Y7 Content Autumn

Pupils begin their year by studying ‘Wonder’ - using their independent reading of the novel to explore characters, experimenting with narrative perspectives through their own creative writing.

We will then move onto poetry – Introducing and consolidating students’ understanding of key poetic techniques by exploring a range of poems by different poets. Students will explore how ideas and feelings are conveyed, experimenting with interpretations using drama and creative writing and learning to structure their reading responses.

Towards Christmas, pupils will begin their study of their class novel, Philip Pullman’s ‘The Ruby In The Smoke’. They will immerse themselves in the dark and dangerous underworld of Victorian London and, through creative and analytical tasks, solve the mystery of the missing ruby. They will explore how the author crafts effective characters, creates atmospheric settings and builds tension throughout the novel.

Y7 Content Spring

Students continue their study of ‘The Ruby in the Smoke’ engaging in the text through lively drama approaches such as character monologue and hot- seating activities. The focus on effective writing continues, working towards an analysis of key methods and developing their essay writing skills using the What, How, Why structure.

Y7 Content Summer

The first half of this summer term concentrates on writing skills with a focus on transactional writing. A media text, ‘The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe’ is used as a stimulus to support student learning along with linked non-fiction extracts. Students will learn how to write an effective review and use powerful devices to achieve this.

In the second half of this term, students explore the text ‘Frankenstein’ in the form of the play but also with supportive extracts from the novel. The analytical task cements their ability to secure their understanding of the What, how, why form and whole essay structure. The linked imaginative task reinforces their skills from other units such as the Wonder Bridging unit thus allowing students to see the progression within their writing skills.

Y8 Content Autumn

Pupils begin the year by developing their analysis of poetry, building on their understanding of poetic techniques to develop an analytical approach to a range of poems from different time periods. They will deepen their understanding by experimenting with different language and structure techniques in their own writing as well as learning to structure more sustained analytical responses culminating in the exploration of William Blake’s ‘The Chimney Sweeper’.

After half term, pupils will begin to read Markus Zusak’s ‘The Book Thief’ focussing on ideas of historical context. Pupils will analyse how Zusak incorporates the history of the Holocaust and Nazi Germany into his novel, the importance of narrative perspective through the narrator Death, and the effect of Zusak’s language choices on modern day audiences.

Y8 Content Spring

Students continue to study the novel ‘The Book Thief’ encouraging them to adopt a critical voice, engaging in complex issues. The contextual influences of the novel are explored sensitively and build upon skills learnt in poetry when analysing how context shapes meaning.

Y8 Content Summer

The first half of this term focuses on a media text ‘The Greatest Showman’, and encourages students to explore ideas surrounding diversity and belonging. Again, the choice of text allows for contextual analysis and cements their learning of how to analyse language and context. Student writing skills are developed as they learn how to write a speech thus encouraging them to adopt a critical voice and to question the world around them

Y9 Content Autumn

Students will build on their work on Shakespeare in the summer term by beginning year 9 with the study of Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Students will explore the text both analytically and creatively, beginning to consider how the meanings and style of the play is shaped by the context in which it was written.

Towards Christmas, students will begin their study of their class novel, Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’. This will continue to develop student’s understanding of the effect of context on writers and their works by exploring the history surrounding segregation and racism in America’s Deep South in the 1930s.

These texts will lay the foundation for GCSE by establishing some of the core skills they will need in Year 10 and 11, developing students’ understanding of Shakespearean tragedy and exploring how themes, motifs and symbols are crafted across a modern text.

Y9 Content Spring

Students continue with their study of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and continue to develop their skills of analysis on language and structure with a particular focus on narrative perspective. Evaluation of morals and historical events during the setting of the novel sparks debate and encourages students to question societal issues and the world around them

Y9 Content Summer

The choice of the media text ‘The Help’ follows on well from ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, allowing students to apply their prior learning and apply their interpretation of character, themes and ideas. This task leads to a transactional writing piece, a letter which encourages them to find their critical voice and apply the skills of persuasion needed at GCSE.

Students complete the year studying the poems from the GCSE Belonging cluster, a diverse range of writers which help to challenge and begin the progression to a more evaluative style of analysis required at GCSE