LANGUAGES, LITERACY AND COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Vision Statement:
Our vision for our learners is for each individual to become a confident user of languages who is excited by the richness of literature. Our desire is for our learners to be curious as they make connections between languages and seek opportunities to practise them. We want our learners to be empathetic and embrace other languages and their cultures. All learners will appreciate our literary heritage and enjoy the linguistic diversity of our community.
AOLE Staff:
Melanie Watts: Director of Learning and Achievement LLC English
Robert Jacob: Deputy Director of Learning and Achievement LLC English
Harry Bowsher: Deputy Director of Learning and Achievement LLC English
Georgia Price: English and Literacy Skills
Georgia Stephenson: English and Literacy Skills
Sophie Adams: English
Michelle Pavett: Literacy Accelerator
Hannah O’Farrell: English, Deputy Head
Kate Thomas: English, Deputy Director of Sixth Form
Alison Maguire: English, Director of Learning and Achievement Expressive Arts
The Curriculum:
KS3 YEAR 7
The New Curriculum for Wales Scheme of Learning comprises 5 areas of study:
- WHAT IS ENGLISH – this will provide learners with a knowledge of Greek, Roman, Norse and Welsh culture, myths and legends and a grounding in English grammar through learning simple Latin and Greek.
POETRY – learners will explore a wide range of poems from a diverse collection of poets. - IDENTITY – This element will use personal writing to explore identity.
- The WORLD OF SHAKESPEARE – learners will, among other things, explore the differences between Elizabethan theatre and contemporary theatre; read as a class an abridged version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
- THE NOVEL – in this unit, learners will read and study a complete text.
KS3 YEAR 8
- The Year 8 Scheme of Learning includes …
- Writing on the theme of the environment.
- A war poetry essay.
- An individual speaking task.
- A creative writing task.
- A group speaking project on a theme.
KS4 YEARS 9-11
YEAR 9:
In KS4 students have 4 English lessons per week in which they study for two separate GCSE qualifications: English Language and English Literature.
In Year 9, in preparation for the GCSEs, learners study a wide range of texts, both fiction and non-fiction, to develop the skills needed in exams and in life after school. The tasks link directly to the GCSEs, whilst still retaining a focus on wellbeing and creativity and learners hone their expertise in reading, writing and speaking tasks throughout the programme of learning. Students are assessed in line with the criteria at GCSE level.
Students in Year 9 have the chance to further develop their skills in Rotary Club competitions, for example: Youth Speaks, Public Speaking, Debating, Young Writer and Young Interviewer.
Students in year 9 also have the opportunity to visit the Hay Festival in the summer term and this is always a popular educational event, allowing them to hear talks and interact with some well-known authors and speakers.
YEARS 10-11
The English Language external examinations are taken in the summer of Year 11; the English Literature external examinations are taken in the summer of Year 10 and the summer of Year 11. Non-examination work is spread throughout Years 10 and 11.
GCSE English Language – Summary of Assessment:
| Unit 1: Non Examination Assessment Oracy 20% |
| Task 1 (10%) – Individual Researched Presentation (40 marks) One individual, researched presentation, which may include responses to questions and feedback, based on WJEC set themes. |
| Task 2 (10%) – Responding and Interacting (40 marks) One group discussion to written and/or visual stimuli provided by WJEC to initiate the discussion. |
| Unit 2: External Assessment – 2 hours 40% Reading and Writing: Description, Narration, Exposition |
| Section A (20%) – Reading (40 marks) Understanding of at least one description, one narration and one exposition text, including continuous and non-continuous texts, assessed through a range of structured questions |
| Section B (20%) – Writing (40 marks) One writing task to be selected from a choice of two that could be either description, narration or exposition. |
| Unit 3: External Assessment – 2 hours 40% Reading and Writing: Argumentation, Persuasion |
| Section A (20%) – Reading (40 marks) Understanding of at least one argumentation, one persuasion and one instructional text, including continuous and non-continuous texts, assessed through a range of structured questions. |
| Section B (20%) – Writing (40 marks) One compulsory argumentation writing task and one compulsory persuasion writing task. Half of the marks for this section will be awarded for communication and organisation (meaning, purpose, readers and structure) and the other half for writing accurately (language, grammar, punctuation and spelling). |
GCSE English Literature – Summary of Assessment:
| Unit 1: Prose and Poetry External Assessment 35% |
| Section A 21% (INDIVIDUAL TEXTS IN CONTEXT) Different Cultures Prose: Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck); OR Anita and Me (Syal); OR To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee); OR I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Angelou); OR Chanda’s Secrets (Stratton) Section B 14% (COMPARATIVE STUDY) Contemporary: Unseen poetry comparison, the preparation for which will include the study of contemporary |
| Unit 2a: Literary heritage drama and contemporary prose External Assessment 40% |
| English/Welsh/Irish Literary Heritage Drama: Othello (Shakespeare); OR Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare) (examined for the last time in 2021); OR An Inspector Calls (Priestley); OR Hobson’s Choice (Brighouse); OR A Taste of Honey (Delaney) (20%) Contemporary Prose: Paddy Clarke, Ha Ha Ha (Doyle); OR Heroes (Cormier); OR Never Let Me Go (Ishiguro); OR About a Boy (Hornby); OR Resistance (Sheers) (20%) |
| Unit 3: Shakespeare and Welsh Writing in English Non-Examination Assessment 25% |
| Section A: A play by Shakespeare chosen by the centre. WJEC set a generic task on a specific theme. Section B: Stipulated poetry from the Library of Wales anthology Poetry 1900-2000: One Hundred Poets from Wales. Candidates study fifteen specified poems listed for the chosen theme. WJEC set generic tasks on the theme. |
KS5
Year 12 and 13 students have 4 lessons per week. The department offers two A Level courses:
- GCE English Literature.
