English

Vision

At Birchwood, we believe that English is an inspiring and powerful subject. We are passionate about English, and we want all of our students to be exposed to a range of different, challenging texts from a variety of time periods. We choose texts that ask interesting questions about the world in which we live, from some of Shakespeare’s most famous plays to more modern texts. Our curriculum is united by the key themes of identity, conflict and power, and we begin exploring these ideas from Year 7. In this way, our students gain a strong foundation in, and understanding of, the diverse history of English literature, preparing them for the rigours of GCSE study.

We want our students to be able to read fluently and confidently. We aim to empower our students to articulate their ideas with confidence and clarity. We want them to understand how language – their language – has the power to unite or to divide, to empower or to diminish. Ensuring our students have the vocabulary to understand different viewpoints, to challenge ideas and to communicate their own beliefs in an ever-changing world is more important than ever.

Through our curriculum, we also aim to encompass our school’s values of aspiration, knowledge and kindness. These principles play an important part in the texts we choose for our students at Birchwood.

How do we build on what students learn at KS2?

We want to ensure that our students are thoroughly supported in their transition from KS2 to KS3 in English. In order to do this, we are working with local primary schools so that our curriculums complement one another. In Year 7, we purposely prioritise revisiting and rebuilding on the following areas of KS2 study:

• Reading widely and frequently
• Retrieval and inference skills
• Extensive work around vocabulary
• Understanding subject-specific terminology
• Adapting writing for specific audiences and purposes
• Planning, drafting, editing and proof-reading
• Crafting effective sentences, paragraphs and whole texts
• Developing enjoyment of spoken language via opportunities for group discussion, individual presentations and public speaking

 How do we cover the KS3 National Curriculum and beyond?

 We believe that covering the KS3 National Curriculum is hugely important but we also recognise how crucial it is for students to be exposed to wider knowledge beyond this.

 We ensure that we cover the KS3 National Curriculum by:

• Exposing students to a range of texts – both fiction and non-fiction – that cover different time periods and genres. We always strive to choose texts are challenging and that allow students to make comparisons and links between them.
• Introducing rich vocabulary throughout each year and using this to develop our students’ fluency and confidence in reading and writing.
• Teaching the different conventions of different literary genres.
• Developing our students’ reading skills, from prediction and retrieval to making increasingly perceptive inferences about writers’ uses of language.
• Crafting writing for a range of audiences and purposes, from academic essay writing to creative writing.
• Teaching the importance of planning, editing and proof-reading to ensure students’ writing communicates clearly and effectively.
• Promoting discussion, debate and collaboration to help our students’ mastery of spoken language.
• Guiding our students to present their ideas and opinions clearly, formally and confidently.

Beyond the curriculum, we provide:

• Different extra-curricular clubs to promote enjoyment of reading, creative writing, language development and debating.
• A variety of assessment opportunities to allow all students to achieve.
• A range of voices and perspectives to expose our students to different ideas and ways of thinking about the world.
• Creative writing competitions.
• Public speaking opportunities.
• Theatre trips and visits from literary figures.

What do we cover in KS4 and how do we aspire towards KS5?

We ensure that our curriculum revisits concepts and ideas that are covered in KS3 and that more mature topics are dealt with in a sensitive and age-appropriate way. We follow the AQA specifications for English Language and English Literature.

 We want to ensure that our students are ready for life beyond KS4 and to aspire to study English Language and/or English Literature at KS5. As part of this, we:

• Cover aspects of literary theory at KS4 to enhance our teaching of set texts.
• Teach ambitious writing structures and vocabulary.
• Introduce some writers that students might encounter at advanced level, by using their work for unseen exam practice or as a stimulus for writing, for example.

Subject Overview