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 an impact on their readers.
Curriculum Outline
Year 7 Curriculum
The Year 7 English curriculum commences with Unit 1, in which students develop their skills in the art of storytelling. Drawing on the great works of Greek Mythology, Chaucer, William Shakespeare and the Grimm Brothers, students explore a variety of epic Greek tales, traditional and classic stories before looking at Shakespeare’s Orpheus poem 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 develop creative writing skills. In Unit 2, 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 texts. 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 literary study. Finally, in Unit 3, students will have the opportunity to study a whole prose fiction text. Students will read, ‘The Magician’s Nephew,’ a fantasy children's novel by C. S. Lewis. As part of the ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ series, the text will allow students to develop their knowledge of the literary heritage, explore authorial intent, develop critical analysis and develop and craft their own imaginative writing. Have a look at the video below for more information about the Year 7 English Curriculum.
Year 7 English Curriculum Overview
Year 8 Curriculum
In year 8, we encourage our students to find power in their own voices. Unit 1, ‘Voices of Power, Injustice and Change’, gives our students an overview of rhetoric and explores the power of words and persuasion through non-fiction texts. Students explore and analyse a range of speeches from a variety of key figures, such as Queen Elizabeth I, Martin Luther King and Greta Thunberg. Through this study of speeches, students will develop an understanding of rhetoric throughout history to current times which will inspire their own transactional speech writing. To supplement 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 and to develop literary skills of writing contextually about a whole text. In Unit 2, students will study 'Voices of Conflict.' This is a unit designed to give students an insight and exposure into life during WWI and a range of modern conflicts. The texts range in form, genre, perspective and content to allow students to draw comparisons and make links between texts as well as analyse texts in detail. The outcome will be to develop comprehension, transactional writing and an analytical reading assessment. Students will 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. In Unit 3, later on in the year, students study a Shakespeare play, ‘The Tempest’ in its entirety. Students will analyse the play in depth and have the opportunity to analyse key ideas such as the genre of comedy and the themes of freedom, empathy and forgiveness. Our aim is to immerse our students into the world of Shakespeare, study characters and themes in depth and, at the same time, allow them to develop their transactional skills. Have a look at the video below for more information about the Year 8 English Curriculum.
Year 8 English Curriculum Overview
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. Have a look at the video below for more information about the Year 9 English Curriculum.
Year 9 English Curriculum Overview
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 incredibly excited to be able to offer a wide range of extracurricular activities for GCSE Revision clubs, creative writing, newsletter writing, the Film Festival, Poetry By Heart and much more!
Students can also get involved in a range of competitions, both in school and nationally, 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 continue to run English Bingo, where students have the opportunity to complete extra tasks and read about the topic they are studying for additional achievement points and rewards.