English in the modern secondary school is a broad and diverse subject that explores the many different ways in which we communicate. The English Department at Harrow Way is committed to the development of the academic and creative skills needed to study and create texts across a range of forms and genres, as well as the cultivation of a strong repertoire of oracy and communication skills and the nurturing of individual voice.

The Department leads students to academic success by helping them to appreciate the intrinsic value of learning and individual expression, sharing positive relationships with classes and maintaining high expectations of effort and behaviour.

The physical and digital book and audio book collections, managed by the Learning Resource Centre, are a valuable addition to the English texts and students are encouraged to borrow regularly.

A summary of our curriculum can be found below. For a more detailed description of the English curriculum, please follow the links to the ‘curriculum overview’, ‘curriculum map’ and ‘curriculum rationale’ documents.

During Years 7 to 9, students are encouraged to develop their ability to express themselves academically and creatively through reading and discussion of stimulating texts and exploration of the writers’ craft. Speaking and listening skills are developed through discussion and presentation on an individual basis as well as in pairs and groups. Across Key Stage 3, students practise writing in a range of different forms, compiling a journey of their writing development in a separate book to that of their in class workbook.  Throughout this process there is an ongoing focus on taking feedback forward through the skills of reflection, re-drafting and editing.

We have endeavoured to create an exciting and varied Key Stage 3 curriculum, with a separate overarching theme strand for each year.

• Whole-text study of the Young Adult novel, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, involving analysis leading to essay writing.
• A poetry anthology thematically linked to identity and conflict, involving reading, discussion and analysis leading to a written single poetry response.
• Study of drama through Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun developing knowledge of responding to a text through essay writing.
• Study and creative writing response to Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper.

At GCSE level, we follow the Eduqas GCSE English Language and English Literature Syllabuses.

During Year 10 and 11 students will create a portfolio of work, which will consist of a range of work responding to exam style questions for both English Language and English Literature set texts.

Students sit their final GCSE examinations in the summer term of Year 11: two English Language papers and two English Literature papers.