The English curriculum at Holyport College is designed to stretch and challenge every pupil in the school whilst supporting their individual academic needs. We recognise that skills acquired in English have a profound impact on all other curriculum subjects and are fundamental in any walk of life.
Reading and literature will always be the driving force of Holyport’s curriculum. It makes English lessons more active, more engaging and more accessible. However, pupils will be consistently taught how to communicate in a ‘clear, accurate and engaging way’. Pupils are equipped to become fluent writers who can use language with confidence. Spelling, punctuation, grammar and vocabulary will be taught explicitly to all year groups in all modules. The Three Pillars of the English Curriculum: • Reading and Literary Understanding. •
Written and Verbal Communication.
•
Intellectual Development & SMSC.
The Department’s teaching and learning practice equips pupils to be able to work independently in order to take responsibility for their own learning as well as with their peers. We provide a platform for students to discover, communicate, debate, analyse and challenge viewpoints and ideas in order to enhance their skills and knowledge. At all Key Stages, we explore a wide range of texts and other stimuli so that students are offered a rich curriculum that encourages them to aspire, achieve and succeed. The English Department offers additional enrichment activities alongside the curriculum including: teaming up with TVLP and Young Writers for creative writing workshops such as ‘The Future We Want’ and ‘Through Their Eyes’, Reading Ambassador roles, running trips to see live local theatre productions and working with The Globe Players. As a Department, we strive to find new ways to inspire and enrich the learning experience of all our pupils wherever possible.
Knowledge
13
12
11
10
9
Term 1
Term 2
Comparative coursework
Academic Writing
Close Reading
Revision
Revision
Intervention
The Gothic (literary context and unseen)
Carter’s The Bloody Chamber
Stoker’s Dracula
Ibsen’s A Doll’s House
Duffy’s Feminine Gospels
Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire
Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Rossetti’s Poetry
Ibsen and Rossetti comparisons
Spoken Language
Language and Literature Revision
English Language
Examinations
Power and Conflict Poetry Poetry Anthology
Shakespeare and Spoken Language
Jekyll and Hyde
Modern Drama An Inspector Calls English Language Paper 1 Anthology of supporting texts
Dystopian Literature Lord of the Flies
Novel; Of Mice and Men
8
7
Extracts; The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, The Bluest Eye and John Agard poetry. Novel The Ruby in the Smoke Sherlock Holmes Speckled Band
Comparative and Unseen Poetry
Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet Supporting texts: Aristotle’s Poetics Shakespeare and Comedy: Much Ado About Nothing Extracts; Waiting for Godot, The Importance of Being Earnest, Twelfth Night Seminal World Literature Creative Writing: Alter Ego Kafka’s Metamorphosis; Dahl’s The Witches; Shan’s Cirque de Freak; Jekyll and Hyde
Term 3
Revisions and Examinations
Macbeth
Social Conflict and Protest Poetry Blake, Heaney, Angelou, Whitman, Shelley, Duffy, Zephaniah, Agard The Art of Rhetoric Martin Luther King, Emma Watson, Churchill, Mandela, Pankhurst, Clooney The Romantics Wordsworth, Byron, Keats, Coleridge, P.B Shelley, Blake, Emerson Spoken Language Study Blake’s Poetry The Tyger, A Poison Tree, The Chimney Sweeper, The Lamb and The Sick Rose
Newspapers
Assessment Objectives 1-9
Year
Skills
Year 7 begin their quest into the mad, bad and dangerous on the streets of Victorian London, a city of contrasts. The year is 1872. Here we are introduced to Sally Lockhart, the inquisitive protagonist in Philip Pullman’s mystery novel The Ruby in the Smoke. Following Sally’s journey into the depths of the city, we use our skills of inference and deduction to decode and unravel the mysteries of the ruby. We will analyse Pullman’s characterisation, compare and contrast his depiction of London with that of Dickens and Bronte, and much like the heroic pursuit of Lockhart begin our journey as Holyportians. Leaving the menacing streets of Victorian London behind, we embark on our journey to the Arctic Ocean where we are introduced to the enquiring mind of Victor Frankenstein. Here we examine the gothic motif of the sublime and explore Shelley’s use of the uncanny before analysing the concepts of horror and terror in Hill’s The Woman in Black and the doppelganger in Stevenson’s Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. We will enhance our understanding of the Gothic with supplementary lectures from highly esteemed David Punter. We continue with our exploration of the dual nature of man by examining the transition of Gregory Samsa in Kafka’s Metamorphoses and Roald Dahl’s The Witches and use our knowledge of sentence structures, semantic fields and new found vocabulary to craft our own creative responses. Embracing the spirit of change, we advance to a study of the revolutionary poet, painter and printmaker, William Blake. Here we examine Blake’s use of imagery in The Chimney Sweeper, analyse the mythical allusions to Prometheus and Icarus in The Tyger and evaluate his attitude towards the Industrial Revolution in London. Channelling Blake’s voicing of inequality and Lockhart’s desire for answers, we conclude the year with a module in investigative journalism. We begin by exploring the moral imperative of journalistic writing and then seek to determine the authenticity and validity of the news before pitching our own ideas to an editor. The skill of analysis is underpinned by a secure understanding of English grammar, sentence structures and word classifications. Our philosophy is that reading and writing are inextricably linked which is why we use our set texts to enhance our vocabulary and develop our writing skills.
