English Rationale
The schemes of work we study in English allow students to study a rich range of texts from different genres, cultures, and time periods with the aim of encouraging a love of English and reading. At Egerton, we are committed to equipping our young people with high self-esteem to achieve their full potential; we aim to ensure that our students leave Egerton as clear and confident communicators of English and with the appropriate literacy levels to navigate the world around them.
Our plans are based around carefully chosen texts, topics or genres that can be linked naturally to the whole school theme and that develop the cultural capital of our learners. The focus is on texts that are deemed the “best of what has been thought and said”, that are engaging and that open up areas for discussion and opinion such as justice, resilience, duty and relationships; hopefully the texts studied instil a sense of responsibility for words and actions in school and in the community.
Opinion and expression are nurtured through each topic; we focus on developing vocabulary, oracy, reading comprehension and writing skills. Our weekly plans allow flexibility within lessons to ensure our students’ needs are met whilst providing them with a robust, rigorous curriculum. Above all, we strive to ‘close the gap’ for our students and change any negative feelings towards reading and English by creating positive and encouraging experiences in our lessons.
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Here at Egerton High School our Key Stage 3 curriculum is broadly theme based, building on general knowledge of the theme from other subject areas whilst maintaining a focus on reading, writing and speaking and listening skills. We aim to put quality texts at the heart of our curriculum and encourage students to read for pleasure. At Key Stage 3, our aim is to increase progression in literacy as well as to inspire learners with creative writing and reading from a range of genres and time periods. Students are challenged yet highly supported in lessons, and work is planned to encourage confidence and independence.
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At Key Stage 4, students build upon their reading, writing and speaking and listening skills gained at Key Stage 3, and they will deepen their analytical abilities through the study of challenging and varied texts ranging from the 19th to 21st century. Students will learn how to write fiction and non-fiction texts for specific audiences and purposes using engaging stimulus such as, for example, inspiring speeches, film, art and photographs.
We currently follow the AQA GCSE English Language (8700) specification. All students are entered for GCSE at the end of Year 11 and will also complete the OCR Entry Level Certificate where they will be awarded up to Level 3. Students will be assessed regularly and will complete mock exams to prepare them for their final exams in year 11.