English

Broad and Diverse Curriculum

Our English curriculum is designed to provide students with a comprehensive and diverse literary education. Encompassing a wide range of forms and voices, our approach spans from canonical works to contemporary literature.

Students engage with timeless classics, studying foundational works such as Homer’s Odyssey and the short stories of Edgar Allan Poe and Guy de Maupassant. This focus on canonical literature aims to provide a solid understanding of the historical and cultural aspects that have shaped the English language.

In addition to canonical texts, our curriculum prioritises contemporary voices, offering students the opportunity to explore, analyse and recreate modern works. This ensures a dynamic and relevant educational experience that reflects the diverse perspectives and narratives present in today’s society.

Beyond literature, our commitment to diversity extends to various forms of writing, encouraging students to express themselves across a spectrum of genres. Our aim is to equip students with a well-rounded understanding of the English language, fostering both critical thinking skills and an appreciation for the multiplicity of voices that contribute to our literary heritage.

Formative and Holistic Assessment

Students at KS3 are assessed holistically using formative assessment throughout the scheme. This means that rather than building up to an end assessment that could limit the scope for assessment of a student’s true capabilities, teachers consider student work both in the books and participation in class to provide a more well-rounded assessment of the student’s progress. Additionally, this allows for a greater appreciation for the student’s work ethic and efforts, providing staff with a range of opportunities for formative assessment.

Feedback

Our curriculum is designed to allow students the opportunity to write a piece of extended writing at least every 6 lessons to be marked by the teacher using Whole Class Feedback. Students then respond to this feedback, making improvements in green pen to identify key strengths and to show progress against success criteria.

Homework

Students are set homework weekly via the online platform Seneca. This platform allows us to set relevant and bespoke homework that aligns with our in class curriculum.

We, as an English department, want to best ensure our students are all well equipped for your child to leave their academic career in Jo Richardson with the success that they deserve to fulfil their aspirations and goals in the future.

What will English offer your child?

• inspire them to achieve their full potential, preparing them for the wider world
• offer a wide variety and forms and text to explore a range of themes, issues and writers
• provide your child with opportunities to be successful in future education and employment
• broaden enrichment opportunities using the curriculum – we are ensuring that your child leaves Jo Richardson as a whole rounded individual
• foster a culture of conscious, collaborative, critical and confident thinkers

By the end of Year 11, your child will achieve 2 English GCSEs.

• English Literature
• English Language

Below is an outline of the GCSE papers your child will work towards, starting from Year 10.

GCSE English Language (AQA)

• English Language Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing (1h45)
• English Language Paper 2: Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives (1h45)

GCSE English Literature (AQA)

• Literature 1: Shakespeare: Macbeth and 19^th Century Novel: Christmas Carol
  • Students will be given a passage from the text for close reading and asked to link to an analysis of the text as a whole
• Literature 2: Inspector Calls, Power and Conflict Poetry, Unseen Poetry
  • Inspector Calls—Write a Literary essay on a character or a theme
  • Power and Conflict Poetry—compare a printed poem with another from memory
  • Unseen Poetry—analysis a poem that students have never seen before and then compare to another poem they have never seen before

Our vision:

Knowing and reading literature can enrich our lives, improve our understanding of ourselves and the world as well as aiding us in communicating and expressing our vision for alternative futures.

For many of us, studying literature changed our lives.  Literature opened us up to new possibilities and allowed us to have experiences and exposure to ideas that inspired us.  It is this passion that animates our teaching of a subject that we love.

We hope that we can ignite and inspire this love in you too.

Outline of the course

The aims and objectives of the Pearson Edexcel A-Level in English Literature are to enable students to:

• read widely and independently
• engage critically and creatively with complex and relevant
• develop and effectively apply their knowledge of literary analysis and evaluation
• explore the contexts of the texts they are reading and others’ interpretations of them
• undertake independent and sustained studies to deepen their appreciation and understanding of English literature, including its changing traditions.

Year 12

• Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire (1947)
• Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles (1891) and Khaled Hossenini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007)
• a selection of post-2000 specified poetry from Poems of the Decade
• Coursework and Independent Study: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Othello

Year 13

• Refining Coursework + Revision
• Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1599)
• Close study of a poet

The English department prides itself on providing excellent wider learning opportunities for students, taking full advantage of our close proximity to the theatres in Central London. In recent years, we have taken Y13 on trips to see Hamlet at the National Theatre, Tis Pity She’s a Whore at the Globe, and to an exam-preparation lecture day at Imperial College University. Recent Key Stage 3 trips have included tours and sword-fighting demonstrations at Shakespeare’s Globe, a day at Harry Potter World, and a production of Titus Andronicus at the Globe. We also seek to find opportunities wherever possible for KS4 students to see live productions of the texts they are studying, for example Pigeon English at the National Youth Theatre.

Feedback and Assessment Policy

In KS3 and KS4 students will write at least one extended piece of writing every two weeks.

Through the use of exemplars of excellent practice, students learn the expected standard of performance.

In addition to exemplars, students receive Whole-Class Feedback to help identify areas for progress and opportunities for growth.

In KS3, we track student progress using the following descriptors of performance

• Excelling
• Secure
• Developing
• Emerging
• Foundation

In KS4, teacher regularly assess and track the performance of students.  Our feedback is aimed at progress and growth.  As a result, with students we focus on giving comments as opposed to grades.  Following the seminal research by Ruth Butler (1988), we know that giving summative grades can limit student development, focus students on comparison with others instead of learning and lead to decreasing motivation.  In contrast, comments only marking can lead to a potential 30% increase in learning.

At key moments in Y11, there will be grades and predictions shared with students and these follow the 1-9 Grading scale.

In KS5, similar pedagogy informs our use of exemplars and comments-based marking.  As with KS4, there will be key assessment moments where marks and grades measuring performance will be shared with students.  KS5 uses a grading scale from A-D.