English

Studying English Language and English Literature

Head of Department:  Mrs K. Graham

Purpose of the Curriculum:
At Gumley House, our English curriculum inspires a love of language, literature and learning. We want to enthuse and engage our young people to become literary explorers: supporting them to become critical thinkers, convincing communicators, perceptive readers and skilful writers. We aim to foster a genuine intrigue, creativity and love of English.

We deliver a curriculum that is inclusive, relevant, rigorous and inspiring, provoking the innate curiosity of our students and they are encouraged to engage with challenging content and grapple with thought-provoking concepts throughout their learning journey. We have carefully constructed diverse and rigorous programmes of study in English that are drawn from broad historical and cultural contexts, enabling our students to experience seminal texts that shape our world and understanding. They are encouraged to explore the transformative power of language and to appreciate the way that narrative can open hearts and minds and challenge their perceptions of the world. 

Our units have been thoughtfully sequenced to provide incremental challenge and to support students as they become increasingly critical readers, fluent writers and articulate speakers. 

Through inspiring our students and fostering their passion for English, we also want them to feel empowered to continue to explore the world of literature independently, creating lifelong readers and learners. We create a climate where success is celebrated, students’ voices are valued and learning is nurtured.

 Curriculum documents (English)

Key Stage 3:

Our key stage 3 curriculum advances the passion for reading that students develop in primary school. Our units are rigorous, diverse and enriching, giving our students the opportunity to:

• Develop their skills and understanding on four key components: poetry, prose, language and drama and across a range of topics.
• Explore a diverse range of fiction and non-fiction texts.
• Consolidate and boost their skills in reading for meaning
• Develop the fluency of their writing for different purposes, genres and audiences
• Enable them to see texts as a product of a moment in time or a need to express issues the writer feels passionately about
• Expand their vocabulary and confidence with how language can be manipulated for impact
• Improve their written and verbal fluency, enabling them to understand the power and impact of rhetorical devices

Throughout the key stage 3 course students build on familiar skills implemented further down the school, incrementally increasing in challenge. These processes and skills are interleaved throughout each year to ensure students encounter them in a range of settings and understand how topics and skills correlate.

Key Stage 4:

At Key Stage 4, our GCSE students grapple with seminal texts from the literary canon and refine their skills as a reader, writer and speaker. Our curriculum effectively prepares our students for the rigours of key stage 4 study and affords them the opportunity to:

• Improve their written and verbal fluency, enabling them to understand the power and impact of rhetorical devices
• Engage with texts from a range of settings and contexts, including those that challenge societal norms and values
• Explore writing from a range of historical contexts - from 19th century novels to contemporary writers, engaging with issues that shape the world and encourage them to develop their own views on prominent social and political issues
• Become increasingly confident in analysing fiction and non-fiction texts, exploring how writers craft their work and manipulate language and rhetorical devices for creative impact
• Produce clear and confident writing of their own, using the devices they have explored in the work of others to have a desired effect on their own audience
• Develop their cultural capital and personal engagement with literature, through a range of events both in and out of the school setting.

Key Stage 5:

English Literature A Level affords our students the opportunity to expand the breadth and depth of their literary knowledge. Our students study the Edexcel course, which encourages students to explore the relationships that exist between texts and the contexts within which they are written, received and understood. Our text choices also ensure that our students are challenged and inspired by what they read.
The A level course enables our students to: 

• Read widely and independently
• Engage critically and creatively with a substantial body of texts and understand ways of responding to them
• Develop and effectively apply their knowledge of literary analysis and evaluation
• Explore the contexts of the texts they are reading and others’ interpretations of them
• Undertake independent and sustained studies to deepen their appreciation and understanding of English literature, including its changing traditions.

For further information on A Level English, please visit our dedicated A Level pages.