English

We aim to build on the skills students have learnt at Key Stage 2 by meeting their changing literacy needs through a curriculum that is diverse, relevant and challenging, using ICT, and linking with other subject areas to support their studies across the school.

At Key Stage 3, students work through the following topics of study each year:

KS3 English Curriculum Overview

Students are formally assessed in reading, writing, speaking and listening throughout each unit of study. The assessments for each unit are carefully designed to meet the requirements of the National Curriculum for English.

Weekly homework tasks are set by individual teachers, based either on the scheme of work that is being studied or wider literacy skills. Homework is either task marked or peer-marked, depending on the nature of the task.

Read On 

Read On is a unique reading programme at JRCS. The aim of this project is to champion reading for enjoyment. Students are provided with access to a well-equipped school library and they spend one hour per week of curriculum time being given the space and time to read the books they enjoy.

All of our Year 7 and Year 8 students also use Lexia on a regular basis. This software has been developed to support reading progression for readers of all abilities.  We have a dedicated Literacy Suite equipped with a bank of computers for students to enjoy Lexia and Accelerated Reader.

Year 10

KS4 students will sit the reformed 9-1 GCSEs in Literature and Language. Rather than achieving a grade (A*-C), these students will gain their English qualifications using a score where 9 is the highest and 1 is the lowest.

The key changes to the old GCSE specification are:

• Removal of coursework option, with 100% examination
• Students will sit four exam papers at the end of Year 11: two in English Language, and two in English Literature
• Closed text examinations
• More emphasis on 19th century fiction and non-fiction

Students will sit their GCSEs with AQA exam board. The units of study they will be following during Year 10 are as follows.

• Modern Prose:Pigeon English, Stephen Kelman
• Descriptive and narrative writing
• Power and Conflict poetry
• Unseen poetry skills
• 19th century fiction:Jekyll & Hyde
• Spoken language formal presentation skills

 Year 11

While Year 10 focuses on studying the set texts for the first time, our Year 11 curriculum prioritises revision and exam preparation.

Our current Year 11 students are working towards the following units of study:

• Macbeth 
• Power and Conflict poetry (continued from Y10)
• Speaking exam preparation
• Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing (English Language Paper 1)
• Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives (English Language Paper 2)
• Revision of Pigeon English
• Revision of Jekyll & Hyde

In order to best prepare our Year 11 students for their final exam papers, we operate several mock exam periods throughout the year.

October: English Language national mock exams  

December: English Literature mock exams

March: Full pre-public exam mocks in Literature and Language

AQA speaking examinations

Useful study resources

It is crucial that students work independently to supplement their learning in class. Wider reading and research around the subject areas we are studying is actively encouraged at all ages. The resources we would recommend to help students achieve this are:

Spark Notes – online study guides for a range of GCSE texts

LitCharts – detailed online study guides for a range of literary texts

BBC Bitesize – an online resource which helps students develop their skills in English and other subjects

The York Notes or Phillip Allan Literature Guides are also useful for students when it comes to studying particular texts in class. All Y11 students are provided with York Notes for ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ free of charge by the school. Study guides for other texts can be purchased on Amazon.co.uk.

Students continue to develop their critical thinking and literary analysis skills throughout their two year A level study. Our current KS5 students are working through the following texts and topics:

Our students sit the OCR A level in English Literature.

A level teachers set weekly homework: these may be full essays, shorter writing tasks, or reading and preparation for the following lessons. These are checked by teachers and either formally task-marked or peer-marked in class, depending on the nature of the task that has been set.

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.

At the core of our approach to marking at JRCS is task marking.

In non-practical subjects one substantial piece of work will be task marked at least once every eight hours of teaching. Students will respond to the tasks and they will be checked by staff. In between that time students’ work may be peer or self-assessed or briefly checked by staff.

It is likely the same piece of work will be assessed for literacy. Staff will mark work using the literacy marking code: 

Levelling and Assessment

KS3

Years 7 and 8 will have their assessments marked using the ‘Life after Levels’ categories introduced in all subjects:

• Excelling
• Secure
• Developing
• Emerging
• Foundation

Year 9 students will be graded according to the new 9-1 categories, as this is treated as a transition year preparing students for GCSE.

Each time they receive assessment feedback, students will record areas of strength and development on their ‘reflection sheets’ which will be at the  back of the book. At the end of each term a level is reported for students in each subject, which reflects all their work over that term. These are found on students’ pale yellow progress cards, which are stuck into their planners. These cards show students whether they are in line to meet their end of key stage target.

KS4

KS4 practice exam questions and mock exams are likely to be graded. This work might not be in student books. Students will record grades and areas of strength and development in their ‘reflection sheets’ which will be at the front or back of the book. All students receive an attainment and predicted grade at the end of each term. These are found on their pale yellow progress cards, which are stuck into their planners. These cards show students whether they are in line to meet their end of key stage target.

KS5

At KS5 students take a series of VIMAs (Sixth Form Milestone Assessments) during their course. Students receive developmental comments to help them improve their work. Each VIMA result includes four parts: the grade for that assessment, a comparison of the grade with their expected progress grade (EPG), a Learning Capability mark and a prediction of their end of year grade (PEG). The outcomes of these assessments and other graded work will be in student folders. They are also sent home to parents. A summary of VIMA marks and the students’ expected progress grade is also recorded in their planner.