English

English

English at Cockermouth School aims to set high expectations for students by providing a varied, challenging curriculum that develops students’ proficiency in the four core areas of Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. Our intention is to equip students with the knowledge required to succeed in the wider world. Students achieve this through following a research-informed, progressive curriculum that develops their knowledge about fiction, non-fiction, reading, writing and sets high standards in regards to spoken language skills in order to help our students thrive in society, both at school and in their lives beyond compulsory education. Students begin their journey through the subject by being introduced to genres and concepts that underpin study throughout the Key Stages. Universal themes form a thread that connects text choices and informs understanding of material encountered both in school and in life beyond formal education. The material studied is drawn from texts with local, national and international relevance and includes diverse voices from across time and different cultures. Grammar is taught explicitly through Years 7, 8 and 9 and is also used to teach a range of written genres and forms. Vocabulary development is supported through the units as an integral part of the reading and writing process. Comprehension is enhanced through the use of Reciprocal Reading strategies that build on those skills used in school for those who receive reading intervention. Students experience regular opportunities to write at length, read whole texts, revisit knowledge, revisit texts and read for pleasure and comprehension. All students follow the same curriculum with support being put in place to enable access to learning outcomes. Underpinning all of the above is a belief in the power of English to enrich and empower students’ lives through exploration of plays, novels, non-fiction, grammar and writing for different purposes and audiences. Additionally, extra-curricular events, such as presentations and workshops by authors, add to the real-world relevance of the subject for the students.

Key Stage 3

Does the English Department follow the National Curriculum?

Yes

At Key Stage 3, students follow a fortnightly programme of learning, based on the Mastery principle, where course content is taught so students have a confident understanding before more complex material and ideas are introduced. The lessons each fortnight include: literary heritage, grammar for writing, reading for pleasure and comprehension.

By the end of Key Stage 3, students will have experienced and explored a range of fiction, plays, poetry, short stories/novellas. They will have also developed their grammatical understanding with a view to improving their ability to write in a range of forms for different purposes and audiences. They will read for both pleasure and comprehension using Reciprocal Reading skills to support their ability to read unfamiliar texts of increasing difficulty independently. Big questions about the nature of humanity and society will be explored through the themes covered. A range of diverse voices from across time and the globe will be heard throughout Years 7, 8 and 9. Students will use talk to develop deeper understanding and to prepare for written responses. During this Key Stage, students will also have mastered a core understanding of concepts critical for study at GCSE: themes, context, literary archetypes, linguistic and structural devices, genres, forms, academic register plus practised responding to feedback and reflecting upon their work in order to further improve and apply their knowledge to future work.

Key Stage 4

At Key Stage 4 all students study for both GCSE English Language and GCSE English Literature and follow the AQA specification. Students continue to develop the skills covered in the previous three years and apply them to GCSE texts and tasks. There is an inherent focus on developing organisational skills. Students use the Cornell note-taking method and use folders to file their work. English is taught every day with three lessons a week being devoted to Literature and two to Language. All students follow the same programme of learning and work is scaffolded and supported to enable all to achieve their best.

English Literature

Literature study explores texts such as Shakespeare’s Macbeth, post 1900 texts such as An Inspector Calls and Lord of the Flies plus 19th century fiction texts such as A Christmas Carol and Jekyll and Hyde. An anthology of poetry is also studied that features work from the 1700s to the 21st century, plus some additional work on analysing unseen poetry. Text choices are based on individual teachers’ expertise and the needs of the class. There is an emphasis on studying the big questions in literature that explore the nature of humanity and society.

English Language

Students use the knowledge and skills developed during Key Stage 3 to inform their study of unseen fiction and non-fiction texts from the 19th and 20th centuries. Writing skills covered during Key Stage 3 are further refined with a focus on narrative, descriptive and transactional writing. Comprehension and close reading skills are developed, plus there is an explicit focus on evaluation, comparison, summary, synthesis, linguistic and structural analysis. Non Examined Assessment for the spoken language component takes place towards the end of Year 10.

For more details on the GCSE English Language and English Literature specifications use the following links:

AQA | English | GCSE | English Language

AQA | English | GCSE | English Literature

Key Stage 5

At Key Stage 5 we offer both A level English Language and A level English Literature.

English Language

Students follow the AQA A Level English Language specification. The first term introduces students to the metalanguage required to undertake the course. Students study grammar, pragmatics, lexis and semantics, graphology, discourse and phonology. This framework is used to analyse a range of different linguistic areas of study: gender, social groups, regional variation and occupation. The texts used for this analysis are written, spoken or multi-modal. Students also learn about how to analyse texts in terms of how representation creates meaning and they develop the skills required to construct discursive essays and challenge theory. The subject is, by nature, discursive and students debate issues both verbally and in written form. Year 13 also includes new units of study that focus on producing Non Examined Assessment work in the form of an independent investigation and an extended creative task that explores the process of writing. Students also learn about child language acquisition, the use of English across the globe plus how language has changed over the last 400 years.

For more details on the A Level English Language specification, use the following link:

AQA | English | AS and A-level | English Language

English Literature

Students follow the Edexcel A Level English Literature specification and study three key elements of English Literature in preparation for their exams. They study a range of modern poems from Poems of the Decade, An Anthology of the Forward Books of Poetry, which they begin to compare with unseen poems as the year progresses; they study a modern play, from either a comic or tragic genre, and they study two prose texts, linked by a single theme. During Year 12, students also prepare for a Non Examined Assessment which is an extended comparison of two texts in the form of a 2500 – 3000 word essay. The students can devise a task on two set texts studied in class or can work more independently on texts of their own choice, and are given guidance on the most appropriate approach in regular tutorials. Over the spring and summer terms, students will research their chosen texts and their essay, as well as develop their verbal skills in regular tutorials. In Year 13, students consolidate and extend their learning by applying their skills to new texts. They study poetry and drama, engaging in a detailed study of an individual poet and studying a Shakespeare play. Their study of Shakespeare requires them to apply a range of critical opinions to the play they are studying, using an anthology of short essays provided by the exam board.

For more details on the A Level English Literature specification, use the following link:

Edexcel AS & A level English Literature 2015 | Pearson qualifications