English

Key Stage 3

Aims

At Key Stage 3 we try to develop skills in reading, writing speaking and listening in line with the requirements of the National Curriculum

In writing, we will try to encourage the development of accuracy and fluency.  Girls need to understand how to adapt their writing for different  purposes and audiences and lot of time is spent on practising relevant skills.

Reading is very important and we hope that girls will read a lot at home.  To encourage this we shall provide lists of recommended reading.  In class, we study literary and non-literary texts and look at various aspects of style.

Key Stage 3 Strategy

The Government has now extended the approaches developed in recent years in Primary Schools into Key Stage 3.  As a result, we are for the moment encouraged to teach in the kind of routinely structured way developed in the Literacy Hour.  The content of the curriculum will also show a clear progression from the learning thought to have taken place during Key Stage 2, and this progression will continue through the Key Stage.

Teaching and Learning

Teachers will employ a range of approaches in order to help your daughter to learn.  These may include working individually, as a class, or in small groups.  The Key Stage 3 Strategy encourages teachers to structure their lessons in terms of a beginning, a middle and an end, and this pattern will be reflected in our teaching.

Assessment for Learning

Your daughter's work will be marked on a regular basis and she will be given feedback on any problems and on  how to improve.  The curriculum envisages a series of stages through which your daughter will progress, and we shall try to make clear what she will need to do if she is to move on to the next stage in her learning.  We shall also try to encourage girls to be self-critical and to look intelligently at their own work.

Homework

This is very important and hope that parents will give a very strong encouragement to girls to do homework well and on time.

How can parents help?

We hope that parents will take an interest in their children's work, in particular by looking at what they write and by taking on the role of an interested reader.  We also hope that parents will encourage their child's reading, making sure for example that she is a member of the local library.  In general, we feel that parents can best help by responding positively to their daughter's work rather than through attempting to improve it through correcting errors and so forth.

Key Stage 4

English Language & Literature

Advice to Pupils

What you will be doing

English at G.C.S.E. is a very enjoyable subject.  Much of the time will be spent studying novels, plays and poems and you will be encouraged to think about the ideas found in literature, and to respond to them in an active and imaginative way.

You will also be looking at other forms of writing -brochures, newspaper articles, diaries, letters and so on and trying to understand what the authors are trying to say, and how they go about expressing their ideas and feelings.

You will not on;y be reading other people's work but will be trying to develop your own skills as a writer.  You will be looking at how best to express your ideas in both imaginative and factual writing:  how to use words to influence and persuade people, to make them think, or to entertain them.

You will expected to talk- a central skill in English is being able to explain your thoughts clearly, and to discuss ideas with other people.

Qualifications

The course leads to two separate G.C.S.E certificates, in English Language and in English Literature.  You will be assessed for both of these by a mixture of coursework and examination, there are two tiers of entry.  The high tier allows Grades A* to D, while the Foundation tier allows Grade C to G.  Decisions on entry will not be made until after Mock Exams in Year 11.