English

English Summer Reading Lists 2010:

• Key Stage 3
• Key Stage 4 and 5
• General Student Reading List

English at the Marist is a lively, innovative department which promotes high standards of written and spoken English using a wide range of resources, teaching styles and approaches. The emphasis is on developing the potential of all pupils and enabling them to experience success at all levels.

Four specialist teachers teach across the ability range and work closely with the special needs co-ordinator when required.

KS3: Years 7 - 9
The department uses the National Curriculum as a basis for planning varied yet focused schemes of work for the first three years. There is the flexibility available for individual teachers to create and develop schemes of work which reflect their particular interests.

The focus in all three years of KS3 is on reading, writing, spelling and grammar enabling all pupils to become confident and competent in these areas before GCSEs. Expectations are high and all pupils will find themselves challenged and extended in English classes.

Target setting is an integral part of KS3: targets are negotiated with individual pupils which are then monitored and reviewed in the course of the school year. Pupil progress is closely tracked and used as a guide in setting targets, determining sets and later, entry levels for public examinations.

KS4: years 10 and 11
All pupils follow the AQA Specification A for GCSE English and GCSE English Literature. In anticipation of the 2010 changes to GCSE specifications, this is currently under review. Results in both subjects are excellent with a 100% pass rate. Texts currently being studied for the literature examination and coursework include Romeo and Juliet, Journey’s End, The Crucible, Wuthering Heights, poems by Seamus Heaney, Gillian Clarke, Simon Armitage and the new poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy as well as a wide range of poems from the 19th century and earlier.

KS5: Years 12 and 13
In the sixth form we offer English Literature AS and A Level. The department follows the OCR specification. In year 12 students will sit one written paper on F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Wilfred Owen’s poetry. Additionally they submit a 3000 word coursework folder of two essays. Current coursework texts in year 12 are Ian McEwan’s On Chesil Beach, L P Hartley’s The Go- Between and Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited.

In year 13 the examination texts are Chaucer’s ‘The Pardoner’s Tale’, Othello and The Duchess of Malfi. The coursework texts are Heart of Darkness, selected poems by Derek Walcott and The Tempest.  Results again are excellent, with students regularly going on to university to read English either for single honours or as part of a joint degree.

Extra-curricular activities
The department organises a wide range of lunchtime and extra curricular activities. Weekly clubs include a Film Society, a Lower School Debating Club and a Creative Writing Club. 

The department organises regular  theatre visits during the course of the academic year.  These have included visiting the Young Vic to see Amazonia (year 7),  Othello and Dancing at Lughnasa for years 12 and 13, a year 9 visit to the BFI to participate in a ‘Screen Rebels’ workshop, a poetry revision day for year 11 and two lecture days on examination texts for the sixth form.  Additionally, we entered a year 8 team in The Times’ national Spelling Bee competition, and four teams in the Rotary Club’s Youth Speaks public speaking competition. The sixth form debating team participated in the English Speaking Union’s Mace competition, reaching the South East region finals.