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English

Vision Statement

At Melbourn Village College we would like all students to gain an appreciation of literature, language, drama and media in all its forms. We want all students, through reading, speech and writing, to gain in their cultural capital and be able to take their place in society as well rounded, engaged, critical citizens.

To do this we will ensure that students have an exposure to texts that are from the English canon of classical texts, as well as texts from other cultures and texts that showcase a diversity of writers, styles and topics. Through this we aim to engage students in their learning and allow them to express their views clearly in speech, actions and writing. By giving students the opportunities to develop fluency in speech, writing and reading we will give them the greatest life chances possible.

English has a major role in the development of all young people; it enhances students’ transferable skills and links to all other curriculum subjects. At Melbourn Village College, English lessons are challenging and fun and stimulate curiosity and discussion. We aim to equip the students with the skills they need to be effective and enthusiastic communicators, whilst fostering their creativity and imagination.

English lessons provide students with the opportunity to express themselves in both speech and writing. They will be taught the importance of careful crafting and editing in all aspects of their English work, as we aim to develop independent and successful writers. We are committed to nurturing a love of reading for pleasure and provide the students with access to a very wide range of diverse texts. English lessons also allow students to explore spiritual, moral, social and personal issues that impact on the lives of young people.

What will teachers do?

Plan lessons that include a variety of pedagogical techniques that allow all students to learn
Plan lessons that cover a variety of topics in stimulating and engaging ways
Allow students to express themselves through speech, writing and reading

What will students do?

Be actively engaged and interested in the learning
Be willing to express their opinions in speech, writing and reading

What do we want our students to learn to enhance their skills and enjoyment of English?

In Year 11 students take GCSE examinations in English Language and Literature. In order to provide students with the greatest chance of the best possible attainment it is important for them to develop the skills necessary to be successful from Year 7 – 11. However, we aim for students to enhance their love for the subject too, and therefore do not focus on the GCSE examinations until it is necessary at Key Stage 4. In each scheme of work there is a close focus on building the basic skills that students need to succeed, with teachers focusing on spelling, punctuation and grammar. These are taught through close study of texts and thorough discussions regarding authorial tone, voice and context. Each unit also develops abilities in reading for meaning and being able to comment on and discuss inference, analyse language use, show understanding of texts and write at length for a variety of audiences.

We believe in the necessity for a clear thread of learning from Year 7 to Year 11 – with sequential knowledge being built throughout in terms of challenge being increased throughout the years, complexity of texts and concepts studied and responses offered. Each unit of work explicitly links to knowledge and skills needed to tackle parts of the GCSE examinations in Language and Literature. There is an even coverage throughout KS3 to lead into KS4.

The English department uses a blend of ‘faster reading’ strategies to enable an increase in reading ages and understanding of the text. This allows for increased explicit vocabulary teaching’

Through teaching engaging and challenging texts giving students access to the English literary canon and more modern approaches while allowing students the chance to engage with these texts in a variety of ways; thereby showing them that reading is an enjoyable experience when improving knowledge, learning power and understanding of the world around them. Students are also given the chance to read and discuss their own books in lessons.

We ensure that all students reach the same end point in terms of being able to access the assessments by putting scaffolded work in place that allows all students to develop the skills necessary to complete assessments to the best of their abilities.

KS3 English

In Key Stage Three English, students will be immersed in texts which will allow them to explore the human experience and the world around them - both past and present. Students will develop literacy skills through reading, writing and speaking and listening, whilst also fostering empathetic skills, world knowledge and cultural capital. Literacy skills are discreetly taught and revised as we prepare students not only for academic success but also to meet the demands of employment and adulthood.

