English

Year 7

Develop accurate and creative writers.
Develop analytic readers.
Develop confident speakers.
Develop students who are aware of great literature and can consider social, political and philosophical ideas.

Year 8

Develop writing in terms of vocabulary and complexity.
Develop ability to respond to more challenging texts.
Develop fluency of speech.
Develop experiences of high quality, classic literature

Year 9

Develop writing skills in line with GCSE expectations.
Develop ability to cope with challenging complete texts.
Develop ability to speak to an audience.
Develop opportunities to discuss complex and subtle social and philosophical issues.

Year 7

Using grammar knowledge to write impressively.
Developing PETAL analysis skills. Speaking confidently.

Year 8

Build on last year: develop writers who write in greater detail with a greater range of sentence types and impressive vocabulary.
Develop confidence in analysing in detail. Offer a range of opportunities for speaking in different contexts. Use the play to develop speaking confidence

Year 9

Develop narrative and persuasive writing skills.
Develop reading skills in relation to non-fiction texts especially.
Develop sense of audience in speaking.
Develop sense of how to respond thoughtfully to big issues.

Year 7

Building on KS2 skills, but particularly moving away from grammar test approach to actually using the skills taught. Also introducing the analysis of literature, rather than the comprehension approach assessed at KS2. Sparking the Gap is a deliberately challenging introduction featuring difficult texts. Refugee Boy is diverse and challenging text. The writing comes at a time to consolidate writing skills already learnt in other units. Shakespeare comes late because of the challenge. The GCSE scheme is a final summary scheme – very skills based but also fun and lively. Small but significant number of reading lessons will be about inspiring a love of reading.

Year 8

More challenge this year.
Start with a text-based unit that is varied and interesting. First full play of KS3 brought in early. Should encourage speaking skills too.
Sharing a complete text each year is vital.
Dickens comes late as it is the most challenging unit so far.
Richard the Third is a step up in terms of demand.
GCSE scheme and literacy/reading schemes will build skills towards the work at KS4.

Year 9

The year is about developing the skills for KS4 but also about offering a wide range of topics and texts – not jumping too much into KS4 texts, for fear of crushing interest.
By the time we do Non-Fiction though, we will be very much getting students to think of themselves as GCSE students.

Half Term 1

Sparking the Gap
Non-fiction reading, Reading, Jane Eyre, Joyce, Dahl, Image-inspired writing, Write article, S/L Presentation
AN Schemes
1 Sparking the Gap (adapted version, range of extracts based on school, writing and reading tasks)

Half Term 2

Poetry Comparison essay
Sonnet 130, Schoolboy, Last Lesson, Jon Agard, Brian Bilston, Liz Lochhead, Phoebe Stuckes, Seamus Heaney, Tony Harrison. Acrostic, Poetry writing, Stop motion group speaking task
AN Schemes
2 Ghosts, Ghouls and Ghastly events (Reading and writing tasks based on Halloween, Bonfire Night and Christmas)

Half Term 3

A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Woosh Group reading
AN Schemes
3&4 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Half Term 4

Refugee Boy
Letter writing, Newspaper article
AN Schemes
3&4 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Half Term 5

I’m a Reader/I’m a Writer
Write story, Descriptive and narrative writing, An Alpine Divorce, A Monster Calls, Series of short extracts- The Great Gatsby, The Jungle Book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The Woman in Black, Miss Peregrine, A Spoonful of Murder, Skellig, The Masque of the Red Death, Wuthering Heights, The Woodlanders, The God of Small Things
AN Schemes
5 Poetry (a range of genres of poems, studying and writing)

Half Term 6

GCSE Preparation Scheme
Descriptive Writing, Viewpoint writing, Modern play, All the World’s …
England 1819
AN Schemes
6 A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Half Term 1

Epic English
Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll,
Dracula, Mariana, Narrative Writing
AN Schemes
1&2 Carrie’s War

Half Term 2

Animal Farm
AN Schemes
1&2 Carrie’s War

Half Term 3

Richard the Third
Newspaper, Museum board, Debate
AN Schemes
3 Richard III

Half Term 4

Dickens
Description, Ghost story, Character description, Rewrite Dickens, Narrative techniques
AN Schemes
4 Dickens

Half Term 5

Stone Cold
Letter writing, Diary,
Image prompt, Play reading, Presentation on homelessness
AN Schemes
5 Writing Skills

Half Term 6

GCSE Preparation Scheme
Narrative writing, Viewpoint writing, Hamlet, Shakespeare Sonnet
AN Schemes
6 Stone Cold

Half Term 1

Words at War
Charge of the Light Brigade, The Man He Killed, Soldier, Dulce et Vergissmeinicht, Persuasive Writing
AN Schemes
1 Words and War

Half Term 2

Of Mice and Men
Diary Writing
AN Schemes
2 Of Mice and Men

Half Term 3

Blood Brothers
Modern Play
Essay on characters and superstition
AN Schemes
3&4 Macbeth

Half Term 4

Macbeth
AN Schemes
3&4 Macbeth

Half Term 5

Writing
Persuasive article, Diaries, Newspapers, Narrative
AN Schemes
5 Nonfiction

Half Term 6

GCSE Preparation Scheme
Image prompt, Tell-Tale Heart, Hey You, Flowers for Algernon
AN Schemes
6 The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Nighttime