English

Year 7

Topics

• Ancient Origins
• History of the English Language 
• Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
• Gothic Literature
• The Bone Sparrow

Skills

Understanding Origins and Myths:

Analysing creation myths and epic tales (e.g., Gilgamesh)

Identifying key themes and heroes in mythology (Theseus, Perseus)

Textual Analysis:

Analysing language, character, and structure in texts like The Iliad and The Odyssey

Understanding Biblical and Christian influences in literature

Historical and Literary Context:

Linking texts to their social, political, and historical contexts (Anglo-Saxon, Elizabethan, Jacobean England)

Recognising language development (Old English, Middle English)

Shakespearean Study:

Identifying genre conventions of tragedy

Analysing dramatic techniques and playwright’s intent

Narrative Structures:

Understanding narrative elements (beginnings, endings, motifs)

Exploring writer’s intent and global themes in storytelling

Poetic and Dramatic Techniques

Understanding poetic structures and dramatic effects

Analysing themes like science, religion, and social anxieties

Critical Thinking:

Summarising key ideas, linking concepts, and identifying motifs

Applying intertextuality and exploring different points of view

Year 8

Topics

• Detective Fiction
• War Poetry
• The Art of Rhetoric
• Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde
• Noughts and Crosses (Play)

Skills

Genre and Conventions:

Understanding crime and detective fiction conventions (justice, retribution, detection)

Analysing narrative techniques (focalization, foreshadowing, dialogue, tension)

Solving mysteries and problems in fiction

Poetic devices and analysis:

Exploration of war poetry and literature

Knowledge of the how and why war literature is so important

Empathy skills

Rhetorical Devices:

Identifying poetic devices, ethos, pathos, logos

Understanding the purpose and audience of texts

Comparing perspectives and ideas to develop empathy

Persuasion and Power:

Analysing language and power in persuasive texts

Understanding how speakers persuade through character, emotion, and argument

Exploring the structure and syntax of persuasive writing and speaking

Debating and Argumentation:

Structuring and organising debates

Victorian and Social Contexts:

Exploring Victorian social anxieties (e.g., Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde, science vs religion)

Understanding societal fears like degeneracy, overstepping boundaries, and appearance vs reality

Dramatic and Structural Analysis:

Analysing character, language, and structure in plays:

Exploring themes in historical, social, and political contexts (actions vs consequences, terrorism, interracial relationships)

Critical Thinking and Context:

Linking historical and social contexts (Victorian fears, social boundaries) to themes

Understanding playwright’s intent and the effects of actions and consequences

Year 9

Topics

• Tragedy through time
• Literature from other Cultures
• Animal Farm
• Women in Literature
• Dystopian Fiction

Skills

Textual and Contextual Influences:

Understanding factors that influenced text production (e.g., historical, cultural, political contexts)

Applying contextual knowledge to content and analysing how culture influences writers and poets

Theories and Literary Concepts:

Engaging with theories (Aristotle, Marxism, Feminism)

Exploring satire and allegory as literary forms and analysing oppression in texts

Plot and Character Development:

Tracking key events, character arcs, and themes in literature

Analysing narrative arcs and plot structure: (e.g., Orwell’s use of propaganda, survival themes)

Dramatic and Literary Techniques:

Identifying and analysing dramatic methods (dramatic irony, soliloquies, tension, in medias res)

Using metaphor and rhetoric in textual analysis

Interpretations and Differing Perspectives:

Analysing themes relating to social, historical, and political contexts (totalitarian regimes, human rights, political dictatorships)

Women in Literature: 

Exploring differing interpretations of texts over time

Engaging with perspectives such as feminism, feminist literary theory, and male gaze

Social and Political Contexts

Exploring gender inequality, female empowerment, and the representation of women in literature

Dystopian Literature:

Understanding dystopian conventions (setting, themes, characterisation)

Analysing how dystopian fiction portrays oppression, power dynamics, and the removal of human rights

Critical Analysis and Cultural Capital:

Understanding and applying concepts of cultural capital and its importance in literature

Evaluating why writers express specific viewpoints and attitudes through their works

Assessment

• In class assessment based on the unit
• Module recall
• Consolidation

Topics

AQA Language:

Paper 1 - Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing

Paper 2 -Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives

AQA Literature:

Paper 1- Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel. 

Macbeth and A Christmas Carol

Paper 2- 2 Modern texts and poetry

An Inspector Calls, Power and Conflict Poetry and Unseen Poetry

Skills

English Language:

Reading:

• critical reading and comprehension: identifying and interpreting themes, ideas and information in a range of literature and other high-quality writing; reading in different ways for different purposes, and comparing and evaluating the usefulness, relevance and presentation of content for these purposes; drawing inferences and justifying these with evidence; supporting a point of view by referring to evidence within the text; identifying bias and misuse of evidence, including distinguishing between statements that are supported by evidence and those that are not, reflecting critically and evaluatively on text, using the context of the text and drawing on knowledge and skills gained from wider reading, recognising the possibility of different responses to a text.

• summary and synthesis: identifying the main theme or themes; summarising ideas and information from a single text; synthesising from more than one text. 

• evaluation of a writer’s choice of vocabulary, form, grammatical and structural features:

explaining and illustrating how vocabulary and grammar contribute to effectiveness and impact, using linguistic and literary terminology accurately to do so and paying attention to detail; analysing and evaluating how form and structure contribute to the effectiveness and impact of a text.