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
Mad, bad and dangerous
Topic
Novel
Seminal World Literature
Creative Writing: Alter Egos
Blake’s Poetry
Newspapers
The big question
How does the protagonist demonstrate the 7 characteristics of a Holyportian?
How can I use language and structure to create a foreboding tone/ atmosphere?
How do writers around the world communicate their message?
How can writers use language and structure to construct to explore the dual nature of a character?
Why do you think Blake’s contemporaries thought he was mad?
How can I communicate my ideas effectively?
7 Cs of Holyport
Confidence
Craftsmanship
Collaboration
Creativity
Curiosity
Communication
Grace Nichols, Nissim Ezekiel, Grace Ogot and Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Stimuli: Kafka’s Metamorphosis; Dahl’s The Witches; Shan’s Cirque de Freak; Jekyll and Hyde
The Tyger, A Poison Tree, The Chimney Sweeper, The Lamb and The Sick Rose.
Teacher choice
Academic register
Academic register
Sentence structure
Sentence structure
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
Texts studied
Philip Pullman’s The Ruby in the Smoke Extracts: Sherlock Holmes Speckled Band
Literacy
Assessment
Enrichment
Sentence structure Vocabulary
Baseline and spoken language component assessed using oracy criteria
Academic register Sentence structure Vocabulary
Section B
Creative writing competition
Academic register Sentence structure English Language Paper 1 Q2 Coursework conditions
Christmas Trial English Language Q4 (timed conditions)
Crime scene
Extended coursework style essay
Academic register Sentence structure
Summer Trial Creative response and critical commentary
Poetry Slams, Holyport Quills, Speeches
Year 8 students begin their literary journey with F.Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. We experience the decadence of the Roaring Twenties, a time of prosperity, modernity and consumerism, before descending into the Great Depression. Following the journey of Steinbeck’s migrant workers, George and Lennie, year 8 are encouraged to reflect and draw parallels between their context and examples of prejudice and discrimination in 1930s America. We will analyse Steinbeck’s nomenclature, reflect on the etymology of his lexis and evaluate the extent to which societal attitudes towards difference have changed over time. Using the novella Of Mice and Men as a springboard, year 8 will learn to debate ideas about race and identity in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye and the poetry of John Agard before engaging with the feminist rhetoric of Simone de Beauvoir, Dorothy Parker and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Leaving behind the golden sand of Soledad, our students journey through to the ancient island of Messina. Here we are introduced to Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing and the chaotic world of comedy. Amongst the misunderstandings, witty repartee, power and subversion we consider how Beatrice defies Elizabethan conventions of gender and playfully enters into a comic battle with Benedick whilst Hero, the epitome of femininity, becomes the victim of slander and mock-death. Building on our study of Blake in year 7, we delve into the world of Romanticism and engage with the poetry of Wordsworth, Byron, P.B Shelley and Keats. Here we examine the relationship between man and nature, analyse the role of the sublime in Wordsworth’s poetry and evaluate the Romantics’ response to the Industrial Revolution. The study of Of Mice and Men, Much Ado About Nothing and the Romantics will prompt us to think about how language has evolved over time. Finally, students examine their own spoken language and undertake a research project analysing how spoken language can shape identity, influence others and reflect society at any given time. The skills of analysis and evaluation are underpinned by a secure understanding of English grammar, sentence structures and word classifications. Our philosophy is that reading and writing are inextricably linked which is why we use our set texts to enhance our vocabulary and develop our writing skills.