Course Content

KS3 English Curriculum Map – 2024-25

		Spring Term: Drama	Summer Term: Prose
Year 7 - Morality	Literary Heritage	A Midsummer Night’s Dream	Oliver Twist
	Key knowledge	Life in Elizabethan England; life in ancient Athens; Shakespeare’s life; the four lovers; the love potion; Elizabethan family relationships; the form of a play	Life in Victorian London; Victorian crime; the form of a novel; Bill Sikes, Fagin, the Artful Dodger, Oliver; morality
	Vocabulary	soliloquy, severe, conflict, unrequited love, to mock, chaos, patriarchy, consent, identity; drama (form)	villains and victims; vulnerable; corrupt; naïve; orphan; moral, morality; prose (form)
	Analytical Writing	Topic sentence about themes/concepts + selecting / embedding a quotation + starting to use analytical sentences to explore effects of dramatic choices.	Topic sentences about characters / characterisation + selecting / embedding a quotation + exploring how meaning is created in a Victorian prose text.
	Writing for Pleasure	Creative Writing 1.2 - Creating Coherence in short stories Action, challenge, struggle, coherence, set up, pay off	Creative Writing 1.1 - The foundations of short stories Structure, ingredients, action, focus, character, ending
	Writing Mastery
Year 8 – Duality	Literary Heritage	The Tempest	The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
	Key knowledge	The Elizabethan age of exploration; colonialism; nature / nurture; the form of a comedy; subplots; soliloquy and monologue; Italian city-states	Scientific developments in the Victorian era; class and society in Victorian England; the detective genre; duality; periodicals
	Vocabulary	colonialism, to usurp, tempest, treason, callous, pathos, nurture, tragicomedy, sub-plot, patriarchy, consent, colonial, post-colonial	to enlighten, deduction, detective scandal, periodical, introspective, dual nature, duality, observation, colonial, post-colonial
	Analytical Writing	+ Using complex topic sentences to explore character and theme; selecting/embedding quotations; using analytical sentences to explore (dual) meanings; using dramatic terminology accurately; memorising key knowledge.	Using complex topic sentences to explore character; selecting/embedding quotations; using analytical sentences to explore (dual) meanings; using sentences to link ideas from one paragraph to another.
		Sonnet mini-unit: x10 lesson sonnet study and creation.
	Writing Mastery & W 4 P
Year 9 - Multiplicity	Literary Heritage	Small Island	Jane Eyre
	Key knowledge	The Windrush; colonialism and multi-cultural Britain; modern dramatic conventions; character and monologue; foreshadowing; the form of a tragedy; AC Bradley’s lectures on tragic character.	Victorian attitudes to children and childhood; rural isolation; Christianity; Victorian sickness; juxtaposition in Jane Eyre
	Vocabulary	Adversity; ambition; empire; colony; colonialism; obstacle, tragic, tragic flaw, foreshadow, monologue	Dependence / independence; oppression; juxtaposition; humiliation; hypocrisy; comeuppance; childhood; patriarchy; consent
	Analytical Writing	+ Analysing structure through a whole text through characterisation, exploring alternative interpretations (context of production/reception)	How to introduce and sustain a thesis across a whole essay; planning & developing; writing introductions; analytical sentences exploring alternative meanings.
	Writing Mastery & W 4 P into Ks4	Mastery Writing 4: non-fiction argument writing, essay argument Grammar content includes: subordinate clauses; quantifiers; defining and non-defining relative clauses; appositives; past perfect tenses; future perfect tenses; using conditionals. Writing content includes: argumentative writing; introducing examples; writing a thesis; writing an introduction; ‘because, but, so’ counter-arguing; writing a complete non-fiction argument.

