In Year 8 you'll have four English lessons per week, one being used for drama when appropriate.
The English course in both years comprises five major units of work, each incorporating speaking and listening, reading, and writing.
The course as a whole integrates English Language and English Literature.
You'll cover poetry, prose, modern drama, Shakespeare, media and non-fiction texts learning to write and speak with accuracy and fluency for different purposes to different audiences.
The English Department is passionate about fostering a love of reading.
Every Year 7 pupil is issued with a 'Reading Passport' and reading lists.
Over the course of Years 7 and 8 we require them to read a minimum of 20 books in their own time, at least one from each genre specified on the Passport. We recommend The Ultimate Book Guide by Harn, Flynn and Reuben and The Rough Guide To Books For Teenagers by Tucker and Eccleshare. Between them, they catalogue literature suitable for ages 8–18, including pithy reviews and recommendations of what to read next if you have enjoyed a particular author, and facilitate discussion between parent and child about reading.
This folder not only allows you to catalogue your achievements, it also counts towards each end of year exam.
During the course of each year we organise theatre visits, visits from actors, authors and poets to further enrich the pupils' learning experience.
We also run an annual Lower School writing competition (The Jones' Prize), a Debating Competition and participate in the Carnegie Reading Award Scheme.
Year 9 English classes are no longer taught in form groups.
In Year 9 you'll have four English lessons per week, with one being used for drama when appropriate.
The course continues to integrate English Language and English Literature and although focus begins to shift towards GCSE objectives, we believe it is still vital to retain a breadth of skills and texts beyond those requirements.
As in Years 7 and 8, we cover poetry, prose, modern drama, Shakespeare, media and non-fiction texts, writing and speaking with accuracy and fluency for different purposes to different audiences.
As in the Lower School, you'll collate a Year 9 Portfolio which provides a record of the work you've completed over the year.
In Year 9 you'll produce three essays: a response to a Shakespeare play (currently either Romeo and Juliet or Much Ado About Nothing); a comparative poetry essay and a response to a modern novel. In addition you will produce several creative pieces and the best of these is included in your portfolio. Two speaking and listening assessments are also selected from a range of tasks over the year. As before, this not only allows you to catalogue your achievements, it also counts towards the end of year exam.
We continue to encourage reading for pleasure in Year 9, suggesting shadow texts to accompany the class novel and providing pupils with a more sophisticated reading suggestions for the Middle School.
