English

The English Faculty deliver English Language and English Literature. The faculty is led by a Director of Learning, Mr D Quirk, and is happy to answer any of your queries about our department.

English Intent

The study of English at Whitcliffe Mount Academy aims to develop students’ ability to read, write and speak fluently and with good understanding to allow them to access all elements of the wider school curriculum. A strong command of the spoken and written word is essential to developing the ability to communicate and succeed in modern British society.

Through the study of the English language and the rich literary heritage of English, the curriculum aims to promote widespread reading for enjoyment. Through this reading, students will broaden their cultural capital by investigating key British values, such as respect and tolerance or the rule of law, and develop culturally, spiritually, emotionally, intellectually and socially. Exposure to a wide range of challenging fiction and non-fiction texts aims to make students ‘word rich’ by supporting them acquiring a wide knowledge of vocabulary and grammatical structures. Ultimately, the curriculum aims to allow students to be able to confidently and effectively express themselves verbally and in writing for a variety of purposes and contexts.

We pride ourselves on offering a varied, engaging and broad curriculum at both Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4. At Key Stage 3, we enjoy novels, such as 'My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece' by Annabel Pitcher, 'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck and 'Heroes' by Robert Cormier. In addition, we study both modern and Shakespearean plays, such as the play adaptation of 'Oliver Twist’, and Shakespeare’s 'Romeo and Juliet' and ‘Henry V’. We strongly believe our Key Stage 3 curriculum prepares our students for the rigours of GCSE, where we study Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol', ‘An Inspector Calls’ by J.B. Preistley and 'Macbeth' by Shakespeare. In each year group, we introduce our learners to a wide range of poetry, short stories, fiction and non-fiction texts and give ample opportunity to perfect our students' technical accuracy in writing.

The students will be given opportunity to write for a variety of purposes, and we support our creative writing activities with a variety of optional extra-curricular writing competitions.

The English Faculty endeavour to develop confident readers, creative writers and assertive speakers. We encourage students to develop a love of reading and to see writing as a way of expressing their ideas. Each year group covers a variety of stimulating topics, offering a broad and balanced curriculum. Each topic is accompanied by a formative assessment to allow teachers to tailor lessons to the specific needs of students, leading to a short, end-of-unit assessment. You will be able to see these in the curriculum plan. Using these assessments, we rigorously assess and evaluate how your child is performing and progressing.

The curriculum

Key Stage 3

In Key Stage 3, we exceed the requirements of the National Curriculum, to ensure that every pupil enjoys a range of literature and language texts and styles. In each year group, we study a full novel, a full play text, poetry from the full breadth of the rich heritage of English literature, and a range of non-fiction and fiction extracts.

You can support your child further by encouraging reading for pleasure for 30 minutes every day.

Key Stage 4

In Key Stage 4, we study the Eduqas examination board for English Language GCSE and AQA for English Literature GCSE. For English Literature, we currently study 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens, 'Macbeth' by Shakespeare, ‘An Inspector Calls’ by J.B. Priestley and a poetry anthology focusing on 'Power and Conflict' poetry.

You can support your child further by using online or paper copies of the York Note Study Guides and Work Books for each of these set texts. There are additional support guides listed below.

Please click the links below to view our curriculum plans.

English

The curriculum

GCSE past papers and mark schemes

GCSE Revision

Useful links