English
Curriculum Intent
Our aim is for students at Fullhurst to develop a keen love of reading and writing and become competent and skilful communicators, with a strong appreciation for the English Language. Our curriculum is designed to expose students to the best of what has been written and said to enrich their cultural knowledge, their vocabulary and their reading. Across the five years of study at Fullhurst Community College students will be exposed to a range of literature from medieval to post-modern and a range of language texts to develop breadth and depth of understanding of all types of texts from fiction, prose, poetry and plays to non-fiction. Our diverse anthologies ensure we capture voices from all genders, races and genres too. Students learn to be critical thinkers and evaluators, analysists and creative writers who can edit and craft their ideas for impact on their readers.
Curriculum Outline
Year 7 Curriculum
Year 7 English starts with students developing their skills in the art of storytelling. Using the great works of Homer, Greek Mythology, Chaucer and the Grimm Bothers, students explore epic tales and monstrous mythology before looking at Shakespeare’s stories to inspire their own imaginative writing about heroes. The skills of deduction, inference and independent reading are developed alongside the ability to subvert narratives and analyse archetypal characters. Later in the year, students look at the themes of Pioneers, Exploration and Discovery as they travel through the lives of important figures, to different places and experience various events over time through both fiction and non-fiction. Here the study of Romantic poets, travel writers and the exploration of memoirs, autobiographies and obituaries alongside prose fiction exposes students to a vast range of forms, perspectives and time periods to enhance the breadth and depth of study. Finally, students will have the opportunity to study a whole prose fiction text, ‘The Magician’s Nephew’, from the literary heritage, to explore authorial intent and develop critical analysis as well as using the text to develop and craft their own imaginative writing.
Year 8 Curriculum
In year 8 students are encouraged to find power in their own voices. The first unit ‘Voices of Power, Injustice and Change’ gives the students an overview of rhetoric and explores the power of words and persuasion. The students explore a range of speeches from a variety of key figures such as Queen Elizabeth I, Martin Luther King and Greta Thunberg developing understanding of rhetoric throughout history to current times which will inspire their own transactional speech writing. To supplement the non-fiction, students also study ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens to explore how fiction can also challenge injustice and present a powerful voice. The study of a pre-1914 heritage text alongside post-modern non-fiction allows students to explore the contextual influences to develop literature skills of writing contextually about a whole text. Students then look at great wars and great words, gaining an insight into life during conflict. The students are exposed to conflicts such as WWI right up to current conflicts. They have the opportunity to draw comparisons across texts, cultures and time periods and use their knowledge to develop their own voice when writing about conflict themselves. Later in the year, students study a whole Shakespeare play, ‘The Tempest’, in depth and have the opportunity to analyse key ideas such as the genre of comedy and the themes of freedom, empathy and forgiveness.
Year 9 Curriculum
The year 9 curriculum begins with a fantastic opportunity for students to study the presentation of villains, monsters and master manipulators through a range of poetry, 19th century literature and in Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’. Students will also respond to unseen texts to develop confidence and build reading comprehension and independent thought about unfamiliar texts. They will analyse and evaluate 19th century texts from the gothic genre and develop their creative writing skills to write from the perspective of a villain, using inspiration from the plethora of texts covered in this unit. In our second unit, we encourage students to find their voice and become seriously funny and provocatively persuasive in their own writing. The unit is designed to empower students to write in their own voice, use their own ideas and opinions and express themselves in an entertaining way. The contemporary voices of a range of satirical columnists such as Brooker, Moran, Mitchell and Coren have been carefully selected to be the best models of writing with style, individual character and using rhetorical devices convincingly. Finally, students will study a whole text, ‘Purple Hibiscus’, exploring how context and authorial intent can influence readers, as well as providing students with the opportunity to read a modern text set in a different culture. The study of this text will be supplemented with 19th century extracts and poetry capturing the female voice in literature. The study of literature will be used to enhance understanding of writer’s craft aimed to improve creative writing, editing and using structure to maximise impact on readers.
Year 10 Curriculum
In year 10 students begin their work toward two GCSEs, English Language and English Literature. They study a range of literature (prose, drama texts and poetry), writing analytically about texts, evaluating the effectiveness of texts and writing creatively, as well as reading, understanding and writing non-fiction texts. The simultaneous teaching of these two GCSEs allows students to develop their skills as readers and writers in preparation for both of their GCSE English exams. The main set texts for year 10 include ‘Journey’s End’, a play set during World War I by RC Sherriff, and ‘Frankenstein’, a 19th century novel by Mary Shelley.
Year 11 Curriculum
In year 11 students continue their work toward two GCSEs, English Language and English Literature. They study and revise a range of literature (prose, plays and poetry), writing analytically about texts, evaluating the effectiveness of texts and writing creatively, as well as reading, understanding and writing non-fiction texts. The simultaneous teaching of these two GCSEs allows students to continually develop their skills as readers and writers in preparation for their EdExcel GCSE English exams. The main set texts for year 11 include ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ by Shakespeare, and an anthology of poetry with the theme of ‘Conflict,’ set by the EdExcel exam board.
Extra-curricular Opportunities
The Communications Faculty are extremely excited to be able to offer a wide range of extra-curricular activities, including Film Festival, Book Club, Homework Support and our ever-popular creative writing competitions that take place throughout the year. We are also thrilled to continue our partnership in running a Drama Club with Curve Theatre.
We will also be continuing to run the English Credit Card scheme, where students have the opportunity to complete extra reading around the topic they are studying for extra English credits. Each time an extra piece of work is completed their card is signed and there is a chance to win a prize (such as a Kindle) every half-term.