- GCE English Language and Literature.
The examining board is the WJEC. Both specifications are divided into a total of 5 units, 2 AS units and 3 A2 units
GCE English Literature – Summary of Assessment:
AS [2 Units]
| AS Unit 1: Prose and Drama [closed- book] Written Examination 2 hours – 20% |
| Section A: Prose fiction pre-1900 One question in two parts, based on the reading of one prose text from a prescribed list. Section B: Drama One question based on the reading of one play from a prescribed list. |
| AS Unit 2: Post Poetry 1900 [open book, clean copy] Written Examination 2 hours – 20% |
| Section A: Critical analysis One question requiring critical analysis of one poem from the prescribed list of poetry texts for this unit. Section B: Poetry comparison One question requiring comparison of two poetry texts from the prescribed list for this unit. |
A LEVEL [the above plus a further 3 Units]
| A2 Unit 3: Poetry Pre-1900 and Unseen Poetry [open book, clean copy] Written Examination 2 hours – 20% |
| Section A: Poetry pre-1900 One question in two parts, based on the reading of one poetry text from a prescribed list. Section B: Unseen poetry One question requiring comparative analysis of two unseen poems. |
| A2 Unit 4: Shakespeare [closed-book] Written Examination 2 hours – 20% |
| Section A: Shakespeare extract One question based on an extract from one Shakespeare play from the prescribed list for this unit. Section B: Shakespeare essay One essay question based on the reading of one Shakespeare play from the prescribed list for this unit. |
| A2 Unit 5: Prose Study Non-examination assessment 20% |
| One 2500-3500 word assignment based on the reading of two prose texts from different periods, one pre-2000 and one post-2000, nominated by the centre. |
GCE English Language and Literature – Summary of Assessment:
AS [2 Units]
| AS Unit 1: Comparative Analysis and Creative Writing [closed- book] Written Examination 2 hours – 20% |
| Section A: Comparative analysis of poetry and unseen text One question requiring a comparative analysis of one poem from the WJEC English Language and Literature Pre-1914 Poetry Anthology and an unseen text from a choice of two, one of which will be a spoken text. Section B: Creative writing and commentary One question presented in three parts comprising two writing tasks, one of which will require a text written to be spoken, and a commentar |
| AS Unit 2: Drama and Non-Literary Text Study [open book, clean copy] Written Examination 2 hours – 20% |
| Section A: Post-1900 drama One two-part question based on the reading of one play from a prescribed list. Section B: Non-literary text study One question based on the reading of one non-literary text from a prescribed list. |
A LEVEL [the above plus a further 3 Units]
| A2 Unit 3: Shakespeare [closed-book] Written Examination 2 hours – 20% |
| Section A: Shakespeare extract One extract-based question based on the reading of one Shakespeare play from the prescribed list for this unit. Section B: Shakespeare essay One essay question based on the reading of one Shakespeare play from the prescribed list for this unit. |
| A2 Unit 4: Unseen Texts and Prose Study [open book, clean copy] Written Examination 2 hours – 20% |
| Section A: Unseen texts One question requiring comparative analysis of three unseen texts, one of which will be spoken language. Section B: Prose study One question based on the reading of one prose text from a prescribed list. |
| A2 Unit 5: Critical and Creative Genre Study Non-examination assessment 2,500 – 3,500 words 20% |
| Section A: Genre study A critical and sustained study of a prose genre. Section B: Related creative writing One original writing assignment linked to the genre studied for Section A. |
Useful websites and resources:
KS3:
- https://readingwise.com/
- BBC Bitesize – https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z3kw2hv
- https://www.pobble.com/ (creative writing).
- https://www.literacyshed.com/ (creative writing and accuracy exercises).
- https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/category/secondary-ks3-ks4-reading-lists/
KS4:
- Year 11 Revision Team
- WJEC Knowledge Organisers
- WJEC Resources
- GCSE Pod
KS5:
- E-Magazine
- WJEC Knowledge Organisers
- WJEC Resources
- Teams – Independent Study and Super-curricular Study Channels
English
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