Introduction
‘The more that you read, the more things that you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go’.
The English and Media Faculty work hard to provide a full and varied curriculum that challenges and develops our students. From Year 7 beginning their Secondary School experience by reading Kafka, to Year 10 competing to see which talented writer will win the opportunity to attend work experience at a national newspaper, the students are encouraged to excel. Students of all abilities are supported to enjoy and achieve in the various disciplines (English Language, English Literature and Media Studies) through the focus on becoming independent learners, willing readers, being given clear feedback on their progress and through enrichment through extra-curricular opportunities.
Current developments
The entire GCSE and A Level English Language and Literature courses have been redeveloped in line with Government requirements, creating challenging and effective lessons that reflect the the world they live in whilst responding to the demands of the new specifications set out by exam boards. These courses have been expanded to incorporate further critical thinking, an enhanced focus on writing style and to develop analytical skills that we would previously have expected on far older students!
The Year 7-9 curriculum has also been re-developed to bring it in line with the new GCSE requirements and to reflect the cross-curricular approach that the skills is planning to embed from September 2016. Year 9 students now find themselves embarking on their GCSE study a year earlier, allowing them to immerse themselves in Victorian writing, Shakespeare and the art of effective communication in preparation for their GCSEs in Year 10.
Years 8 and 9
Note that year 7 information for each subject is available here.
The Key Stage 3 English curriculum offers students the opportunity to explore a range of real life issues through reading a rich range of texts and develop their written and spoken communications skills. Year 7 explore issues surrounding identity, empowerment, discovery and environment following the whole school framework. Year 8 explore issues surrounding homelessness, diversity, stereotypes, belief and change. In year 9 students start their foundation GCSE year; students will be developing key GCSE skills and begin studying their exam texts. All students are assessed through a range of written spoken and reading assessments. We place a great emphasis on reading and use the Accelerated Reader programme to ensure all students make progress and feel confident with their reading skills. The Key Stage 3 curriculum is filled with a range of enriching trips that support the curriculum and activities such as celebrating World Book Day and Victoriana, an event organised by students to showcase their work from the Victorian unit.
Enrichment and Extra curricular
Students are given the opportunity to attend a variety of enrichment opportunities through the English and Media Faculty. From the Writer-in-Residence programme ‘QK Story’ to theatre trips, work experience at advertising agencies and mentoring from universities such The L.S.E, our students are encouraged to be aspirational and prepared for life beyond QK.
To support students with their studies a range of study clubs and targeted small group tutoring sessions are run, according to the Key Stage or particular needs of each individual child. These sessions are usually run by the students’ actual English or Media teacher to ensure that they are able to make maximum progress and develop their confidence.
The school is also committed to embedding a reading culture through the celebration of great books, brilliant readers and closely monitoring students’ progress in their reading skills. This year we have had a huge number of students in the school qualifying for the Millionaire’s Club – a group of students who have read more than a million words this year, growing numbers of students are winning bronze, silver and gold reading badges and we are in the process of setting up a reading flash mob that will show how much QK students love to read – watch this space for updates!