Years 7-9

During your key stage 3 years at Walton you can expect to cover a broad range of texts to help you prepare for further study. Your teacher will guide you through many different novels and use the text as a basis for setting you pieces of work to show off your written skills. You will be introduced to texts from a variety of cultures and historical eras to help expand your range of reading. In addition to this, your teacher will show you how to analyse poetry and teach you skills to tackle unseen poetry.

There will be an expectation that you read outside of lessons and you will be given the opportunity to read often throughout your lessons. At Walton the English department has a very strong relationship with the Learning Resources Centre and we enjoy different library sessions to introduce new books to you we hope you’ll enjoy on an individual level.

Assessment

At the end of each half term, you will sit an assessment within your classroom which your subject teacher will mark. These will inform your teacher when she/he gives you your data progress grades. As well as this, you can expect your teacher to mark your books and give you suggested grades on extended pieces of work.

Topics covered

  • Autobiography & Text Types
  • Sharks – non-fiction writing
  • Novel
  • Introduction to Poetry
  • Shakespeare – ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’
  • Holiday Project
  • Novel
  • Ballad
  • Pre-1914 Prose – ‘Jane Eyre’
  • Speaking & Listening
  • Shakespeare – ‘Much Ado About Nothing’
  • Gothic Fiction

Years 10 and 11

Both English and English Literature are compulsory courses at Walton. Students will acquire two GCSEs through their English lessons in years 10 and 11. Language is the study of different text types and takes into consideration accuracy of your writing and your comprehensive skills. Literature is the analysis of different works throughout history; from Shakespeare to Priestley.

Specification Content

Language

Students read an array of different text types and refining skills such as location and retrieval of information, deduction and comparison. In addition, students will also be taught how to write successfully in many different forms, such as letters, reports, reviews, speeches and articles.

Literature

The texts studied for this GCSE may be reconsidered on a yearly basis. Currently, GCSE students are studying: Romeo and Juliet, An Inspector Calls, Jekyll and Hyde and an Anthology of Poetry.Awarding Body AQA

Assessment

For English Language there are two examinations you will take at the end of the two year course.

Paper 1 is 1 hour 45 minutes long and has two parts to it. In part A you are faced with an unseen literature text and will be asked four questions on it. part B allows you to show off your creative skills in one extended written piece.

Paper 2 is also 1 hour 45 minutes long and has two parts. In part A you are faced with two unseen extracts, one from the 19th Century and one from the 21st or 20th Century. Again, you will be asked four different questions on these texts. part B is, again, consists of one writing task where you’ll be asked to create a speech, article, diary entry or report.

For English Literature there are two examinations you will take at the end of the two year course.

Paper 1 is 1 hour 45 minutes long and has two parts to it. In part A you will be faced with an extract from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. You will need to annotate it to help you plan an essay based on the extract and the text as a whole. Part B follows much the same structure. You will be faced with an extract from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde. You will need to annotate it to help you plan an essay based on the extract and the text as a whole.

Paper 2 is 2 hours and 15 minutes long and has three parts. In part A you are asked to write an essay based around the play An Inspector Calls. In part B, you will be asked a comparative question on the poetry anthology Conflict and Power. In part C, you will be asked to answer two questions on unseen poetry that you will be expected to annotate.

Topics covered

  • Romeo and Juliet – Shakespeare
  • Writing to Present a Viewpoint
  • Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde – Stevenson
  • Studying 19th Century non-fiction
  • Unseen Poetry
  • An Inspector Calls
  • Exploration in Creative Reading
  • Exploration in Creative Writing
  • Poetry Anthology

Recommended revision guides / course resources

English Literature

English Language