English

St Bart’s English curriculum promotes a love of reading, writing and speaking, through which students explore an exciting range of voices, times, places and ideas in order to understand their sense of self and broaden their understanding of the world in which they live.

We want to ensure all students reach their potential as readers, writers and speakers. The texts and extracts students are taught are chosen because they explore universal themes and build students’ cultural capital.

We place a high value on opportunities beyond the classroom. These often involve theatre productions and their links to what we are studying. In recent years, students have been to see The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe in London (Year 7), A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic in London (Year 8), and have been to ‘Poetry Live’ in Oxford and Reading (Year 11). We also frequently invite authors and touring theatre groups into school.

English on Instagram

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Year 7-9

In Years 7-9, students will encounter a range of writers of poetry, play and novels that will excite, challenge and engage them. Some of these texts and writers they might have come across before, others will be new to them. Some are from the ‘canon’, but many others are less well known.

Students will read both extracts and whole texts, and will look at how stories and ideas are communicated through language, both in writing and speech. As they progress through the three years of Key Stage 3, they will become increasingly aware of how stories can both entertain us, but can also serve important purposes and consider broader thoughts and ideas.

Students will also build on their writing skills, becoming increasingly adept at crafting a response to something they have studied, whilst also creating texts in order to express their own ideas.

Year 7 Curriculum

Topics

‘Characters and Places’

Novel Study: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
Monsters and Men
Gothic Horror
Heroes & Villains
Poetry Study
Novel Study

Year 8 Curriculum

Topics

‘Our Place in the World’

Year 9 Curriculum

Topics

‘Different Perspectives’

Dystopian Writing
World War One Poetry
Study of Shakespeare
Victorian Ghost Stories
Novel Study: George Orwell
Historic Speeches including GCSE Spoken Language Assessment

GCSE (Year 10-11)

Examination Board: AQA GCSE English Literature and GCSE English Language

Courses Description

English Language and English Literature are two GCSE courses which are taught alongside each other in English lessons. During the courses, students will develop their reading, writing and speaking and listening skills.

Students will write for a range of audiences and purposes. They will read a number of texts, including a Shakespeare play, modern prose or drama, poetry, 19th century fiction and non-fiction. It is very important that students continue to develop their reading skills by reading for pleasure as well.

Assessment

English Language

Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing. Written exam: 1 hour 45 minutes. 50% of GCSE.
- Section A: Reading: Students will answer questions based on a previously unseen fiction extract.
- Section B: Writing: Students will write a piece of fiction, either descriptive or narrative.

Paper 2: Writer’s Viewpoints and Perspectives. Written exam:1 hour 45 minutes. 50% of GCSE.
- Section A: Reading: Students will answer questions based on two previously unseen non-fiction extracts.
- Section B: Writing: Students will write a piece of non-fiction, paying close attention to presenting a viewpoint.

English Literature

Paper 1: Shakespeare and the 19th century novel. Written exam: 1 hour 45 minutes. 40% of GCSE
- Section A: Macbeth by William Shakespeare
- Section B: The Sign of the Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Paper 2: Modern texts and poetry. Written exam: 2 hours 15 minutes. 60% of GCSE.
Section A: An Inspector Calls by JB Priestley or Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Section B: Poetry: either the ‘Power and Conflict’ anthology or the ‘Worlds and Lives’ anthology
Section C: Unseen poetry

There is no written coursework, but there is a Spoken Presentation which must be completed as part of GCSE English Language, although it does not contribute to the final grade. This will be done at the end of Year 9, and students might have an opportunity to improve their result in Year 10. There are no tiers – all students take the same examinations.

Revision Materials

York notes

BBC Bitesize – Language

BBC Bitesize – Literature

English Language

English Language Paper 1. Watch the videos to remind you how to approach each question and then spend time practising writing answers to questions in timed conditions:

Paper 1 Practice Questions

English Language Paper 2. Watch the videos to remind you how to approach each question and then spend time practising writing answers to questions in timed conditions:

Paper 2 Practice Questions

English Literature

Macbeth: Mr Bruff – Playlist

The Sign of the Four: Mr Bruff – Playlist

An Inspector Calls: Mr Bruff – Playlist

Lord of the Flies: Mr Bruff – Playlist

Power and Conflict Poetry: Mr Bruff – Playlist

Unseen Poetry: Mr Bruff – Playlist

Sixth Form (Year 12-13)

St Bartholomew’s School Andover Road, Newbury, Berkshire. RG14 6JP

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Y7-Y11 Attendance: 01635 576372 | Y12/13 Attendance: 01635 576366