• comparing texts: comparing two or more texts critically with respect to the above.

Writing:

• producing clear and coherent text: writing effectively for different purposes and audiences: to describe, narrate, explain, instruct, give and respond to information, and argue; selecting vocabulary, grammar, form, and structural and organisational features judiciously to reflect audience, purpose and context; using language imaginatively and creatively; using information provided by others to write in different forms; maintaining a consistent point of view; maintaining coherence and consistency across a text 

• writing for impact: selecting, organising and emphasising facts, ideas and key points; citing evidence and quotation effectively and pertinently to support views; creating emotional impact; using language creatively, imaginatively and persuasively, including rhetorical devices (such as rhetorical questions, antithesis, parenthesis).

English Literature:

• literal and inferential comprehension: understanding a word, phrase or sentence in context; exploring aspects of plot, characterisation, events and settings; distinguishing between what is stated explicitly and what is implied; explaining motivation, sequence of events, and the relationship between actions or events

• critical reading: identifying the theme and distinguishing between themes; supporting a point of view by referring to evidence in the text; recognising the possibility of and evaluating different responses to a text; using understanding of writers’ social, historical and cultural contexts to inform evaluation; making an informed personal response that derives from analysis and evaluation of the text 

• evaluation of a writer’s choice of vocabulary, grammatical and structural features: analysing and evaluating how language, structure, form and presentation contribute to quality and impact; using linguistic and literary terminology for such evaluation 

• comparing texts: comparing and contrasting texts studied, referring where relevant to theme, characterisation, context (where known), style and literary quality; comparing two texts critically with respect to the above.

Assessment

AQA GCSE English Language Exams

Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing

• Focus: Developing analytical and creative skills.

• Sections:
  1. Reading: Analysis of a fiction extract (typically from 20th/21st-century prose):
     • Comprehension questions.
     • Analysis of language, structure, and effects on the reader.
     • Evaluation of the text based on a statement.
  2. Writing: Producing descriptive or narrative writing:
     • Response to a visual prompt or thematic question.
     • Assesses creativity, vocabulary, structure, and technical accuracy.
• Marks: 80 total (50% of the Language GCSE).
• Time: 1 hour 45 minutes.

Paper 2: Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives

• Focus: Exploring and comparing non-fiction texts.

• Sections:
  1. Reading: Analysis of two non-fiction texts (modern and 19th-century):
     • Summary and synthesis of similarities/differences.
     • Analysis of writers’ use of language.
     • Comparison of viewpoints and methods.
  2. Writing: Writing to present a viewpoint:
     • Argumentative or persuasive writing (e.g., article, letter, speech).
     • Assesses clarity, coherence, and technical accuracy.
• Marks: 80 total (50% of the Language GCSE).
• Time: 1 hour 45 minutes.

AQA GCSE English Literature Exams

Paper 1: Shakespeare and the 19th-Century Novel

• Texts:

  • Macbeth: Analysis of themes, characters, and context.
  • A Christmas Carol: Study of Dickens’ ideas, characters, and social context.
• Questions:
  • Extract-based analysis linked to the wider text.
  • Focus on themes, characters, writer’s techniques, and contextual relevance.
• Marks: 64 total (40% of the Literature GCSE).
• Time: 1 hour 45 minutes.

Paper 2: Modern Texts and Poetry

• Texts:

  1. An Inspector Calls: Analysis of themes, characters, and socio-political context.
  2. Power and Conflict Poetry: 15 poems from the anthology studied comparatively.
  3. Unseen Poetry:
     • Analysis of an unfamiliar poem.
     • Comparison of two unseen poems.
• Questions:
  • Essay questions on the modern text (An Inspector Calls).
  • Comparison of anthology poems.
  • Analysis and comparison of unseen poetry.
• Marks: 96 total (60% of the Literature GCSE).
• Time: 2 hours 15 minutes.

In-school theatre productions

Revision conferences

1. Writer/Author

2. Journalist/Broadcaster

3. Editor/Proofreader

4. Teacher (English/Literature)

5. Content Writer/Copywriter

6. Public Relations Specialist

7. Publishing (Literary Agent, Editor)

8. Librarian/Archivist.

9. Marketing/Communications Specialist

10. Screenwriter/Scriptwriter.

11. Technical Writer

12. Law (Solicitor/Barrister)

13. Human Resources (HR)

14. Translator/Interpreter.

15. Speechwriter

16. AI Prompt Engineer

17. Sales/ Account Manager

Homework:

KS3: Bedrock- online platform.
Set day: Monday
Due date: Sunday 

KS4: Set day: Wednesdays – online multiple choice/videos and wider reading
Due day: Weekly (Wednesday)
Format/platform: Uploaded on to Class Charts/ Google Classroom

Revision:

• Revision (only accessible from a King’s account)
• Useful Website for AQA revision
• You Tube Links

Classics

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

2. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

3. Animal Farm by George Orwell

4. Lord of the Flies by William Golding

5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Modern Texts

6. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

7. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

8. Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

9. 1984 by George Orwell

10. Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah

Young Adult

11. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

12. One by Sarah Crossan

13. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

14. I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

15. Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

Poetry and Short Stories

16. Selected Poems by Carol Ann Duffy

17. Selected Poems by Simon Armitage

18. The Colour of Humanity by Michael Morpurgo (Short Stories)

19. A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines

20. War Poems by Wilfred Owen