English
What Will I Study?
Students will gain a grounding in the concepts which will build over the next five years. In their fiction writing, they will be introduced to the foundations of fiction going back to classical Greek studies which will underpin their creative writing for the next five years. Students will explore the impact of historical events and social events on writing through the poetry of WW1. Students will then be introduced to the concepts behind media exploring bias, institutions and representation studying how food is presented but also understanding how advertising works. Students will move on to an introduction to Shakespeare, his plays, times, themes etc. before moving on to exploring a whole play: Much Ado About Nothing.
Building on the foundation work of year 7, students in year 8 will continue to develop the strands from year 7. Writing fiction will develop into genre led fiction, in particular the Gothic. The novel will be a single novel study exploring the politics and allegorical style of Animal Farm. Building on the poetry, students will explore poetry from other cultures broadening their views of our place in the wider world. Students will develop the ability to write speeches exploring speeches that were key in shaping our world today. They will also be challenged to explore the representation of gender in the media as well as developing their depth and breadth of Shakespeare with the study of a tragedy: Romeo and Juliet.
How Will I Be Assessed?
Students will be assessed through written responses to a variety of stimulus, both creative and literary. Formal assessments will occur at the end of units with detailed feedback and opportunities to reflect and develop their work. Other assessment opportunities will take place in the classroom with a mixture of individual and whole-class feedback based on observation of work undertaken.
What Experiences Will I Get?
Students will have the opportunity to visit the theatre seeing productions of ballets, plays and the opera. There will also be opportunities to hear visiting authors. Through their reading, students will explore the concept of culture and traditions, our role in conflicts, especially WW1 as well as the importance of British poetry through the poetry units as well as concepts of communism and socialism in Animal Farm. They will also see pivotal speeches that shaped the world we live in such as those by Martin Luther King and Churchill as well as challenging their perception of gender.
Your Sources of Support
KS3 study books are available to purchase. The department has an additional literacy nurture group in year 7 following a program designed to support those who struggle with reading and decoding language.
Through the study of English, we want our students to leave with the skills to think independently and foster their own, informed opinions about the world they live in. Students will study a range of literary texts from the English canon as well as across the world which will challenge students to explore their moral, social, spiritual and political development as well as being able to analyse the written and spoken word. Students will also develop their vocabulary enabling them to better express their opinions allowing them to explore their own sense of voice and individuality, encouraging debate and reflection, enabling students to explore their viewpoints and opinions about the changing world they live in. We want our students to leave Tor Bridge High as confidence communicators of, and consumers of, English enabling them to flourish in their next stage of life.
In Year 7, students we cover three units over the course of the year: Cycle 1 – Story-Telling where students will deconstruct texts, develop their creative sentences and extended original writing, continuing from the skills they have developed at Key Stage 2. In Cycle 2, students will be introduced to transactional writing through the study of the Art of Rhetoric. Students will be exposed to a range of transactional writing forms and learn to develop their own rhetorical writing. In Cycle 3, students will build the foundations of their literary study through a Romantics Poetry unit in which they will learn about the cultural heritage and influences behind this movement as well as further building on their IMPACTs analysis commenced in Cycle 1.
In Year 8 students will continue their learning building on the skills developed during Year 7: Cycle 1 Animal Farm where students will develop their literary reading learning about the political and allegorical nature of the novella as well as their ability to write in an analytical and insightful fashion preparing them for Literature GCSE. In Cycle 2, students will explore the elements of Shakespearean Tragedy through the study of Romeo and Juliet learning about the context and themes of the play as well as continuing to develop their academic writing about text building a solid foundation for their GCSE Literature course. In the last Cycle, students will continue their journey through the study of Rhetoric extending their understanding of the Aristotelian Triad and learning to write for a particular purpose as well as developing their grammar for writing.