Term 1
Term 2 Time and power
Topic The Novel (with wider reading)
The big question 7 Cs of Holyport
How have attitudes towards race, gender and age developed over time? Collaboration
Creativity
Stenbeck’s Of Mice and Men Texts studied
Literacy
Assessment
Enrichment
Term 3
Extracts: The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, The Bluest Eye and John Agard poetry Academic register Sentence structure Extended coursework style essay
Shakespeare and Comedy
Spoken Language Study
How does Shakespeare present the battle of the sexes?
To what extent is Shakespeare a feminist?
What conclusions can we draw about the C18th from the Romantics?
How can I communicate my ideas?
Confidence
Craftsmanship
Communication
Creativity
Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing
Wordsworth, Byron, Keats, Coleridge, P.B Shelley, Blake, Emerson
Teacher Choice
Extracts: Waiting for Godot, The Importance of Being Earnest, Twelfth Night
Sentence structures; vocabulary;
Sentence structures; vocabulary;
Christmas Trial creative response in timed conditions
Dramatic monologue from the perspective of a character
Mock trial
The Romantics
Academic register Sentence structure; vocabulary Easter Trial Power and love
Performance workshop
Academic register Sentence structure; vocabulary Extended coursework style essay
Sentence structures; vocabulary;
Summer Trials Creative response and critical commentary
Poetry Slams, Holyport Quills, Speeches
Year 9 students begin their literary journey on the uninhabited tropical island in William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies. Here we experience the disorientating loss of individualism, the descent from civilisation to savagery and the oppressive nature of totalitarian leadership. We will analyse Golding’s biblical allegory, analyse his lexical and structural choices and examine man’s relationship with the natural world. Using the novel as a springboard, year 9 will draw on Machiavelli’s manifesto The Prince, Huxley’s Brave New World and Zimbardo’s ‘Stanford Prison Experiment’ to debate the inevitability of war and the self-destructive nature of humanity. Leaving behind island life, we venture to fair Verona where an ‘ancient grudge’ between the Capulet and Montague households threatens the peace. Here we are introduced to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and the destructive world of tragedy. Amongst the familial and generational conflict, oppressive Elizabethan patriarchal values and constant threat of violence, we examine how Romeo, the tragic hero, and Juliet seek to preserve their love. The study of The Lord of the Flies and Romeo and Juliet will prompt us to analyse the social protest poetry of Kate Tempest, George the Poet, Prince Ea and Linton Kwesi Johnson. Here we examine how the spoken word can challenge social inequality and discrimination, give a voice to the voiceless in society and incite social change. Drawing inspiration from these poets, we will craft our own spoken word poetry and participate in the annual Poetry Slams competition. Finally, we conclude our exploration of the individual and society by analysing the history of rhetoric. We apply our understanding of Aristotle’s Triad (Ethos, Logos and Pathos) to speeches by Alexander the Great, Queen Elizabeth I, Churchill and Malala. We will employ our understanding of English grammar, sentence structures and word classifications to compose speeches that reflect our own societal concerns.
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
The individual and society Topic Dystopian Literature
Shakespeare
Social Conflict and Protest Poetry
The Art of Rhetoric
The big question
How does the dystopian state affect an individual?
How do writers’ influence the reader’s perception of the individual and society?
How can writers manipulate structure and form to shape meaning?
How does the context shape the audience's’ interpretation of the individual in society?
How do poets use language and structure to critique society?
How can rhetoric incite social change?
