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Newman Catholic College

NewmanCatholic College

A UNICEF Rights Respecting School

English

“Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else's shoes for a while.”

Malorie Blackman

At Newman Catholic College, we aim to take our pupils on a journey of discovery. Through Literature, we encourgae them to reflect on their own and others’ cultures and experiences. Indeed, our curriculum is heavily reading focused in order to expose our pupils to diverse, relevant and challenging material. Our goal is to support and prepare our pupils for the future: the world of employment, world travel and further study.

We aim to teach pupils key skills, knowledge and content incrementally to build and enhance the skills they acquire from primary school. Our KS3 (Years 7- 9) curriculum is ambitious, exciting and creative. It well prepares our pupils for the recently reformed GCSE and their post 16 studies. We have high expectations of our pupils and with the regular use of student voice and reflection, tailor our teaching and approaches to their development.

We focus on developing intellectually curious pupils, who want to learn and know more about the world through the Literature and linguistic elements we teach.

Finally, we acknowledge the words of Malorie Blackman, where she considers the important reading strategy of empathy. We strive to create empathic pupils and we use reading and writing materials at every age and stage to foster this important skill.

“Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else's shoes for a while.”

Key Stage 3 Overview:

All pupils read whole books in class, during tutor period and for pleasure. All pupils also have access to Accelerated Reader which incentivises reading and allows English teachers to track reading closely. We are passionate about supporting and encouraging reading for pleasure and the first 10 minutes of our KS3 English lessons are dedicated to silent reading and reading discussions.

Pupils also enjoy dedicated Library lessons and hear from the English Teacher about their latest read. They then follow the Accelerated Reading programme.

We aim to train our pupils to be versatile and creative writers. Pupils, therefore, will be taught to write accurately, fluently, effectively and at length. They will learn to consolidate and build on their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary and use standard English effectively. The skills of planning, drafting, editing and proofreading are embedded in the teaching of writing.

Oracy is important, especially as a condition for good writing. Pupils will learn how to speak confidently and effectively, using standard English in a range of formal and informal contexts, including classroom discussions, short speeches, presentations and debates.

Key Stage 4 Overview

At Key Stage 4, students follow a course designed to effectively deliver the AQA English Language and English Literature GCSEs.

Students will be taught how to read and appreciate a range of fiction and non-fiction texts.

They will read whole novels and plays as well as extracts from texts. The depth and power of the English literary heritage is covered extensively throughout the course but pupils do have access to modern texts. They will learn to understand and critically evaluate texts and are encouraged to learn quotations by heart and use them to support points they make in critical evaluations and essays. Analysing and evaluating the impact of a writer’s choice of vocabulary, form, grammatical and structural features; making personal responses to texts and understanding the contexts of each text studied are also key features of the Language and Literature courses.

Students will learn to write accurately, fluently, effectively and at length for pleasure and information by adapting their writing for a wide range of purposes and audiences.

They will be taught how to select and organise ideas, facts and key points. Students will learn how to select and use judiciously vocabulary, grammar, form, and structural and organisational features, including rhetorical devices, to reflect audience, purpose and context, and using Standard English where appropriate. Students will also be taught how to make notes and to draft as well as to revise, edit and proof-read, reflecting on and restructuring their writing, and amending its grammar and vocabulary to improve coherence, consistency, clarity and overall effectiveness.

Pupils will be taught to speak confidently, audibly and effectively using Standard English. They will also learn to work effectively in groups, listen to and build on the contributions of others as well as learning to improvise, rehearse and perform play scripts and poetry.

Year 7 

Students have 7 English lessons across two weeks and are regularly assessed in Reading, Writing and in Spoken English.

Homework is set weekly and will often include creative writing, grammar and spelling activities, wider reading and reading quizzes.

The English Curriculum:

To consolidate the skills learnt in Key Stage 2, implement the National Curriculum and to ensure all pupils are well prepared for Key Stage Four, the curriculum is organised into the following units of work:

  • The autobiography
  • Travel Writing
  • The Novel
  • Poetry
  • Shakespeare

Enrichment and Interventions:

We facilitate various enrichment and intervention activities to support learning in English which include:

  • Year 7 LEXIA programme
  • Star Reading Tests to monitor Reading Age progression
  • In school workshops delivered by arts and theatre groups
  • Poetry and Writing Competitions
  • Working with external organisations to support learning and personal development
  • Homework Clubs
  • Activities run in the Library throughout the academic year
  • Reading support with Teaching Assistants

Year 8 

Students have 7 English lessons across two weeks and are regularly assessed in Reading, Writing and in Spoken English.

