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English at Jesmond Park Academy

English

English allows students to explore profound ideas about humanity and the world we live in. It empowers students to understand and reflect upon experiences beyond their own, promoting values of tolerance and empathy.

English curriculum philosophy and intent statement

English is recognised as a core subject because the knowledge and skills delivered underpin and complement learning across the curriculum. English encompasses the study of culturally-enriching literature as well as the writer’s craft in a broad range of texts, and students develop their knowledge of historical, social and literary contexts alongside linguistic techniques and conventions. English lessons allow students to put this knowledge into practice.

Although the purpose of our curriculum is not narrowly defined by assessment, we understand that students will achieve at the highest standard if the acquisition and retention of subject knowledge is secure. Our curriculum reflects the importance of this subject-specific knowledge and our students can expect to study the approaches taken by the most accomplished writers of literary and non-literary texts. We explore writing within and beyond the literary canon, respecting the importance of our cultural heritage whilst acknowledging that language, in its many forms, is always changing.

We believe that it is the breadth of our English curriculum that enables students to become literate and critical in their approach to language.

English is a subject where analysis, reflection and creativity are essential, and these skills are valued greatly in further education and employment. Furthermore, English develops the ability to argue coherently and cogently, analyse language in a critical way and explore its nuances and implications. 

It is the passion and expertise of our teachers that can create a love for English and an appreciation of its value. We appreciate that we must constantly evaluate our own teaching so that it is responsive to the needs of our students as well as to valid educational research undertaken within, and beyond, our school.

A curriculum philosophy should inform every aspect of teaching and learning. We aim to ensure that our philosophy is apparent in the climate we create within the faculty. We are committed to delivering an English curriculum that inspires and empowers every student. 
 


 

English curriculum content statement

We believe that the English curriculum should be founded on the acquisition of the core knowledge necessary to develop a deep understanding of the subject. The design of the curriculum highlights this core knowledge, as students enhance their learning by revisiting key concepts related to reading, writing and oracy in every key stage. The recursive nature of this approach to learning ensures that there will be a greater complexity and challenge every time a student returns to topics that have been studied previously.

Students should be able to recognise how core knowledge can be transferred when they produce reading responses or written outcomes. The study of genre conventions in a non-literary text, for example, can support the use of these features in a student’s own writing. Similarly, we aim to ensure that students can readily access knowledge stored in the long-term memory so that they can build upon previous learning and extend their understanding. We aim to achieve this through the use of regular low stakes testing in order to promote the acquisition of subject knowledge and vocabulary.

Our teachers are passionate about English and its importance within the broader curriculum. We aim to ensure that the delivery of the English curriculum is enhanced by our own subject knowledge and we will always seek to develop our expertise.

English at Jesmond Park Academy

There are many core skills which we revisit throughout each key stage. Students are required to develop their ability to infer and deduce meaning, identify relevant information as well as summarise and analyse a range of literary and non-literary texts. In addition, they explore and practise a range of written tasks for a variety of purposes, audiences and genres. Linguistic and structural understanding underpin all of the work that we do in English.

The content of our curriculum also reflects the need for students to gain a secure contextual and cultural knowledge base. We understand that English is a subject that explores challenging concepts and issues and that our curriculum should provide the skills necessary for students to respond to this content with creativity and critical intelligence.

 


 

English curriculum offer

KS3 - students study a variety of units in year 7, year 8 and year 9 including: Shakespeare, modern prose, 19th Century fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

KS4 - students study AQA GCSE English Language and AQA GCSE English Literature.

KS5 - students can study AQA A Level English Language and/or Edexcel A Level English Literature.

KS5 - students can study AQA A Level English Language and Literature