Throughout their English lessons from Year 7 up until Year 11, students develop their skills of written communication, comprehension and analysis of texts, and verbal communication.

At Key Stage 3, in Years 7 and 8, students cover a range of different content such as novel studies, poetry, Shakespeare, short stories and non-fiction texts, as well as focusing on adapting their form of writing in different contexts. Due to the more rigorous and challenging curriculum, the expectations of students is higher than it ever has been, and our English curriculum allows students to develop their understanding and production of English Language and Literature. This includes some GCSE Literature texts, which allows students to develop their understanding of these before being re-visited in Years 10 and 11.

At Key Stage 4, students begin Year 9 as a foundation for GCSE study, where they are taught the necessary skills ready for GCSE, without the explicit focus on exams. This includes developing their understanding of a writer’s use of language, structure and form, as well as how to differ their writing for different audiences and purposes. In Years 10 and 11, students are prepared for the expectations of GCSE exams under the new reformed GCSEs, which include 4 terminal exams across both English Language and Literature.

At St. George, we follow the AQA GCSE English Language and Literature specification. For English Language, this includes Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing, and Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives. For English Literature, the components studied include Shakespeare (Macbeth), a 19th Century novel (A Christmas Carol), a modern text (An Inspector Calls) and a range of poetry.

Detailed information about the courses for KS3 and 4 are given below. Students can access specimen papers from the English Student pages of our website.