Welcome to the English Department

Sacred Heart English Department is one of the most successful departments in the school. In terms of value added and attainment we are the most successful department in the school and well above the national average at both KS3 and KS4.

We are timetabled to teach:

Our curriculum is organised as follows:

Key Stage 3

All pupils study a balanced curriculum at Key stage three. In each year pupils study a minimum of one novel, a selection of poetry, a Shakespeare text, non-fiction and media texts as well as preparing for Level 1 Functional Skills taken at the end of Year 9.

Year 10 and 11: GCSE

We follow the AQA Syllabus, Specification A. Coursework is the focus of Year 10 and all pupils are expected to have completed their folder by the first term of Year 11. All pupils are entered for GCSE English (either Foundation or Higher Tier). Pupils in the lower sets are not entered for GCSE English Literature.

Setting

All pupils are set from Year 7. There are 6 sets in each year group with set changes taking place a minimum of twice a year.

In this web site you will find information for parents which will help you to support your child in developing their English skills. There are also some tasks for pupils to complete but they also have a large number of resources in the Student Shared Area and on the VLE.

The English department has high expectations of pupils, including:

• Reading for 20 minutes every day, preferably out loud to an adult
• Having a reading book with them at all times and regularly visit the school or local library to update their reading books
• Complete all homework and on days when they have little/no homework, go onto the VLE and compete extra English tasks
• Know their reading age and National Curriculum level and make all possible efforts to improve these.

Head of English