7 Cs of Holyport
Curiosity
Creativity
Confidence
Collaboration
Communication
Craftsmanship
Blake, Heaney, Angelou, Whitman, Shelley, Duffy, Zephaniah, Agard
Martin Luther King; Emma Watson; Churchill; Mandela; Pankhurst, Clooney
Academic register
Vocabulary;
Texts studied
Literacy
Assessment
Enrichment
Lord of the Flies
Academic register Sentence structure
Extended coursework style essay
Sentence structures; vocabulary;
Christmas Trials creative response in timed conditions
Dystopian escape room
Romeo and Juliet Supporting texts: Aristotle’s Poetics
Vocabulary; sentence structure Dramatic monologue from the perspective of a character
Analytical phrases; academic register
Easter Trials
Young Shakespeare Company
Extended coursework style essay
Summer Trials Creative response and critical commentary
Speaker’s Corner, Holyport Poetry Slams, Holyport Quills, Speeches
Building on the skills of analysis and evaluation from key stage three, we begin year 10 with J.B Priestley’s mystery play, An Inspector Calls. Set in 1912, we join the Birlings, an emerging bourgeois family residing in the industrial town of Brumley. Whilst observing the interrogation of the Birlings, year 10 will analyse Priestley’s political rhetoric and the dramatic form, evaluate gender expectations using Mulvey’s ‘Male Gaze’ theory and engage with Marx’s ‘Communist Manifesto’ when examining attitudes towards the working class. These discussions will help form our personal responses, enhance our academic expression and ultimately allow us to craft a thoughtful thesis with greater clarity. Leaving behind Priestley’s criticism of Victorian and Edwardian English society, we venture onto ‘Power and Conflict’ poetry. Here we critique the relationship between man and nature in the poetry of Heaney, Owen and Wordsworth, evaluate the effects of war through the contemporary poets Armitage and Garland and analyse identity and conflict in Agard and Dharker’s poetry. We will use the historical and literary context to explore the nuances of a text and uncover new shades of meaning before transferring our analytical skills to unseen poetry and fiction. Drawing on our study of Aristotle and tragedy, we embark on our analysis of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Amongst the decline of our tragic hero and the threat of the supernatural, we examine Lady Macbeth’s transgression of masculine discourse and the perversion of masculinity. We will enhance our understanding of the key ideas and concepts in the play with supplementary extracts from James I’s Daemonologie, Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus and Plato’s Republic alongside the critical reception of the text. Finally, we conclude the year with the spoken language component. Here students consolidate their knowledge of rhetoric by researching and crafting speeches that showcase their passion and public speaking skills.
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
English Language Paper 1
Power and Conflict poetry
Comparative and unseen poetry
Shakespeare
Spoken language component (3 weeks)
The big question
How does the playwright appeal to the audiences’ social and moral conscience?
How can I sustain the interest of the reader in my writing?
What view of the world does poetry offer?
What connections can we make between the literary world and our own?
How does the context and genre shape the narrative?
How effective is the spoken word in conveying meaning?
7 Cs of Holyport
Curiosity
Communication
Craftsmanship
Creativity
Collaboration
Confidence
Texts studied
Priestley’s An Inspector Calls
AQA Anthology of supporting texts
AQA Poetry Anthology
Teacher free choice
Academic register
Sentence structure
Academic register
Academic register
Academic register
Sentence structure
Sentence structure
Vocabulary
Sentence structure
Sentence structure
Sentence structure
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
Coursework style response
Coursework style comparative question on Blake’s London and one other poem
English Literature Paper 1 exam conditions and closed text
Romeo and Juliet practice question: Lord Capulet as a good father.
Focus
Modern Drama
Literacy
Assessment
Enrichment
English Language Paper 1
An Inspector Calls
Master classes (led by dept)
Macbeth
An Inspector Calls (closed text) Macbeth (open text)
Young Shakespeare Company
https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/gcse/english-literature-8702 https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/gcse/english-language-8700
Year 11 continue their adventure by revisiting the dark streets of Victorian London for Stevenson’s novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Here we extend our understanding of Victorian etiquette and examine how Stevenson exposes the hypocrisy of Victorian society before analysing the urban gothic setting. We will discuss Victorian ideals of respectability and reputation, debate the dual nature of man and explore the dichotomy between religion and science. Year 11 will use their knowledge of the text and the context to form their personal responses, enhance their academic expression and ultimately craft a thoughtful thesis with greater clarity. We continue to strengthen our understanding of how language and structure can be used for effect and will enhance the skills of inference, retrieval and synthesis when analysing unseen texts. Students will develop their evaluation of writers’ viewpoints and perspectives and channel this sense of intent and purpose in their creative responses. In writing, we will draw on the structures and lexical choices in authentic extracts to craft a creative response with a convincing voice and sustained purpose.
Term 1
Focus
The big question
Jekyll and Hyde
How effective is the spoken word in conveying meaning?
Term 2
Jekyll and Hyde Revision for mocks
How relevant are the key themes/ideas for a modern readership?
Spoken Language Component (2 weeks) English Language Paper 2 How do writers create and sustain a distinctive voice?
Term 3
English Language Paper 2: Section B
Language and Literature revision
How can I improve my section B responses?
How can I secure my target grade in English? Exams
7 Cs of Holyport
Confidence
Literacy
Assessment
Enrichment
Curiosity
Craftsmanship
Creativity
Communication
Academic register; sentence structures; vocabulary; spelling Coursework style response
Mock exams: Language Paper 1 and Literature Paper 1
Jekyll and Hyde escape room
English Language Paper 2 full mock
In class: viewpoints/ perspectives and descriptive
Teacher choice of past or practice questions for language or literature.