Homework is set weekly and will often include creative writing, grammar and spelling practice, preparation for assessments, work related to set texts, wider reading and practice examination style questions.

The English Curriculum:

To consolidate the skills learnt in Year 7, implement the National Curriculum and ensure all pupils are well prepared for Key Stage Four, the curriculum is organised into the following units of work:

  • Non- Fiction reading and writing skills
  • Science Fiction
  • The Novel
  • Non- Fiction
  • Poetry

Enrichment and Interventions

We facilitate various enrichment and intervention activities to support learning in English which include:

  • Year 8 LEXIA
  • Star Reading Tests to monitor reading age progression
  • Reading support with Teaching Assistants
  • In school workshops delivered by arts and theatre groups
  • Poetry and Writing Competitions
  • Homework Clubs
  • Book clubs
  • Activities hosted in the Library throughout the academic year

Year 9 

Students have 7 English lessons across two weeks and are regularly assessed in Reading, Writing and Speaking and Listening.

Year 9 is an important transition year. The Year 9 student will build on the reading and writing skills acquired at KS2 and lower KS3 but will be well prepared for the increasingly demanding experience at KS4.

Homework is set weekly and will often include creative writing, grammar and spelling practice, preparation for assessments, work related to set texts, wider reading and practice examination style questions.

The English Curriculum:

  • News Writing
  • Non Fiction Shorts
  • The Novel
  • Dystopian Fiction
  • Shakespeare’s Leading Ladies: Love and Femininity

Enrichment and Intervention

We facilitate various intervention activities to support learning in English which include:

  • Star Reading Tests to monitor reading age progression
  • After school revision and booster sessions
  • In school workshops delivered by arts and theatre groups
  • Poetry and Writing Competitions
  • Homework Clubs
  • Activities held in the Library
  • Textbooks available for students to consolidate and deepen learning

Year 10
 

Our students enjoy 10 lessons over 2 weeks. They are exposed to a range of contemporary, and classic texts.

Students are encouraged to work independently using our excellent library facilities and other reputable ICT resources. Homework is set weekly and students complete extended essays, conduct contextual research, prepare for assessments, exam style questions and are challenged to learn and explore the key quotations from the texts they are studying.

English Language and Literature study:

The transferrable skills required for the new GCSE are carefully embedded into all our schemes of learning. The GCSE curriculum is organised into the following units of work:

  • A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
  • An Inspector Calls by J B Priestley
  • Poetry (using AQA’s Anthology): ‘Power and Conflict’ cluster.
  • Responding to unseen poetry
  • Shakespeare: Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet (Teacher and Class choice)
  • Paper 1- ‘Explorations in creative reading and writing’
  • Paper 2 – ‘Writers’ viewpoints and perspectives’
  • Spoken Language Endorsement

Enrichment and Intervention

We offer exciting enrichment and intervention activities to support our students, including:

  • Focused school revision and catch-up sessions
  • In school workshops delivered by local theatre groups
  • A collaboration with the Year 12 Gifted and Talented Drama students to perform key Shakespeare texts
  • ‘English In The Hall’
  • Trips to local and national theatres
  • Homework Clubs
  • Online platforms such as GCSEPod and PIXL Tools
  • Textbooks available for students to consolidate and deepen learning

Year 11
 

Our students review and sharpen the skills learned in Year 10 and will continue to be challenged in their reading of both English Language and Literature material.

Students are encouraged to complete homework weekly and this is typically in the form of revision, practice examination questions and wider reading.

Students will be trained in the following skills:

  • Referring to quotations and the Writers’ Language;
  • Exploring Language, Structure and Form;
  • Relating to and knowing the social and historical contexts;
  • The quality of their written communication, expression and use of vocabulary
  • Retrieval

Literary texts studied include (over the two years):

  • A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
  • An Inspector Calls by J B Priestley
  • Poetry (using AQA’s Anthology): ‘Power and Conflict’ cluster.
  • Responding to unseen poetry
  • Shakespeare: Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet (Teacher and Class choice)

English Language Papers:

  • Paper 1- ‘Explorations in creative reading and writing’
  • Paper 2 – ‘Writers’ viewpoints and perspectives’
  • Spoken Language Endorsement

Enrichment and Intervention

We offer many successful enrichment and intervention programmes to support learning in English:

  • A tailored intervention programme
  • ‘English In The Hall’
  • Textbooks available for students to consolidate and deepen learning
  • After school revision and catch-up sessions
  • Trip to museums and theatres
  • Study skills presentations, including how to revise, learning styles and having a growth mind set
  • Homework Clubs

“Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else's shoes for a while.”

 

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