English
The English Faculty at Harrop Fold school is a vibrant and exciting place where students are encouraged to improve skills in preparation for their futures. Our team of motivated, enthusiastic and progress-driven staff empower students to develop a love of reading, writing and using language to embrace the world around them.
At Key Stage 3, all students receive five lessons of English each week. The English Faculty promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment.
The main aims of the English Faculty are for students to enjoy the subject. We stock a wealth of texts within the Faculty, ranging from classics such as Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Pride and Prejudice and Wuthering Heights, to more modern texts such as The Hunger Games, A Monster Calls, Room and The Lovely Bones.
Reading at Key Stage 3 is wide, varied and challenging and all students are expected to read whole books in class and independently, using the wealth of texts available within the Faculty, from their own homes and in the school’s library.
Students are taught to write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their style for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. We use a variety of techniques to support students’ writing, including visits and trips to inspire creativity, bringing in poets, theatre companies and other companies to work alongside our fantastic teaching staff. In the past, students have worked with the Premier League and the National Literacy Trust, performance poet and television teacher Mark Grist, local poet Mike Garry, BBC Manchester, and many others.
At KS4, all students receive five lessons of English each week. Students follow the AQA specification for GCSE English Literature and English Language. Students will therefore achieve two GCSEs in English by the time they leave Harrop Fold. Whilst following this course, students will read and explore a number of literary texts and will develop their own writing skills.
How can parents and carers support students?
At Harrop Fold, we believe that parental support has a huge impact on pupil progress. We aim to build strong, positive relationships with both students, and parents and carers; we believe that students achieve their best when they have a strong support network both in school and at home. With this in mind, we would welcome and encourage you to contact your student’s English teacher to discuss their progress, address any concerns and to seek advice.
In order to support your child to achieve their full potential, you could:
Check whether homework has been set and encourage them to complete any work to the best of their ability
Help your child to create a revision timetable and to find resources that will help them to revise
* Encourage reading for pleasure at home
* Encourage your child to write at home
* Encourage your child to seek access to appropriate revision guides
* Encourage your child to attend booster sessions
* Attend parents’ evenings and other parental support meetings
* Encourage students to attend theatre visits and other relevant enrichment activities
* Your child’s English teacher will be able to offer advice on resources that will help your child to achieve.
Curriculum Intent
English will provide experiences to allow pupils to unlock a wider range and knowledge of different cultures and vocabulary. This, in turn, will promote aspirations and prepares the citizens of the future. English will encourage students to be supportive, empathetic and able to cultivate a sense of their own and other’s health and well-being.
Curriculum Map
Key Stage 3
| Term 1 (Autumn 1) | Term 2 (Autumn 2) | Term 3 (Spring 1) | Term 4 (Spring 2) | Term 5 (Summer 1) | Term 6 (Summer 2) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 7 | Menacing Monsters Pupils will explore short stories and literary extracts from a range of literary texts. Reading and writing skills must be cohesive with both being treated and developed in equal measure. Pupils must practice creative writing skills. Pupils must have the opportunity to demonstrate their narrative and descriptive writing skills. | An Introduction to poetry Pupils will investigate a range of poems. They will build a foundation of skills that will help them to successfully comment on poetry. | Novel High ability: Abomination, Cuckoo Song or Alice in Wonderland Middle ability: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, The Machine Gunners, Buddy, The Philosopher's stone or Dandelion Clocks Low ability: Skellig or Skullduggery Pleasant Nurture group: Billionaire Boy or Pale Reading and writing skills must be cohesive with both being treated and developed in equal measure. Pupils must practice writing to present a viewpoint to different audiences and in different formats. | Shakespeare –anthology Pupils will learn about key themes and characters from Shakespeare’s works. | Exam skills and revision (3 weeks) Spoken language – presenting a viewpoint (3 weeks) | AQA Y7 English Language test Paper 1 – Explorations in creative reading and writing |
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| Opportunities | Write a description or short story using the stimulus provided. | Complete a coherent and well organised analysis of a poem. | Complete a piece of non-fiction writing (to be set by the KS3 lead). | AQA Paper 1 style reading assessment. | Complete a coherent and well organised analysis of a given extract. | Pupils to present a speech which illustrates their understanding of rhetoric. | |