KS3 English Curriculum Map 2025 onwards

		Autumn Term: Prose	Spring Term: Drama	Summer 1: Poetry & Allegory	Summer 2: Reading for Writing
Year 7 - Morality	Literary Heritage	Oliver Twist	A Midsummer Night’s Dream	Poetry (Metaphor)	Ancient Tales
	Key knowledge	Life in Victorian London; Victorian crime; the form of a novel; Bill Sikes, Fagin, the Artful Dodger, Oliver; morality	Life in Elizabethan England; life in ancient Athens; Shakespeare’s life; the four lovers; the love potion; Elizabethan family relationships; the form of a play	Structure and use of metaphor; poetic forms; how to approach an unseen poem. Poets studied include Blake and Tennyson, Phoebe Hesketh, Langston Hughes, Richard Kell, Carl Sandburg.	What Ancient Tales are; the oral story tradition; what the morals of stories are; short story structure(s). Tales include ‘The Cheetah’s Whisker’; ‘Hansel and Gretel’; ‘Two Dinners’; ‘The Giant’s Causeway’; ‘The Wicked King’; ‘1001 Nights’
	Vocabulary	villains and victims; vulnerable; corrupt; naïve; orphan; moral, morality; prose (form)	soliloquy, severe, conflict, unrequited love, to mock, chaos, patriarchy, consent, identity; drama (form)	metaphor, literal and metaphorical language, tenor, vehicle, ground; poetry (form)	Quest, enunciation, ingenuity, out-wit, relatable, comeuppance, repentant, set up & pay off (linked to Creative Writing unit)
	Analytical Writing	Topic sentences about characters / characterisation + selecting / embedding a quotation + exploring how meaning is created in a Victorian prose text.	Topic sentence about themes/concepts + selecting / embedding a quotation + starting to use analytical sentences to explore effects of dramatic choices.	Topic sentence + selecting / embedding a quotation + using analytical sentences to explore how writer’s choices of poetic language (metaphor) create meaning (s).	Topic sentence + selecting / embedding a quotation + using analytical sentences to explore how writers’ structural choices in short stories create meaning
	Writing for Pleasure	Creative Writing 1.1 - The foundations of short stories Structure, ingredients, action, focus, character, ending	Creative Writing 1.2 - Creating Coherence in short stories Action, challenge, struggle, coherence, set up, pay off	Creative Writing 1.3 – Writing a full story Apply knowledge: plan, draft, write, edit	Oracy: Re-tell a story clearly and fluently, choosing appropriate vocabulary, facial and tonal expression, gesture and posture.
	Writing Mastery	Writing Mastery 1 and 2 (stage not age): opening a story, structuring a story, writing with & without images Grammar content includes: writing in complete and full sentences; identifying the action and verb; subject-verb agreement for ‘to-be’, regular and irregular past simple verbs, avoiding fragments; avoiding fused sentences; using capital letters accurately; using pronouns; sentence structure; paragraphing; speech punctuation. Writing content includes: telling what happened; opening a story, writing about up to four images, writing with no images, structuring a story.
Year 8 – Duality	Literary Heritage	The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes	The Tempest	Animal Farm (Allegory)	Rhetoric
	Key knowledge	Scientific developments in the Victorian era; class and society in Victorian England; the detective genre; duality; periodicals	The Elizabethan age of exploration; colonialism; nature / nurture; the form of a comedy; subplots; soliloquy and monologue; Italian city-states	Allegory; Orwell’s life and times; the Russian Revolution; recurring imagery; irony and corruption	Aristotle; ethos, logos, pathos; links between Greek & Roman discourse of rhetoric and Renaissance/Shakespearean texts; how to write for performance and impact
	Vocabulary	to enlighten, deduction, detective scandal, periodical, introspective, dual nature, duality, observation, colonial, post-colonial	colonialism, to usurp, tempest, treason, callous, pathos, nurture, tragicomedy, sub-plot, patriarchy, consent, colonial, post-colonial	allegory, tyranny, tyrant, rebellion, hypocrisy, corruption, harvest, propaganda, cult of personality, treacherous; authorial intent	Rhetoric; ethos, logos, pathos; viewpoint; perspective; effect; narrative voice; metaphor & figurative language; duality; antithesis; tricolon; rhetorical question.
	Analytical Writing	Y7 + Using complex topic sentences to explore character; selecting/embedding quotations; using analytical sentences to explore (dual) meanings; using sentences to link ideas from one paragraph to another.	+ Using complex topic sentences to explore character and theme; selecting/embedding quotations; using analytical sentences to explore (dual) meanings; using dramatic terminology accurately; memorising key knowledge.	+ Using complex topic sentences to explore themes & concepts; selecting and embedding quotations; using analytical sentences to explore how writer’s choices create meaning; linking textual analysis to contextual analysis	Applying Writing Mastery sentence knowledge: using sentence variety for impact in a performed speech. Focusing on the effect of writing using ethos, logos and pathos.
	Analytical Writing		Sonnet mini-unit: x10 lesson sonnet study and creation.
	Writing Mastery & W 4 P	Writing Mastery 3: problem-solved, romance, action, fantasy & horror stories Grammar content includes: clauses; subordinate clauses; sentence demarcation; speech; apostrophes; possessive pronouns. Writing content includes:problem solved stories; love stories; action stories; fantasy quests; horror stories; poetic justice, Chekov’s gun; avoiding deus ex-machina. Writing for Pleasure opportunities:(1.1) description of Victorian / urban character / setting (1.2) description of a dual or usurped character, villain/victim or pastoral / island setting; (1.3) description of a dystopian setting; creating an extended metaphor (Animal Farm)			Oracy: Write and perform a structured speech about a power imbalance you feel strongly about (inspired by themes in ‘Animal Farm’)
Year 9 - Multiplicity	Literary Heritage	Jane Eyre	Small Island	Poetry (comparison)	Reading for Study
	Key knowledge	Victorian attitudes to children and childhood; rural isolation; Christianity; Victorian sickness; juxtaposition in Jane Eyre	The Windrush; colonialism and multi-cultural Britain; modern dramatic conventions; character and monologue; foreshadowing; the form of a tragedy; AC Bradley’s lectures on tragic character	Journeys: Extended metaphors & comparison; ‘Paradise Lost’, ‘The Road Not Taken’, ‘Night Mail’, ‘The Canterbury Tales’: Poets include John Milton, Geoffrey Chaucer, Patience Agbabi, W.H. Auden, Grace Nichols, Jackie Kay	Reading nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first century non-fiction; using models to plan, structure and write letters, articles, speeches, and essays. Transitional language unit into KS4.
	Vocabulary	Dependence / independence; oppression; juxtaposition; humiliation; hypocrisy; comeuppance; childhood; patriarchy; consent	Adversity; ambition; empire; colony; colonialism; obstacle, tragic, tragic flaw, foreshadow, monologue	extended metaphor, epic poetry, procrastination; journey; identity; comparison; inter-textuality; partner text	Holistic, bleak, corset, liberation, seize, capture, atrocious, humane, inhumane, traumatic, exonerate, advocate purpose, audience, formality, style.
	Analytical Writing	Y8 + how to introduce and sustain a thesis across a whole essay; planning & developing; writing introductions; analytical sentences exploring alternative meanings.	+ Analysing structure through a whole text through characterisation, exploring alternative interpretations (context of production/reception)	+ Using comparative topic sentences for poetry comparison; exploring alternative interpretations; using tentative language (may/could)	Writing an introduction, thesis and argument, including counter-argument. Oracy: Opportunities to read, share and perform student work.
	Writing Mastery & W 4 P into KS4	Mastery Writing 4: non-fiction argument writing, essay argument Grammar content includes:subordinate clauses; quantifiers; defining and non-defining relative clauses; appositives; past perfect tenses; future perfect tenses; using conditionals. Writing content includes: argumentative writing; introducing examples; writing a thesis; writing an introduction; ‘because, but, so’ counter-arguing; writing a complete non-fiction argument.

