English

Curriculum Intent

At Yewlands, we focus on building a strong foundation of knowledge in English. We are proud to offer a range of rich and fascinating texts that allow pupils to develop their subject knowledge over time.  As a department, we believe that reading is transformative and we aim to foster a love of literature in English lessons.  

The curriculum has been designed to build knowledge over time.  Our units are sequenced in a way that allows teachers to develop pupils’ understanding of the subject as they progress through the curriculum.  Core knowledge is established in Year 7, focusing on how writers create meaning.  Then, as pupils progress through Year 8 and Year 9, they embrace opportunities to develop what they know, as they explore new texts and new genres.  Our creative writing units allow pupils to apply their knowledge to their own original pieces, as they use language to create meaning themselves.  Creative writing lessons focus on mastery and conscious crafting, supporting pupils to become imaginative writers.  

We believe that every pupil should experience all that our English curriculum has to offer.  Pupils with Special Educational Needs enjoy the full content of the English curriculum and are supported to access it.  All classroom teachers deliver the same content and make adaptions based on the needs of individual pupils. 

KS3 Curriculum Overview 

GCSE information 

AQA English Language 

Pupils will sit two exam papers, which are both divided into reading and writing sections.  Pupils explore a range of texts (fiction and non-fiction) through an analytical lens, developing their ability to analyse and comment on texts perceptively.  The works of prose and non-fiction in the reading element of this course cover two main eras: the 19th and 20th century.  There are also two extended writing questions in English Language that allow pupils to develop their subject knowledge and showcase their abilities as imaginative writers: narrative writing and viewpoint writing.   

AQA | English | GCSE | English Language 

AQA English Literature 

Pupils will study three set texts and one set cluster of poems.  They will use their knowledge and skills in literary analysis to answer questions on these set texts across two exam papers. 

• - 19th Century Text: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 

• - Shakespeare: Macbeth by William Shakespeare 

• - Modern Text: An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley 

• - Poetry: The Power and Conflict anthology and a selection of Unseen poems 

AQA | English | GCSE | English Literature 

How to prepare for GCSE 

We believe that the design of the KS3 curriculum prepares pupils well for GCSE, as it provides a strong foundation of subject knowledge that supports pupils with the challenges of KS4.  By the time pupils at Yewlands reach GCSE, they have already encountered the writers, genres, concepts and devices within the GCSE Literature set texts.  These new text give pupils an opportunity to develop what they already know.  In the English Language exam specification, AQA outline key skills that are assessed in each paper, which include: information retrieval, language analysis, critical evaluation, comparison, narrative writing and non-fiction writing.  Pupils will already have practised these skills throughout KS3, so the focus in GCSE lessons will be further developing and refining those skills to prepare for the AQA exam questions.  

A-level and Beyond 

As a department, we consciously prepare our pupils for English at A-Level.  In class, we promote a scholarly approach to the subject, and we dedicate ample time to extended writing and explicitly teaching the language of academic writing, which we believe equips pupils well for further education.  The development of key communication skills within English, including oracy, are valued highly across many sectors and cross over to all other subjects and forms of training.