| Year 8 | Sinister settings Pupils will explore short stories and literary extracts from a range of literary texts. Reading and writing skills must be cohesive with both being treated and developed in equal measure. Pupils must practice creative writing skills. Pupils must have the opportunity to demonstrate their narrative and descriptive writing skills. | Poetry from other cultures Pupils will investigate poetry from other cultures. They analyse form, structure and language choices. | Novel High ability: The Lovely Bones, The Lie Tree or Of Mice and Men Middle ability: Stone Cold, The Hobbit or I am Malala Low ability: Gangster Rap, Teacher’s Dead or Noughts and Crosses. Reading and writing skills must be cohesive with both being treated and developed in equal measure. Pupils must practice writing to present a viewpoint to different audiences and in different formats. | Shakespeare - Macbeth Pupils will investigate the text, exploring themes, characters and context. | Exam skills and revision of Language paper 1 & 2 (6 weeks) Spoken language – presenting a viewpoint (1 weeks) | AQA Y8 English Language test Paper 1 – Explorations in creative reading and writing Paper 2 – Writers’ viewpoint and perspectives |
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| Opportunities | Write a description or short story using the stimulus provided. | Complete a coherent and well organised analysis of a poem. | Complete a piece of non-fiction writing (to be set by the KS3 lead). | AQA Paper 1 & 2 style reading assessment. | Complete a coherent and well organised analysis of a given extract. | Pupils to present a speech which illustrates their understanding of rhetoric. | |
Key Stage 4
| Term 1 (Autumn 1) | Term 2 (Autumn 2) | Term 3 (Spring 1) | Term 4 (Spring 2) | Term 5 (Summer 1) | Term 6 (Summer 2) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 9 | Literature (paper 1, section B) 19th Century short stories – Consider themes, character, setting, plot and context. Interim Autumn 1: Language (paper 1 section A) Interim Autumn 2: Language (paper 1 section B) During this unit, pupils should practice both language and literature skills whilst studying a range 19TH century short stories. Pupils should look at extracts from the stories and be able to analyse language and structure using relevant terminology. Pupils must also focus on descriptive and narrative writing. This is important so that year 9 do not lose skills needed for the language GCSE. | Literature Paper 2 section A Modern play (The Crucible A View From The Bridge or Educating Rita) Consider themes, character, setting, plot and context. Interim: Language (paper 1 section B) | Language Paper 2 section B During this unit, students will practice their language writing skills through non-fiction texts. Establishing different genres/techniques/structure Interim: Language (paper 2 section B – speech) | Literature (paper 2, section C) War Poetry Read a selection of poems from the Power and Conflict cluster. Consider themes, character, setting and how to compare one poem to another. Interim: Language (paper 2 section A) | Exam skills and revision (3 weeks) Literature (paper 1, section A) Introduction to Romeo and Juliet – plot and key characters Pupils will investigate the text, exploring plot, characters and context. |
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| Opportunities | 19th century mock | Narrative/descriptive writing mock | Literature paper 2 section A | Language paper 2 section B | Unseen poetry mock | Language paper 1 & 2 mocks |
| Year 10 | Literature (paper 1, section A) Close study of Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare text). Consider themes, character, setting, plot and context Romeo and Juliet Interim: Language (Paper 2 section B) | Literature (paper 1, section B) Read A Christmas Carol (19th Century text). Consider themes, character, setting, plot and context. Interim: Language (Paper 1 section A) | Language (paper 2) – writers’ viewpoints and perspectives During this unit, students will practice their language reading and writing skills through two non-fiction texts. They will also practice how to compare the two texts. Interim: Literature (paper 2 section B) | Literature (paper 2, section B) Top six from the Poetry Anthology: Read a selection of poems from the Power and Conflict cluster. Consider themes, character, setting and how to compare one poem to another. Interim: Language (paper 2 section A) | Language (paper 1) - explorations in creative writing During this unit, students will practice their language reading and writing skills through fiction texts Interim: Literature (paper 1 section B) | Language refresher (paper 2) (2 weeks) Literature (paper 2, section C) Unseen Poetry (3 weeks) Language paper Spoken language – presenting a viewpoint (2 weeks) |
| Opportunities | Literature paper 1 section A question | Literature paper 1 section B | AQA Language paper 2 sections A & B | Literature paper 2 section B | AQA Language paper 1 sections A & B | Language and Literature mock papers |
| Year 11 | Literature (paper 2, section A) Read An Inspector Calls (modern text). Consider themes, character, setting, plot and context. | Language refresher (paper 1&2 sections A & B) (3 Weeks) Literature (paper 2, section C) Unseen Poetry (5 weeks) (3 Weeks) Literature (paper 2, section C) Unseen Poetry (5 weeks) | Application of the skills taught during years 9, 10 and 11 | |||
| Opportunities | Literature paper 2 section A | Winter exam series | PIXL Wave 2 | |||