In Year 9, students will build on the academic writing developed in Years 7 and 8 through the study of their GCSE Literature texts commencing with Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Through this, they will further craft their academic writing style and analysis of writer’s methods as well as further honing their understanding of the text as a vehicle to convey a writer’s concerns and ideas. In Cycle 2, students will continue their Literary journey with Priestley’s An Inspector Calls learning about the use of a text as a conduit for a political message as well as using this text to reflect on their own values and ethics. In Cycle 3, students will build on the knowledge and skills gained from the study of Romantic Poetry through the AQA Poetry of Power and Conflict anthology exploring concepts such as the power of man and nature, and the impact of conflict on one’s psyche as well as being able to draw links between texts.
Year 10, during Cycle 1, students will build on the knowledge and skills gained from the study of Romantic Poetry through the AQA Poetry of Power and Conflict anthology exploring concepts such as the power of man and nature, and the impact of conflict on one’s psyche as well as being able to draw links between texts; students will use the knowledge of poetic language to then prepare for the creative writing element of English Language Paper 1. In Cycle 2, students will study in an integrated approach exploring A Christmas Carol and English Language Paper 1 reading; through this, they will further craft their academic writing style and analysis of writer’s methods as well as further honing their understanding of the text as a vehicle to convey a writer’s concerns and ideas as well as how to closely analyse writers’ methods in creating meaning. In Cycle 3, students will continue their Literary journey with Priestley’s An Inspector Calls learning about the use of a text as a conduit for a political message as well as using this text to reflect on their own values and ethics. Students will also continue to revise and practise their English Language skills in preparation for the examination.
In Year 11, students will continue with their study of writer’s viewpoints and perspectives in consolidating their skills of analysis as well as their own written style preparing for their GCSE Language Paper 2. Students will build on their rhetorical knowledge from Years 7 and 8 by studying non-fiction writing, learning to craft and convey a viewpoint as well as preparing for their GCSE Spoken Language Assessment. Students will also complete the study of the AQA Anthology poetry started in Year 10. Students will then complete their study of Literature exploring Shakespeare’s Macbeth learning about the dangers of unchecked ambition and the abuses of power as well as the context of Jacobean England before embarking on a period of revision and practise in preparation for their final examinations.
We are currently in a transition stage with our curriculum with Years 7-9 following a new, booklet led approach aligning our approach with the common curriculum delivered in the Ted Wragg Trust.
Schemes of Learning have been developed to build students’ confidence in the three core skills of reading, writing, and oracy. Each unit is designed to deliver high quality knowledge content as well as acquiring high impact vocabulary through the use of Frayer models. Lessons are designed that students have the opportunity to recall this information at regular intervals in order to quickly embed new learning. All staff deliver the same, high-quality resources in order that there is an equity and equality of experience for all students.
Students are provided with scaffolds for their Literature essays, exam-style analytical responses as well as their writing in order to provide a basic framework for their work enabling them to target all the skills being assessed from which they can develop a more confident and cogent voice.
All students across the Year groups sit the same assessment, with assessments moderated, led by our experienced examiners, and given opportunities to learn and reflect from their performance with staff supporting students by reviewing any gaps in learning raised through the assessments.
Through English Curricula, we aim to provide students with the ability to think for themselves, to become confident communicators and consumers of the written and spoken word. Students at Tor Bridge High have read, discussed and written about texts that ask them to reflect on and develop their individual, social and global identity and leave equipped with the skills and knowledge to succeed in their next steps.
Our A-Level uptake, and outcomes, reflect the impact of our curriculum. Bucking the national turned, we continue to recruit significant numbers of A-Level students who regularly match or exceed the national grades for this subject.
In lessons, our students are consistently observed to be focused and engaged with their work reflecting their determination to succeed. Our students are able to articulate thoughtful arguments about the texts they study, discuss the concepts underpinning them and relate them to their own, lived experiences. Our students, through student voice, state how they feel supported by their English teachers and value the warm relationships we foster to enable them to grow in confidence in the classroom.