English Department

Year 8

Topics covered:

• Extracts from fiction and non-fiction texts.
• Childhood poetry and stories.
• Science fiction.
• Travel writing.

Students will be able to:

• Explore how characterization is developed.
• Explain how suspense and tension is created in stories.
• Compare pieces of writing from different time periods.
• Participate successfully in group discussions.
• Explain how writing techniques are used to convey meaning.
• Explain the effects of rhyme and rhythm.
• Use inference to recognise the deeper meaning of a text.
• Examine and explain the use of poetic devices, layout and form.
• Explain how vocabulary and language are used for effect.
• Identify how writers create a tone that is appropriate for audience and purpose.
• Explain how sentences are crafted to create meaning.
• Retell stories from a different perspective.
• Present information persuasively.

Year 9  

Topics covered:

• Fantasy fiction.
• Dialect and poetry.
• ‘Calling a Dead Man’ by Gillian Cross or ‘Unique’ by Alison Allen-Gray.
• ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by Shakespeare.

Students will be able to:

• Use a range of adjectives to enhance description.
• Describe the senses in an engaging way.
• Read for meaning and understand the writer’s craft.
• Make inferences and draw conclusions.
• Show an awareness of types of narration.
• Give their opinion and evaluate.
• Use ICT effectively.
• Write creatively.
• Work collaboratively.
• Understand different genre’s conventions.
• Communicate effectively, showing an awareness of the importance of voice, intonation and structure.
• Analyse language and presentational features in multi-modal texts.

Year 10

Topics covered:

• War poetry.
• ‘Blood Brothers’ by Willy Russell.
• ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ by John Boyne

Students will be able to:

• Classify, compare and evaluate information.
• Research and select appropriate information.
• Use critical reading skills.
• Choose an appropriate form to write in for a particular audience and purpose.
• Experiment with different designs and outcomes.
• Use a range of language techniques when creating a text.
• Use punctuation to enhance meaning.
• Analyse and evaluate how the writer uses language for effect.
• Compare and contrast how effects are achieved in different texts.
• Present information effectively to an audience.
• Analyse and evaluate the structure of texts.
• Perform a range of drama roles.

English Language

At Key Stage 4, English students build on the skills that they have already been developing at Key Stage 3.  The new CCEA specification that is going to be taught from September 2017 will enable students to develop their ability to write in different forms for different audiences and purposes, and it will develop their ability to analyse and evaluate spoken and written language.  Additionally, it will allow students to further develop their creative writing skills, as well as further cultivating their speaking and listening skills.  English Language is a core subject that all students study across Northern Ireland.  It is an extremely important qualification to have as it is an essential prerequisite for entering into third-level education.

This is the course outline:

Unit 1

Students complete a one hour and forty five minutes external examination worth 30% of the overall GCSE qualification.  They complete one extended writing task and four reading tasks.

Unit 2

In this unit, students complete a range of speaking and listening tasks as part of their controlled assessment.  The three types of task that they will complete include a presentation, group discussion, and a role play activity.  This is worth 20% of the overall GCSE qualification.

Unit 3 

Students complete two controlled assessment tasks for this unit, which is worth 20% of the overall qualification.  They have to complete one of these tasks on a piece of written language, and the other task is based on their analysis of a piece of spoken language.

Unit 4

In this unit students will complete an examination worth 30% of the overall GCSE qualification.  During the examination, which lasts one hour and forty five minutes, they will have to complete one writing task and three reading tasks.

English Literature

The new English literature specification that will be first taught from September 2017 will enable students to develop a greater appreciation for literature and provides them with the opportunity to examine a wide range of texts.  In English literature students develop a range of skills that are cross-curricular.  For example, they develop their essay writing skills which is useful in a range of other subjects.  By developing students’ essay writing skills, it helps to prepare them for the challenges that A-Level presents, as a lot of A-Level subjects require students to write extended essays.

This is the course outline:

Unit 1

Students will study the novella ‘Of Mice and Men’, and they will complete an examination that lasts one hour and forty five minutes.  This unit is worth 30% of the GCSE qualification.

Unit 2

In this unit students will study ‘Dancing at Lughnasa’ by Brian Friel (legacy specification 2015-2017) or ‘An Inspector Calls’ by JB Priestly (new specification beginning September 2017) and poetry from a theme based poetry anthology, and they will complete a two-hour examination.  This unit is worth 50% of the GCSE qualification.

Unit 3

Students will study Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ and complete a piece of controlled assessment based on this text.  This unit is worth 20% of the GCSE qualification.

Key Stage 5 

The new A-Level specification first taught from September 2016 enables students to explore a wide range of literary texts from an interesting range of authors.  Students will read famous canonical literature alongside intriguing modern texts.  This course will nurture students’ enjoyment of literature.  It also will develop skills that are useful in third-level education and the workplace, including critical thinking, research and analysis.  Students will develop their ability to expand an argument and critically explore and evaluate how themes and characters are presented.  They will also study texts in relation to their context.  The AS and A2 courses are therefore both extremely enjoyable and beneficial for our students’ future.

AS

The AS units make up 40% of the overall A-Level qualification.  They are as follows:

Unit 1

This consists of a two hour examination where students are assessed on their knowledge and understanding of ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ by Tennessee Williams and poetry by Seamus Heaney and Robert Frost.  This examination is worth 60% of the AS Level qualification (24% of A Level).

Unit 2

In this unit students will study the novel ‘Silas Marner’ by George Eliot and their knowledge and understanding will be assessed through a one hour examination.  This examination is worth 40% of the AS Level qualification (16% of A Level).

A2

The A2 units make up 60% of the overall A-Level qualification.  They are as follows:

Unit 1

This consists of a one hour and thirty minutes examination where students demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’.  This examination is worth 20% of the A-Level qualification.

Unit 2

In this unit students study pre 1900 poetry written by John Donne, as well as a range of unseen poetry.  Their knowledge and understanding will be assessed through a two-hour examination.  This examination is worth 20% of the A-Level qualification.

Unit 3

Students will carry out a comparative study based on two novels that they have chosen where they consider how the theme of dystopia is presented.  This unit is assessed through a piece of coursework that is worth 20% of the A-Level qualification.

English leads to many rewarding careers including law, journalism, publishing, teaching, public relations and entertainment.  As it also is a subject that is highly regarded by universities, it is a very good choice to keep on at A-Level.  Most STEM related career pathways do not require all three sciences to be studied in addition to Mathematics, therefore English is an excellent choice as a fourth subject.