A week in English

Learning may have moved online in this period of lockdown but lessons are going ahead in as normal a way as possible and pupils are continuing to work hard. In this article, Head of English, Mrs Dawn Clubb gives a flavour of what her department is currently teaching ...

Pupils in Years 7 to 9 are preparing for assessments and then they will begin new units of study. The Year 7s are beginning a look at poetry from other cultures, Year 8 pupils are going to explore George Orwell’s Animal Farm and look at the power of the written word through argument writing, while the Year 9s are beginning an extended exploration of the Gothic genre through a study of Woman in Black by Susan Hill. Some of the Year 9 groups are preparing to enter the Henry Williamson Writing Competition, which is a national competition for schools.

Students in GCSE continue to work through their course of study with Year 10 focusing on The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Year 11 students are moving into a period of revision as they prepare for mock exams. Most students have finished or are completing the final phases of the content for GCSE English and GCSE English Literature. 

Our Year 12 A Level and IB students continue to delve into the content of their courses with studies of the Gothic genre and a focus on  Dracula and Pre-1900 drama in the form of An Ideal Husband.  For Higher Level IB, it is the study of short stories from Katherine Mansfield and Chimamanda Adichie alongside the short stories of Guy de Maupassant and the travel writing of Bill Bryson, while Standard Level IB pupils are studying fairy tales from A.S. Byatt’s The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye. 

Our Year 13 students across A Level and IB are fully invested in the revision parts of their courses. They will also sit their mock exams upon their return to school, so they are engrossed in weekly essay practice, reading revision and analytical review.  Year 13 IB students are also preparing and completing their Individual Oral Contributions.

Mrs Clubb said: “All in all, it is a busy and active time in English and this continues whilst we are learning remotely. The students are to be congratulated for their attention and hard work.”