary and sentence structures. During KS4 students study the literature texts for GCSE and continue to revisit them during these two years.

The following texts are studied for GCSE English Literature:

• Shakespeare: Macbeth
• 19th Novel: A Christmas Carol
• Modern Text: An Inspector Calls
• In addition to these texts, students study the Poetry and Conflict Anthology which is made up of 15 poems.

For each of these texts, students must read the whole text and understand the plot, characters, themes and the historical context in which the text was originally written.

Revision guides are available to buy from the school.