Curriculum by Year Group

Fourth Form

There is greater liberty during the course of the fourth form for members of staff to teach what they want, but they must remember that they are starting preparation for GCSE. They must, therefore, fulfil all the requirements of the following curriculum.

Literature:

A class reader
A selection of poetry (including some pre-twentieth century poetry of some stature)
A Shakespeare play
Short stories (optional)

Modern drama (optional)

Writing:
Explore, imagine, entertain.
Inform, explain, describe.
Analyse, Review, comment.
A formal literature essay (optional for set 3).

Reading:

Biography, autobiography, travel writing, newspapers, magazine articles, travel brochures, advertisements, websites.

Other media:
Film, television, the moving image.

Speaking and Listening:

Each pupil should take part in three speaking and listening assignments during the fourth form. A record should be kept on the official forms provided by the exam board.

They should fulfil the following categories:

Explain, describe, narrate.

Explore, analyse, imagine.

Discuss, argue, persuade.

Debating:
All Fourth Form pupils must be taught debating skills in The Michaelmas Term.

Wider Reading:

All fourth form pupils should follow the library project.

They are all issued with a list of recommended reading.

SPAG

The teaching of spelling, punctuation and grammar, should be approached through both formal lessons and be integrated into other work. We have a wide range of resources available to support the teaching of this. All fourth form pupils should leave the fourth form with a working knowledge of the basic parts of speech, and basic punctuation: full stop, comma, speech marks, exclamation marks etc…

Remove and Fifth Form

Our GCSE English and English Literature Courses courses are drawn from AQA and OCR. Pupils take the OCR specification for English and AQA Spec B for Literature. This provides the best combination for all our pupils across the ability range.

We also offer lower ability pupils the opportunity to take English Literature, providing they perform well in the examinations at the end of the Remove Year. This is achieved by parallel teaching of set 3 and set 4. At the end of the Remove Year, some pupils will be able to move up from set 4 and down from set 3. In the Remove Year, Set 4 will follow the Literature spec. This should also benefit English teaching as it will provide greater focus.

Sixth Form (AS and A2 English Literature)

We follow the OCR English Literature at AS and A2 Level. We usually attract about 20 candidates for the AS level course, many of whom decide to stay on to take A2, even if that was not their original intention.

Further details on our A’ Level programme are outlined in the A’ Level Prospectus, A’ Level English? The Chaucer’s Yours!

Texts currently studied at AS:

The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald

William Wordsworth – A collection of poetry

Enduring Love– Ian McEwan; Arthur Miller – Death of a Salesman.

At A2:

The Gothic: Frankenstein – Mary Shelley; Honour Thy Father – Lesley Glaister; Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde – Robert Louis Stephenson.

The Winter’s Tale and Twelfth Night – William Shakespeare

Rape of The Lock – Alexander Pope; The School for Scandal – Sheridan; The Pardoner’s Tale – Chaucer; Dr Faustus – Christopher Marlowe;

English

About the Department

English is run by Mrs. Sarah Gillard, the Head of Department. She is overall in charge of the department: its delivery of the curriculum; the support of colleagues; the management of resources; administrator; controller of the budget; coordinator of extra-curricular initiatives and events. She is also a teacher of English across the age and ability range.

There are six additional staff members, as outlined below:

Mrs. Gail Robson-Bayley is a teacher of English across the age and ability range and looks after debating.

Mrs. Wendy Bain is a teacher of English across the age and ability range; Head of Theatre Studies and Drama; organiser of theatre trips; play director.

Mr. Tim Halsall also teaches across the age and ability range. He is also a teacher of Theatre Studies, play director and Housemaster.

Mr. Peter Richardson teaches English across the ability range, up to and including AS Level. Her is also a teacher of History, the organiser of ‘Newspaper Day’ and a Housemaster.

Mr. Simon Reid teaches English on a reduced timetable owing to his commitments as Deputy Head. He is also the organiser of some A Level Lectures by visiting speakers.

Mrs. Elizabeth Warner teaches Fourth Form English and is also a PE Teacher and Assistant Deputy Head.

We believe that English is the most important subject in the school curriculum. It touches all areas of school life, is relevant in all subject areas and will continue to serve our pupils long after they have left Worksop College and the formal study of English and English Literature behind. We, therefore, have many aspirations for the quality of our English teaching at the College.

Firstly, we hope that all pupils become effective communicators in both the written and spoken word; they have a wide and varied vocabulary as well as a sophisticated control of sentence structure; they can adapt the register of their English to their audience and situation; they appreciate the wide variety of contexts in which they can use these skills.

Language is power. We aim to equip our pupils with an assured control of spelling, punctuation and grammar, so that they can control their written English effectively.

We wish to engender in all our pupils a love of Literature, both through the teaching of Literature in lessons, as well as encouraging them to read widely in their own time. We are committed to teaching demanding Literature which will stretch our pupils’ intellects and introduce them to authors and concepts that would otherwise remain unexplored. Through our varied teaching approaches we aim to create an understanding of the differences between genres.

We instil in our pupils high expectations, so that they can achieve their very best grade(s) in public examinations.

We encourage creative writing, so that pupils can explore the beauty of the English Language and appreciate its power and its versatility.

Through the medium of public speaking and debating we help our pupils to develop confidence and the opportunity to grapple with challenging ideas.

We aim to teach in a varied and inspiring way, always trying new techniques, embracing new media and keeping pace with Twenty first century advancements, whilst celebrating what is great about our Language and its Literature and maintaining academic rigour at all times, for all ability levels.

We want English to be a vibrant and exciting subject, which inspires our students both in lessons and with the activities we, as a department, provide beyond the classroom. English should be every pupil’s favourite subject.

In terms of resources, each Classroom has an interactive whiteboard. Three of the English classrooms are together with direct access to the cloisters. With its own video camera, the English Department is now embracing new technologies more widely, for example adverts are filmed in the Remove.

Why learn English at Worksop College ?

Well-qualified, experienced department
High academic standards - consistently good examination results
Share our passion for Literature
Enjoy a variety of approaches
Wide range of extra-curricular activities