English, as a subject, underpins access to the curriculum across the Academy and at every Key Stage. Equally, studying English allows students to develop into independent young people and adults who are empowered in their interactions in daily life. Students need to master communication through Reading, Writing and Speaking and Listening, but they also deserve to have access to the wealth of learning; the different perspectives on society across different time periods and the personal exploration that the study of literature affords. English is a subject that has a privileged position in the curriculum as it ranges far and wide across time periods, cultural shifts, societal shifts and as it explores what it is to be human and to be part of a society. In teaching English we do not underestimate the ability of the right texts to open up new ways of thinking and understanding the world as well as developing tolerance for other ways of being. It is with this in mind that we have crafted our Key Stage 3 curriculum.

The curriculum is designed around three key fundamentals: acquisition of core knowledge; engagement with texts as readers and creating writers who are playful with language. We build on the strong foundations our students enter with from Key Stage2, maximising on the writing skills that they arrive with and helping them to bridge the gap between Key Stage 2 and 4 reading and analysis skills.

We immerse our students in challenging texts that act as an introduction to literature. We study texts from a range of time periods to develop the concept of different audiences and to challenge students to see the universality of texts and we expect students to engage with these texts on a personal level as well as honing their abilities to write about the text as a construct for an audience. Across our Key Stage 3 curriculum students will be taught to consider the text as a construct and to consider authorial intentions. Students will be supported to independently develop their understanding about what the writer's intentions were through judiciously selecting evidence (how) and to explain what the writer wanted his/her readers to consider this aspect and why the evidence is effective in conveying the writer's message.

We see our students as writers and, as writers, they need to know the conventions of texts before they can begin to experiment and craft. Our students study a variety of quality non-fiction and fiction texts, from the nineteenth century and sixteenth century onwards respectively, exploring the writers' aims and how they have been crafted. Students then emulate these style models and become increasingly confident writers ready to embark upon their Key Stage 4 journey.

Our staff have a passion for the subjects that they teach; they challenge students through quality texts, explicit modelling, questioning, and the creation of risk-taking and reflective classrooms

We want our students to be:

• Reflective and creative planners
• Self-reflective editors of their own work
• Thoughtful language selectors
• Thoughtful readers
• Able to identify how a writer creates meaning
• Able to analyse how meaning is created in texts
• Able to explore how texts might affect different readers

We will teach our students based on our Macmillan OPTIC teaching model through which our students can unlock their learning::

• Cognitive science
• Language to unlock learning
• Self-regulation
• Pedagogical subject knowledge
• Feedback

We will support our students outside of the classroom by:

• Encouraging and sharing our love of reading with students
• Developing the range of our students' vocabulary
• Offering enrichments
• Offering our students experiences with authors and poets as available
• Visiting and utilising resources from university settings where possible

English at Key Stage 4 & 5

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In English we offer both Language GCSE and Literature GCSE to all our students. These courses develop the students’ abilities in both reading and writing, as well as exposing them to literary texts. After Key Stage 4 you might go into the Sixth Form to study 'A' Levels in English Language or English Literature, courses which develop analytical skills and critical writing.

Department Staff

Staff	Role
Ms S Colabella	Head of Department
Ms S Merritt	Teacher of English / Second in Department
Mr C Ball	Teacher of English / Head of Year
Mrs Bowes-Watt	Teacher of English
Ms K Carey	Teacher of English / Lead Practioner
Mr M Dunning	Teacher of English / Key Stage 3 Co-ordinator
Mr K Forrester	Teacher of English
Mrs J Glancey	Teacher of English
Miss V Greer	Teacher of English
Miss K Groom	Teacher of English / Intervention Lead for English
Mrs S Lambert	Teacher of English / Literacy Coordinator
Mrs S Latham	Teacher of English
Mrs A Le Sueur	Teacher of English
Mrs M Peacock	Teacher of English
Mrs S Simpson	Teacher of English
Mr T Smith	Teacher of English / Progress Manager
Mr C Stevens	Teacher of English
Ms V Clements	Learning Mentor for English