KS4 English

Students follow the AQA course for the GCSE qualifications in Language and Literature. For the Literature exam, they study the Power and Conflict cluster of poetry supplied by AQA, as well as 'A Christmas Carol', 'An Inspector Calls' and 'Macbeth'. For the Language exam, they study a breadth of fiction and non-fiction texts and will practise writing in different forms for different audiences and purposes. There is no coursework component for these qualifications. Students also need to take a separate Speaking exam as part of their English Language qualification. We recommend that students purchase their own copies of Literature examination texts so that they can annotate them.

AQA GCSE English Language (8700) & GCSE English Literature (8702)

Overview of content

Students embark on their GCSE English Language and English Literature courses at the beginning of Year 10. The majority of the GCSE modules are studied during Year 10, which leaves time for revision of all of the modules in Year 11. At KS3, students have been introduced to the skills and types of questions they will experience for their GCSE examinations and are therefore familiar with what is expected of them by the time they start in Year 10. This approach at KS3 enables us to focus on developing students’ competence of reading and writing.

GCSE English Language: students will learn how to read, understand and interpret meanings of both fiction and non-fiction texts; they will learn how to analyse a writer’s use of methods; critically evaluate texts they read; and compare writers’ views and perspectives. Students will be taught how to write creatively and how to write for a specific form, purpose and audience. Accuracy skills are regularly visited within the course, particularly when we are focusing on writing skills.

