English

English teaching at Hertswood Academy is dedicated to providing students of all abilities the solid foundation they need to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing. We aspire to equip them with a broad vocabulary and encourage them to engage with, and interpret, the written and spoken word. We aim to promote a love of learning and reading for pleasure, delivering a rigorous curriculum using a huge range of both nonfiction and fiction material, that spans centuries, to raise debates, promote intellectual curiosity and spark imaginations. With consistently good and outstanding English lessons that involve a range of reading, writing, speaking and listening activities, students at Hertswood develop a range of transferable skills, such as analysis, critical evaluation, inference, contextualisation, explanation and comparison.

In the English Faculty, we pride ourselves on having high expectations and routines where positive relationships are formed between staff and students, based on mutual respect.  This promotes a positive atmosphere that is conducive to meaningful learning. We are dedicated to ensuring students become independent learners and we provide opportunities for students to learn from their mistakes and develop a growth mindset to ‘Aim high, achieve excellence’.

Key Stage 3

At Key Stage 3, students explore the way in which writers use language to convey their ideas and respond to fiction, including poetry, prose and plays and non-fiction, from broadsheet newspapers to Twitter. They have opportunities to practise penning their own compositions and expressing their ideas eloquently and clearly.

Key Stage 4

At Key Stage 4, students further develop their reading and writing skills to a more sophisticated level and apply those skills to GCSE language exam practice. They also begin studying the GCSE literature exam texts.

Key Stage 5

After GCSEs, students meeting the entry requirements may continue with A Level English Literature. This subject is extremely highly regarded at universities for a breadth of degree disciplines. The two year linear course covers prose, poetry and drama from the sixteenth century to the present day. Students also undertake a non exam assessment forming 20% of the final mark.

Independent Learning Resources

• The Knowledge
• Quizlet
• Google Classrooms
• Century online learning
• BBC Bitesize
• CGP Revision and Workbook

Useful Links

• British Library (www.bl.uk/learning/online-resources)
• The Victorian Web (www.victorianweb.org)
• Royal Shakespeare Company (www.rsc.org.uk)