English Language

"English opens my mind to new ideas - I love being like a detective.”

Studying English Language

The course is designed to cover a range of real-life skills; reading, writing, speaking and listening which will support your learning not only across the rest of the curriculum but in your further studies, the workplace and beyond. Students complete one exam worth 50% which assesses their reading skills which is sat in the Autumn Term of Year 11 as well as a coursework component which focuses more on their writing skills.

How are you Assessed?

Paper 1: Reading Exam

2 hour exam (50%)
Structured and extended questions on three passages

Paper 2: Writing exam

2 hour exam (50%)
Response to two non fiction texts
Descriptive or narrative

Component 4: Coursework Portfolio

3 assignments each of 500-800 words (50%)
Completed as coursework

Trips, opportunities, progression

The ability to communicate is what lies at the heart of being human. In English, we focus on developing your skills to decode meaning, equipping you to become expert readers of a range of texts so that when looking at a newspaper, website or advert, you are able to work out the particular authorial stance and any underlying bias; “English opens my mind to new ideas – I love being like a detective”. In addition, we develop your writing skills with its ensuing advantages in the rest of your studies whether it be a Science experiment or Geography essay.

Likewise, we practise your ability to communicate orally providing you with lifelong skills coming together as a year group every term to take part in a Story Slam, House Debate and a Poetry by Heart recital. Booster clinics are also held aimed specifically at those who would benefit from additional support in the run up to the exam.

Students are also encouraged to enter local and international competitions; this year, we were delighted that students have won medals in the Commonwealth Essay Writing Competition and prizes in the international Never Such Innocence Poetry Writing competition commemorating WW1.