GCSE English Literature: students will study a Shakespeare play, ‘Macbeth’ and a 19th Century novel, ‘A Christmas Carol’. They will be taught how to approach the exam questions for these modules, which require them to analyse a given extract and refer to other areas within the play/novel. Poetry is a heavy focus of the Literature course; students will need to know and learn a set of 15 poems from the Power & Conflict anthology and they will also be taught how to analyse poems they have not seen before, which is the focus of the ‘Unseen Poetry’ section of the Literature exam. In Year 11, students will study a modern play, ‘An Inspector Calls’ and they will be taught how to approach the exam question, which consists of two questions to choose from. These are usually separated into a character or a theme question.

The literature and language exams will be taught alongside one another thus allowing students to enjoy the texts being studied and develop the skills of analysis through them.

Year 10

Term 1

Skills and knowledge developed

In Language lessons:

Students will broaden and deepen their skills of creative writing through the medium of short stories and narrative descriptions. They will be exposed to a wider range of literary techniques and figurative devices to enhance their understanding and to enrich their skills in creative writing. As a corollary, students will broaden and deepen their skills in using grammar, punctuation, vocabulary and sentence types to achieve specific effects.

In ‘A Christmas Carol’:

Through the study of the text they will develop their skills in analysing language and structure in writing and gain an understanding of the plot, characterisation, context and authorial voice in A Christmas Carol.

Students will also enhance their skills in answering GCSE Literature extract questions.

Year 11

Term 1

Skills and knowledge developed

In language lessons

Students will broaden their analytical skills from key stage 3 when considering the impact of language techniques, comparing writers’ perspectives and skills in summarising texts, as well as making comparisons between texts from different periods and perspectives.

Students will also develop their persuasive writing techniques and their ability to argue a point of view.

In literature lessons

Following on from investigating issues within society in the 19th century through Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, students will be encouraged to consider and respond to Priestley’s challenge to the issues faced by British society in the early 20th century.

Students will read and analyse Priestley’s play, considering the social and historical context; messages relating to morality; and the political structures within British society.

Students will broaden and develop their skills in writing analytically about the writer’s intentions and how they are evident in the choices of language, structure, form and characterisation in the play.

Homework

Homework will be set once a week and the time students are expected to spend on it is sixty minutes. The types of homework set can include: wider reading around a topic/subject we are studying, research in connection with a topic, literacy, or the class teacher may set something specific in connection with the tasks being completed in lessons. At GCSE level, we expect students to be revising key modules and areas of study straight away from the beginning of Year 10.

How it is assessed

English Language is assessed by means of two written exams sat at the end of the course.

Each paper is 1 hour and 45 minutes long.
Each paper is worth half of the total marks for the course.

English Literature is assessed by means of two written exams sat at the end of the course.

Paper 1 is 1 hour and 45 minutes long. This paper is worth 40% of the total marks for the course.
Paper 2 is 2 hours and 15 minutes long. This paper is worth 60% of the total marks for the course.

Spoken Language is assessed as part of the English Language course, but it does not contribute to the overall level. Students will deliver a talk, which is assessed by their teacher. The results will be recorded separately on the GCSE certificate as a Pass, Merit, Distinction or Not Classified.

Learning outside the classroom

Students are strongly encouraged to read around the subject in English Literature, investigating different ways of understanding character, plot and context for each of the set texts. Furthermore, using film and drama, students can find news ways to enjoy the presentation of these literary works in a more rounded manner. Teachers offer a range of links and opportunities to build students’ understanding of these texts as cultural artefacts and to broaden their experience of them in the context in which they are written as well as from the perspective of a modern reader or audience.

Parental support and extension

There are a range of films or theatre productions of the texts we study at GCSE. It will be very helpful for the students to see these prior to starting their GCSEs in Year 10. (A Christmas Carol, An Inspector Calls and Macbeth.)

More information

In terms of additional help that parents and carers can provide, please make sure that if you are able to, you ensure that your child uses a local public library to access as wide a range of reading material as possible. This is, of course, free. A dictionary and thesaurus are also excellent resources for students to have and to become accustomed to using when completing independent written tasks.