English & Drama
Subject Overview
Redhill's English department has been approved in its success over many years: there are twelve highly experienced individuals who, together, show remarkable diversity in experience and make a great team. Our teaching staff body is built up of experienced examination markers and outstanding teachers with a wide variety of teaching experience, including: teaching abroad, leading pastorally (head of year); teachers who have worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and undergone post graduate qualifications in ‘The Teaching of Shakespeare’; teachers with twenty years’ experience in the profession; staff who qualified through the highly regarded ‘Teach First’ programme; and finally a range of trainees, whose fresh ideas and initiatives are just as important as those with more experience.
However, what is of utmost importance to our staff team is teaching and learning, which lies at the heart of everything we do. We believe that a well-structured curriculum is a successful one and here at Redhill, English is very much a faculty – in the current educational climate of change, being responsive to developments in the new curriculum has also played an important role in our development of lessons and topics right across the key stages. Within our area, we offer the traditional English Language and Literature course, as well as the option of GCSE Drama. Changes to the Ofqual requirements have meant that we can no longer realistically offer AS film studies as a means of extending students; however, Film studies GCSE is also retained as an enrichment option for some of our weaker students.
Our curriculum is designed to build and scaffold student skills right from Year 7. When they begin at Redhill, students are taught how to analyse texts and develop their writing skills that they've acquired at primary school. We recognise the importance of SPaG and use Retrieval Practice as a vehicle to consolidate and perfect these technical accuracy skills. As well as this, students have regular opportunities to expand on their 'Talk' skills through 'Speaking and Listening' tasks. As a department, reading is at the core of what we do and it plays an integral role in our curriculum. Pupils have access to: independent reading using library books, library lessons, author visits and class reading books. We promote reading for pleasure and take time in our curriculum to encourage independence as well as shared reading opportunities. Students will receive weekly Extended Learning tasks that feed into the learning taking place in the classroom. Tasks often include Pre-Reading Vocabulary, Comprehension, Analysis etc.
At Redhill, we believe that pupils should study a broad range of challenging and engaging literature at all ages. Therefore, quite often the novels or texts we study grapple with challenging social and/or moral themes/ideas, but we believe this is incredibly important for the development of well-rounded, socially aware children. Some of the texts your child may study or read include:
Key Stage 3: War Horse, The Tempest, Bone Sparrow, Romeo and Juliet, The Beekeeper of Aleppo, Windrush Child, The Boy at the Back of the Class, Private Peaceful, Divergent, My Name is Leon, Holes, Noughts and Crosses
KS4: Christmas Carol, Inspector Calls, Macbeth, Poetry Anthology, exposure to non-fiction and fiction texts.
If you have any concerns, please contact the Head of English.
Finally, we value homework within the department, and every KS3 student will have a variety of ‘extended learning projects’ throughout the year, designed to develop independence, research and self-management skills in our learners.
Extended Learning
Advice for Home Support at GCSE
Home support booklet literature Paper 1 - A Christmas Carol
Home support booklet literature Paper 2 mod texts AIC
Home support booklet literature paper 2 mod texts LOTFs
Home support booklet literature paper 2 poetry cluster
Home support booklet language paper 1 GCSE
Home support booklet language paper 2 GCSE
Home support booklet literature paper 2 Unseen Poetry
https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/
SMSC
Spiritual Moral Social and Cultural development
Spiritual development – Pupils are given opportunities to form and reflect upon their own beliefs and opinions about life through the study of literature and non -literary texts. In the English classroom they show respect for other people’s opinions, beliefs and values. Pupils enjoy developing their personal opinions based on the texts that they are studying. We use a range of creative and imaginative ways to teach and for pupils to show their understanding.
Moral development – Throughout English pupils explore social and cultural issues. They are encouraged to form their own opinions in response to the texts that they encounter. A skill nurtured throughout English is the ability to analyse and reflect upon ethical issues and also show an understanding of an opposing view to their own.
Social development – In the English classroom, pupils from different backgrounds work together. All pupils are willing to work together in the classroom and are cooperative. Through English pupils are given every opportunity to explore social and cultural changes that contribute to their own life.
Cultural development – Pupils explore multi-cultural Britain and appreciate the variety of cultures that have contributed to everyday life in Britain. Learning about the different perspectives in society allows pupils to have an appreciation of the cultural development of others and they show an interest in exploring this. Pupils are taught to show respect to people from other faiths, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds locally and globally. This is explored through the novels and texts we study.
