It is the aim of the English Department to encourage and enable all students to become perceptive and empathetic learners. Fundamentally, the English Department is committed to raising standards of literacy in order to raise attainment for all students by using a multi-faceted approach that considers the following: reading, writing, oracy, vocabulary and SPAG (spelling, punctuation and grammar). 

We believe the following points crucial to student success: 

• English and literacy is integral to the process of learning: students require the skills of language to cope with the cognitive demands of all subjects.
• Language is integral to students’ reflection and evaluation in both their own and other’s work.
• Reading benefits students by enabling them to learn from sources beyond their immediate experience and leads to better writing.
• Writing with a specific subject purpose, context and an intended audience provides a variety of relevant writing experiences which draw on, analyse and investigate different objectives.

The English and drama curriculum is securely rooted in the principles of the National Curriculum and thematically sequenced to support the teaching of key concepts in KS4. This careful curricular thinking ensures the right components are added into students’ memory and metacognition processes supporting greater performance in complex tasks. 

Students study a variety of rich and meaningful texts to develop their cultural awareness of social, historical and political events. This creates an immersive experience inside the literary canon which is accessible to all; embedding specific disciplinary knowledge and challenging students to work outside prescriptive constraints. 

These ideas are particularly relevant to our cohort as it is imperative that they are able to question and evaluate issues surrounding systemic discrimination which affect them and others in society. Additionally, we celebrate inclusion and diversity in literature throughout the year with dedicated weeks further enriching students’ awareness of important literary figures from important social movements.  

Departmental Objectives: 

As well as the provision of an inclusive, innovative and challenging English curriculum provision that is accessible to students of all abilities. The English Department aims to provide learners with the following opportunities: 

• To develop speaking and listening skills: learners should be able to express themselves effectively in a range of contexts and to be able match their speech to purpose audience and content. 
• To develop writing skills: learners should be able to communicate effectively, demonstrating literacy skills of a good standard and effectively matching their style of audience, purpose and content. 
• To develop reading skills: learners should be able to access and respond to a range of texts, using a range of reading strategies. 
• To enable learners to use a range of skills that implement interpretation and response to a range of fiction and non-fiction texts. 
• To acquire the knowledge and demonstrate application of the key concepts of English language and literature respectively. 
• To appreciate the vital part that English language and literature play in historical and current social contexts. 
• To encourage learners to access further studies and opportunities within English. 
• To encourage learners to develop key competencies which are transferable to the workplace and ‘adult’ life. 
• To develop clear understanding of language as a means of communication in both the written and spoken word. 
• To encourage learners to value reading as a ‘life-skill’ and to become confident, independent readers. 
• To reinforce a positive culture towards learning and accepting challenge to support personal growth and self-awareness. 
• To promote a culture of sustained progress, high standards and high expectations that are implemented consistently within the English Department. 
• To use data effectively to set and monitor attainment targets, measure learners’ levels of progress and to deliver the curriculum. 
• To foster supportive, respectful and positive relationships within the classroom and within the team. 

Staff Members

Miss K.A. Redmond – Curriculum Coordinator

Mrs R. Impett – KS4 English Coordinator

Miss J. Smith – KS3 English Coordinator

Miss A. Brown – Teacher of Drama

Ms D. Citrine – TA

Mrs J. Citrine-Devlin 

Mrs S. Davies – TA

Miss S. Donaghy – Literacy Coordinator

Miss L. Evans – HLTA

Mrs E. Hughes 

Mr D. Johns – Director of VI Form 

Miss H. Leatherbarrow 

Miss L. McDermott – KS5 English Lead

Mr M. McGuinness 

Mr L. Power 

Mrs L. Rennie 

Mrs G. Simmons 

Mrs L. Ward 

Ms J. West 

Miss K. Williams – LRC Manager

• Year 7

• Developing reading skills and understanding. Developing the use of tier 2 and tier 3 vocabulary. 
• Introduction to drama skills and key techniques. 
• The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
• Private Peaceful by Michael Murpurgo 
• Haunted Environments (Drama)
• Shakespeare’s Heroes and Villains
• Superheroes (Drama)
• World Poetry
• Imaginative writing through Dystopian Worlds
• Dramatic interpretations of Modern Fairy Tales
• Blood Brothers by Willy Russell is studied in both English and Drama

• Year 8

• Non-fiction reading and writing 
• Reality Genre – X Factor (Drama) 
• Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet 
• Tragedy Genre – Titanic (Drama)
• Lord of The Flies by William Golding 
• Animal Farm by George Orwell 
• Voices: the study of short stories
• Hillsborough (Drama) 
• Identity Poetry 
• Principles of Comedy (Drama) 
• DNA by Dennis Kelly is studied in both English and Drama

• Year 9

• Non-fiction reading and writing
• Hidden Voices Poetry 
• Spoken Language and Fake News!
• To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck 
• Imaginative writing inspired by the Gothic genre

• AQA GCSE English Language (8700) 

• Language and structure of 19th century fiction 
• Evaluating writer’s intentions
• Language and structure of 19th, 20th and 21st century non-fiction texts
• Comparing and contrasting ideas and perspectives in 19th, 20th and 21st century non-fiction texts
• Creative writing 
• Transactional writing

• AQA GCSE English Literature (8702) 

• Macbeth by William Shakespeare
• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
• An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley 
• Conflict Poetry 
• Unseen Poetry

• Pearson BTEC Level 2 Tech Award in Performing Arts 

• BTEC: Component 1: Exploring the Performing Arts.
• BTEC Component 2:Developing skills and techniques in the Performing Arts
• BTEC Component 3: Responding to a brief and exploring devised theatre

OCR GCE English Language and Literature (H474)

• Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake 
• Othello by William Shakspeare
• A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams 
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 
• Comparing and contrasting ideas and perspectives in 19th, 20th and 21st century non-fiction texts
• Creative writing 
• Transactional writing

AQA GCE Media Studies (7572)

• Audience (consumption and purpose) 
• Institution (production and ideology) 
• Media Language (techniques and communication)
• Representation (methodology and portrayal) 
• NEA – production and evaluation of creative piece

EDUQAS GCE Film Studies 

• Classic American Film Comparison –  Carablanca and Bonnie and Clyde 
• British Film Comparison – Trainspotting and This is England
• Contemporary American Film Comparison – Winter’s Bone and No Country for Old Men
• Foreign Language Film Comparison – Pan’s Labyrinth and City of God 
• Conventions of documentary – Amy 
• Buster Keaton Shorts
• Experimental Film – Pulp Fiction 
• NEA – production of a film script with evaluative analysis

• Teacher 
• Editor
• Journalist
• Producer
• Director
• Writer 
• Critic
• Actor