STUDY SKILLS
Programme of Study – Key Stage 3 – ENGLISH
Summary
The English department aims to enable students to use the English language confidently, accurately and effectively in a
variety of situations and for a variety of purposes. The ability to use the English language is not only an essential skill
required for academic success across the curriculum but it is also vital in the wider world of work. Our teachers also
believe that the study of English and Literature enriches the lives of individuals, not only enabling them to succeed in
education but also improving their quality of life beyond the classroom.
The Key Stage 3 curriculum aims to build on students’ literacy skills that they have acquired in Primary school and extend
their understanding and use of English across a range of texts.
Year 7
The themes and some of the texts covered in Year 7 are:

The Gothic genre (includes the study of an appropriate novel, an abridged version of ‘Frankenstein’, and selected
gothic poems);

Texts from different cultures (includes an appropriate novel, short stories from a range of globally-recognized
authors, and poetry from around the world);

Texts which explore significant events (includes the study of a range of non-fiction texts relating to events
throughout history).
Assessment: Assessment is on-going and pupils’ strengths and areas for improvement are recorded in individual student
files. There are formal in-class assessments in reading and writing once every term. Accelerated Reader is also used to
test progress in reading every term. A range of speaking and listening tasks are also used to inform assessment.
Year 8
The themes and some of the texts covered in Year 8 are:

The History of English (includes extracts from ‘Beowulf’, ‘The Canterbury Tales’, Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’,
and selected novels by Charles Dickens.);

Nature and the environment (includes the study of an appropriate novel, a variety of non-fiction texts and selected
poems from the English Literary Heritage);
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
The detective genre (includes the study of an appropriate novel and extracts from other fiction texts within
detective genre).
Assessment: Assessment is on-going and pupils’ strengths and areas for improvement are recorded in individual student
files. There are formal in-class assessments in reading and writing once every term. Accelerated Reader is also used to
test progress in reading every term. A range of speaking and listening tasks are also used to inform assessment.
Year 9
The themes and some of the texts covered in Year 9 are:

The future (includes the study of ‘The Hunger Games’ and other dystopian fiction as well as selected movingimage texts);

Shakespeare and the renaissance (includes the study of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ and selected renaissance
texts);

War and conflict (includes the study of ‘War Horse’, ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ and selected war poetry).
Assessment: Assessment is on-going and pupils’ strengths and areas for improvement are recorded in individual student
files. There are formal in-class assessments in reading and writing once every term. A range of speaking and listening
tasks are also used to inform assessment.
Further Resources

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/launch_tl_ages_english.shtml- Ages of English Timeline (BBC)

http://www.educationquizzes.com/ks3/english/- Education Quizzes

https://www.cgpbooks.co.uk/interactive_ks3_english- CGP (KS3 Tests and Games)
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