If you enjoy hard work, learning new skills, speaking your mind, reading, writing and working together, then you will enjoy English at COLAHH.
Curriculum
At Highgate Hill, the English department strives to give the opportunity for our students to be excellent readers, writers, speakers and thinkers. We aim to give our students a depth of English Literature and English Language that allows them to go on to lead the best possible lives.
This is the forefront of our curriculum as well as ensuring it is line with the school’s vision of creating ‘well rounded individuals’. Collaborative curriculum planning lies at the heart of what we do in the department however embracing the autonomy of the teachers. We work closely as an English department, external agencies, subject specialists and research to inform our planning.
Key Stage 3
| Time Year 7 | Core content | Assessments |
| Autumn 1 | Writing Resilience/I am Malala Explore non-fiction writing through the autobiography of Malala Yousafzai as well as a range of other fiction and non -fiction on the theme of resilience. We will share non fiction examples to create our own autobiographical writing. | End Point: Writing for purpose (autobiographical personal essay) |
| Autumn 2 | The Tulip Touch To understand the novel ‘The Tulip Touch’. To explore the novel’s themes and characters. To make inferences throughout your reading. | Assessment: Analytical paragraph (quote selection, inference, analysis) |
| Spring 1 | Frankenstein the play Study the play ‘Frankenstein’. Make comparisons between versions of Frankenstein. Discuss the form of a play. To explore the context in which the story was written. | End Point: Writing creatively (monologue) |
| Spring 2 | Poetry/Robert Frost To study the conventions of poetry. To understand and analyse the poetry of Robert Frost. | Assessment: Write a poem with a consideration of Frost’s style |
| Summer 1 | A Midsummer Night’s Dream (power,order,chaos, romance and comedy) To study the play ‘AMSND’. Understand the language, structure and form of a Shakespeare play. Explore the context of Shakespeare. | End Point: Analytical paragraph (quote selection, inference, analysis) |
| Summer 2 | Nerve-Racking Nineteenth Century Read a range of fiction and non-fiction from the 19th century. To understand the context of the extracts studied. | Assessment: Non-fiction writing for purpose |
| Time Year 8 | Core content | Assessment |
| Autumn 1 | Science Fiction To explore the genre of Science fiction through reading and analysing a variety of texts. To write a successful Science fiction short-story, thinking carefully about the Science Fiction conventions. | End Point: Creative writing (genre, setting, creating a world) |
| Autumn 2 | Animal Farm To understand the plot, characters and themes of ‘Animal Farm’. To explore the context of the novel. | Assessment: To analyse an extract from the novel. |
| Spring 1 | Bildungsroman – a novel dealing with one person’s formative years or spiritual education. To understand the plot, characters and theme of the novel*. To respond to texts in a clear and coherent way with an awareness of context. *Your teacher will be choosing a novel they think you will enjoy. We are open to suggestions! | End Point: Write an analysis of the protagonist’s journey of self-discovery. |
| Spring 2 | Much Ado About Nothing To study the play ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ Understand the language, structure and form of a Shakespeare play. Discuss the context of Shakespeare. | Assessment: To analyse (through annotation) an extract from the play. |
| Summer 1 | London Life To explore a range of diverse voices and texts under the theme of ‘London Life’. | End Point: Analytical comparison. |
| Summer 2 | Poetry/Speaking Out Poetry/Maya Angelou To study the conventions of poetry. To understand and analyse poetry on the theme of Speaking Out. To explore the poetry of Maya Angelou. | Assessment: Write a poem. |
| Time Year 9 | Core content | Assessment |
| Autumn 1 | Iridescent Adolescent To study a range of short stories. To analyse their plot, characters and themes. | End Point: Creative writing (short story) |
| Autumn 2 | Reflecting Realities/ The House on Mango Street To experience different novel forms. To explore historical contexts that shape the text.. | Assessment: Analytical Writing (analysing structure) |
| Spring 1 | A View From the Bridge To understand the plot, character and themes of the play. To explore the context of the play. | End Point: Analytical writing |
| Spring 2 | Romeo and Juliet To study the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’. To understand the language, structure and form of a Shakespeare play. Discuss the context of Shakespeare. | Assessment: Analytical Writing |
| Summer 1 | Having a Voice Study a range of famous speeches. Learn how orators use rhetoric to persuade and engage their audiences. | End Point: Speech Writing |
| Summer 2 | Poetry- An Introduction to the theme of ‘Worlds and Lives’ To study the conventions of poetry. To read a range of poems within the theme of ‘worlds and lives’. | Assessment: Creative poetry writing |
Assessment
In the English department we try to make students responsible for their own learning. We will teach students how to assess their own work against sets of criteria, which are sometimes set by their teacher and sometimes set by the class.
Post 16 and Careers
All careers require English. However there are certain careers where English as an A-Level or Degree would be beneficial, these include: Law, Journalism, Publishing, Teaching, Social Work, Advertising, Librarianship and Marketing.