Our English Curriculum


In English we provide all our students with the opportunity to access a knowledge-rich, well-structured and systematic curriculum with a determined focus on achieving excellence and equity, i.e., high standards of achievement for all our students, irrespective of background or circumstance.  To this end we aim to equip our students with a strong command of the written and spoken word, and encourage their engagement with our wide-ranging literary heritage through reading for enjoyment.  Moreover, with high levels of literacy being the gateway to success across subjects, we aim to support our students in becoming lifelong, ‘word rich’ learners who can read, decipher and better navigate the often complex world in which we live.  This will mean that our students can read fluently and make inferences, and apply a robust understanding of grammar and linguistic conventions to their own writing suitable to a range of contexts, purposes and audiences.

Our English ​curriculum sets out what our students are taught in English.  It is a specific and carefully constructed plan of what students need to know and learn in English; what knowledge and understanding will be gained at each stage.  The sequencing of the curriculum, i.e., what is taught and when, is designed to provide systematic and cumulative knowledge acquisition on which understanding is embedded and skills are built.  In other words, our curriculum is designed to maximise the likelihood than our students will remember and connect the steps that they have been taught.  Our curriculum therefore functions as our progress model, providing a framework from which we can evaluate what knowledge and understanding students have gained against expectations -- meaning that if students attain securely over time, they are making progress.  Assessment will be +++

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Curriculum Overviews

​The links provided below open key stage overviews of our curriculum in English.  They map the sequence of key aspects of learning (or composites), which are each built from several smaller building blocks of learning (components).  These overviews describe the planned sequence of content that will be taught over time, framing in turn the progress students are expected to make.  Each plan describes the curriculum content in terms of key aspects of learning​, each formed from a set of smaller steps, known as components.  Students are assessed each half term against their security with respective key learning composites.


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​Curriculum Termly Plans

​​The links provided below open one-page half-termly plans of our curriculum in English.  In these, the key learning composites described in the Curriculum Overviews above are broken down into the smaller component building blocks that when put together allow successful performance of complex tasks, and thus allow security with key learning composites.  These half-termly plans describe in more detail the planned sequence of content that will be taught in a manner that facilitates diagnostic assessment of learning (and thus the early identification of any gaps in learning to inform targeted academic support).  
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Year 11
1st Autumn half term
1st Autumn half term
1st Autumn half term
1st Autumn half term
1st Autumn half term
2nd Autumn half term
2nd Autumn half term
​2nd Autumn half term
2nd Autumn half term
2nd Autumn half term
1st Spring half term
​1st Spring half term
1st Spring half term
1st Spring half term
1st Spring half term
2nd Spring half term
2nd Spring half term
2nd Spring half term
2nd Spring half term
2nd Spring half term
1st Summer half term
1st Summer half term
1st Summer half term
1st Summer half term
--
2nd Summer half term
2nd Summer half term
2nd Summer half term
2nd Summer half term
--

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Qualifications and Awards

The English curriculum leads to the following qualifications and awards.
Following the links will take you to the relevant syllabus, awarding organisation page, and qualification details.
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​Resources to support home learning

A selection of resources available freely online or via subscription that the school has provided, carefully curated by our English Team.  They are intended for use by students, under the guidance of teachers, and parents and carers as appropriate, to help address any specific gaps in knowledge and understanding uncovered through our assessment, or to support self-directed home learning and revision.


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​The Super Curriculum

​In addition to the challenge provided through the classroom curriculum and extra-curricular opportunities on offer, these ‘super-curricular’ activities have been curated by the English department for students wishing to deepen their knowledge and explore beyond the English curriculum.  They are provided especially for those students with a deep enthusiasm and interest for the subject, and for students who are more able in the subject who wish to widen their experience of the subject.  The Super Curriculum provides links to various activities for more interested or more able students to do, watch, and/or listen to.  The Super Curriculum also provides a recomened reading list, from readings students may enjoy sharing with any younger siblings, to readings to prepare them for pursuing their study in this field at University. 
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  • The English Super Curriculum

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​Student Pledge (Extra Curricular Activities)

​In addition to the curricular activities above, we also pledge ... after school clubs

All years
  • World Poetry Day
  • National Book Day
  • The Summer Classroom

Year 7
  • Visit to ​
  • Visiting authors 
Year 8
  • National Theatre Live Stream