English WJEC

Contact Teacher: Mrs W Matthews

At KS4 Students follow a course designed to offer two G.C.S.E. awards, English and English Literature. Their performance in Speaking and Listening, whilst contributing to their overall G.C.S.E. English grades, is reported separately. An integrated programme of study involves Speaking and Listening (En1), Reading (En2) and Writing (En3). Students are given the opportunity to develop their ability to communicate through the spoken word, to write imaginatively and reflectively, and to develop their critical capacity. Students are encouraged to respond sensitively to works of literature, their reading material comprising novels, short stories, plays and poetry.

Coursework plays a very important part in GCSE English. It contributes 40% towards the final mark in English and 30% in English Literature. All pupils must be aware of the importance of keeping up-to-date with assignments deadlines .Six written pieces are required, with five being completed during year 10.

The department follows a common program of work, with a unified approach to coursework tasks and exam preparation. Students are grouped in flexible sets which also allows for movement where necessary. Most of the classes are composed of pupils with the ability to achieve at least C grades. Potentially high attainers are given
particular focus in two upper bands. The size of the lower sets is kept as small as possible and extra support teaching is given to students with special needs. The sets are determined by pupils’ performance during Key Stage3 (Years7-9), Students will be entered for one of two tiers: Foundation Tier, targeting Grades C to G and Higher Tier, targeting Grades A* to D. Staff in the English Department welcome enquiries from parents at any stage and are happy to discuss any aspects of the course.