ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
Mr Daniel O'Farrell (Head of English and Drama); Mrs M Hyde (English & Drama)
Key Stage 3
English and Drama are taught together in Years 7 and 8 with the emphasis on improving all aspects of communication through increased confidence and assurance in speaking and writing. A wide selection of texts is available in the class library; and a novel, play, or poetry anthology will be read and fully explored each term by every class. In Year 9 some more sophisticated preparation work for GCSE is also begun. There are formal written examinations and oral assessments in the summer and at Christmas every year.
Skills/topics covered during Years 7-9 include:
Speaking and Listening: discussion, debate, giving a talk, reading aloud, role-play and drama.
Writing: diaries, letters, descriptions, essays, reviews, articles, scripts, stories and poems.
Reading: a variety of genres in poetry, prose and drama; non-fiction media texts and information texts.
Key Stage 4
GCSE – AQA ENGLISH LANGUAGE (4705) and ENGLISH LITERATURE (4710)
English and English Literature exist as separate subjects but are taught alongside each other.
Students sit for English Language in Year 10 and for English Literature in Year 11. In English Language there is a Speaking and Listening unit worth 20% of the total marks and a Controlled Assessment unit also worth 20%. In English Literature, Controlled Assessment is worth 25%.
THEATRE VISITS
Visits to local, London and provincial theatres form an important part of studies in English. Invariably we manage to see excellent productions of set texts by leading national companies. Trips are also arranged to workshops and to plays which are of more general interest.
DRAMATIC PRODUCTIONS
All pupils are encouraged to participate in our annual College productions. Normally up to a hundred pupils are involved in acting, backstage and technical capacities.
Past College productions include: Treasure Island, Bugsy Malone, Peter Pan, Oliver Twist, Robin Hood, and Alice in Wonderland. Last year’s production was The Demon Headmaster.
USEFUL LINKS:
KS3 and GCSE Resources
http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resources/
http://www.aqa.org.uk/resources.php
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english/
Resources for History of Language Project
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/launch_tl_ages_english.shtml
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/medieval/literature/beowulf.htm
Poetry Writing and Competitions
http://www.youngwriters.co.uk/
Wordsmith Magazine resources
http://www.youngwriters.co.uk/Wordsmith.html
KS3 Reading activities.