Keynote Student Conference English Language
https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/gcse/english-literature-8702
https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/gcse/english-language-8700
Our literature enthusiasts begin their journey in Victorian Europe with Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. We experience the emergence of the independent, assertive ‘New Woman’, examine the connection between aestheticism and masculinity and evaluate theories of heredity and inheritance. Following the emancipation of Nora Helmer, we evaluate the controversial critical reception of the play, consider how attitudes have changed over time and engage with the rhetoric of J.S. Mill, John Ruskin and Joan Templeton. Using Patmore’s ‘Angel in the House’ as a springboard, we will examine the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, consider the significance of the Oxford Movement and Christina Rossetti’s endorsement of Anglican ideas before exploring the representation of the ostracised and transgressive ‘fallen women’ in her poetry. Drawing on Aristotle’s notions of tragedy and the decline of the tragic Hero, we embark on our study of the revenge tragedy Hamlet. Here we analyse the presentation of madness and melancholia, explore the connection between gender and tragic discourse and examine the repeat motif of disease and decay. We will analyse Shakespeare’s use of language and its dramatic effects and evaluate the critical responses of Hazlitt, Johnson and Coleridge before forming our own responses to the play.
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
T1 (3)
The Gothic (literary context and unseen)
Carter’s The Bloody Chamber
Stoker’s Dracula
T2 (2)
Ibsen’s A Doll’s House
Duffy’s Feminine Gospels
Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire
T3 (2)
Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Rossetti’s poetry
Ibsen and Rossetti comparisons
7 Cs of Hol-
Assessment
Enrichment
Craftsmanship
Close reading of gothic extract
Communication
Coursework style essay
Theatre trips
Creativity
Coursework style essay
Craftsmanship
Collaboration
Coursework style essay
Mocks: component 1 and component 2
Curiosity Final coursework drafts and mock grade
Student conferences
https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/171200-specification-accredited-a-level-gce-english-literature-h472.pdf
We begin our study of the Gothic at an advanced level with an introduction to the origins of the genre, starting with Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto and venturing through the ages to Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber. Students will immerse themselves in the history of the Gothic and explore the literary development of the genre before evaluating the impact of the Fin de Siecle, applying theories of social-Darwinism and degeneration to Gothic extracts and developing their knowledge through Edward Said, Ellen Moers and Edmund Burke’s theories. We will use Socratic seminars to form connections and comparisons between texts, evaluate the personal responses of others, enhance our academic expression and ultimately allow us to craft a perceptive thesis with greater clarity and precision. All literature students are required to read widely and undertake a non-examined assessment of a close reading of an extract and a comparative response. To date, students have studied the poetry of T.S Eliot and Carol Ann Duffy, Miller’s The Death of a Salesman and Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, Barker’s Regeneration and O’Neill’s Netherland for this component.
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
T1 (2)
Comparative coursework
Component 1 revision
Academic writing
Revision
Revision
T3 (2)
Close reading coursework
Component 2 revision
Academic writing
Revision
Revision
Marked coursework drafts
Timed essays for both components
Component 1 and component 2: full mocks
Assessment
Enrichment
In class - teacher choice
In class- teacher choice Study leave
Student Conference
https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/171200-specification-accredited-a-level-gce-english-literature-h472.pdf
Alongside developing their knowledge base over time, students will be simultaneously acquiring the skills required to demonstrate this knowledge and further deepen their learning. The interplay between skills and knowledge is important, not just for examination success but also to allow students to develop as confident and independent learners. The following skills are developed within each student's journey through the English curriculum and are assessed regularly throughout the academic year:
A01 - Read and respond to texts. Select and synthesise evidence from different texts and interpret explicit and implicit information.
A02 - Explain, comment on and analyse how writers use language and structure to achieve effects and influence readers, using relevant subject terminology to support their views.
A05a - Communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively selecting and adapting tone, style and register for different forms, purposes and audiences.
A05b - Organise information and ideas, using structural and grammatical features to support coherence and cohesion of texts.
A03a - Compare writers' ideas and perspectives, as well as how these are conveyed, across two or more texts.
A06 - Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structure for clarity, purpose and effect with accurate spelling and punctuation. (Literature A04)
A03b - Show an understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written.
A08 - Listen and respond appropriately to spoken language, including questions and feedback on presentations.
A04 - Evaluate texts critically and support this with appropriate textual references.
A09 - Use spoken Standard English effectively in speeches.
Link to full A Level and GCSE Skills Assessment Grid for English