ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
Aims:
The Towers English Department believes in the concept of excellence for all by providing
a lively and diverse curriculum to foster creativity and a genuine passion for literature and language.
We offer all students with the opportunity to develop practical English skills required for general
use and life in the workplace and to develop their own unique talents to achieve their full potential.
Over the course of their time at the school students will study modern poetry, prose and plays; prose, poetry and plays from before 1914 (including a Shakespeare play each year); non-fiction print and film media; and will learn to write in a variety of styles and genres for different audiences.
Throughout all Key Stages, we address the key skills of Speaking and Listening, Reading and Writing and are keen to select a variety of different strategies, and a range of different texts, to ensure all pupils receive a dynamic and challenging delivery of the curriculum.
We aim to enable each girl to be:
We aim to enable each girl to be shrewd and fluent independent readers, confident writers and effective speakers and listeners. (click to view more)
hideA shrewd and fluent independent reader
- orchestrating a range of strategies to understand meaning in texts, using inferential and evaluative skills
- sensitive to the ways in which meanings are made
- reading in different ways for different purposes, including skimming to pick up quickly the gist of a text, scanning to locate specific information, close reading to follow complex passages and re-reading to uncover layers of meaning
- reflective, critical and discriminating in response to a wide range of printed and visual texts
A confident writer
- able to write for a variety of purposes and audiences, knowing the conventions and beginning to adapt and develop them
- able to write imaginatively, effectively and correctly
- able to shape, express, experiment with and manipulate sentences
- able to organize, develop, spell and punctuate writing accurately
An effective speaker and listener
- able to convey a point of view or information, with clarity and confidence
- able to use talk to explore, create, question and revise ideas, recognizing language as a tool for learning
- able to work effectively with others in a range of roles
- having a varied repertoire of styles, which are used appropriately
English staff
The department is made up of enthusiastic and dedicated teachers who teach according to the needs of the individual student.
| English Co-ordinator: | Ms J K Hansell | BA (Hons) PGCE |
| Teachers: | Dr T Martyn | PhD MA PGCE |
| Mrs U Shepherd | BA (Hons) PGCE |
Accommodation & Resources
English is taught in three well-equipped specialist classrooms, each with its own interactive whiteboard.
Students also have access to computer suites. Year 7 has nine lessons per fortnight; Years 8-9 have eleven,
and 10-11 have twelve. Students are taught in ability based groups from year 8 that allows each student to
develop their understanding of the subject at a pace that is suitable to them.
KS3
Assessment
In KS3, Informal and formal assessment of all writing, reading, and speaking &
listening literacy objectives are performed every half-term using the
QCAs Assessment Focuses (click to view)
and the sets are revised and adjusted each year after the results of assessments and summer tests.
All students have a copy of the AFs in their exercise books and laminated copies are used in each classroom.
National curriculum (sub)levels are recorded for main tasks in each unit of work and students will be
given a target for each assessment which will guide their progress over the following unit.
All students are given an overall KS3 level for reading and writing at the end of each term.
Peer and self-assessment is also used to encourage independent thinking & learning.
KS4:
GCSE (AQA) English and English Literature
In Year 10, the students complete five controlled assessment assignments which include a spoken language study, extended text study and creative writing. They are also assessed in three speaking and listening activities.
In Year 11, students study English Literature, both a novel and a play, and a selection of poetry. They take two examinations: ‘exploring modern texts’ and ‘poetry across time’. A controlled assessment assignment based on ‘Shakespeare and the Literary Heritage’ is also completed. A range of texts are studied including Great Expectations, The Crucible, Romeo and Juliet, To Kill a Mockingbird....(less)
Extracurricular Activities
Beyond the taught curriculum, the English Department provides a rich and varied range of
extra-curricular activities for all our students.
click here to reveal list of extracurricular activities
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Public Speaking – A dynamic public speaking club
is enjoyed with a growing number of students taking part in interesting and thought provoking topics.
Competitions are entered where the team competes against other local schools.
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Reading Challenge - The department has created a
Reading Challenge
for all year groups and KS3 students take part in a fortnightly reading lesson in the library.
This aims to promote a positive outlook on reading and engage students in a wide variety of texts.
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Book Club - A weekly book club provides the forum for students
to focus on sharing their ideas about texts, expressing opinions and promoting reading to others.
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Carnegie Shadowing – This year will be the first for the girls
to participate in the Carnegie Shadowing Book Club. The Carnegie Medal is a prestigious children’s book
award made annually to the author of an outstanding book for young people.
Although the winner is chosen by a panel of librarians, young readers are encouraged to form groups
to read the short-listed books and vote for their own winner. The shadowing group of readers will
hopefully be an exciting project, encouraging girls to read for pleasure, extending their reading to
genres they may not otherwise explore, and to form and communicate opinions about the books they read.
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Events - The girls annually celebrate World Book Day and
National Poetry Day engaging in a wide variety of activities held within school.
Sponsored events such as the national ‘Readathon’ are also enjoyed, often raising money for charity.
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Visiting authors and poets - We have links with a local
book store who help to invite children’s novelists and poets into school to discuss their craft
and stories and we also run a book fair in the Summer Term alongside the Junior School.
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Theatre/cinema trips - Students have the opportunity of
seeing a performance of the Shakespeare text they are studying.
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Creative Writing Workshop – Talented girls meet weekly
to discuss their ideas for stories and produce pieces that are original and entertaining.
The girls are encouraged to stretch their imaginations by using a variety of interesting stimulus.
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Poetry and writing competitions – A number of writing
competitions are entered throughout the year to encourage independent and original thought.
- ‘Poetry Live’ – Year 11s go to the annual event where they have the opportunity to listen to poets including Carol Ann Duffy, Imtiaz Dhakar, John Agard and Simon Armitage whose work they are studying for GCSE, as they read and discuss their work.
Reading Lists If you need a book to read, have a look at the selections for your year group. You will find all of them in the library.
Web links to enhance the learning experience
- Departmental Handbook - Information, policies and guidance on how English is delivered at The Towers.
- Programme of Study
- KS3 Assessment Focuses
- KS3 Spelling Bank – Year7 and Year 9
- Spellodrome for KS3
- Understanding progress in English - a guide for parents
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Towers Convent School
