English is an exciting and energetic department within the school. The uptake at A level is very high and our exam results are good at all key stages.
The department is made up of enthusiastic, committed and hard-working members of staff. We offer a variety of extra-curricular activities for students of all ages and lots of opportunities to enrich the curriculum by taking students on academic trips and visits.
The department is currently made up of the following staff:
MR M. ALLENBY – Head of English
MISS A. FOSTER – Deputy Head of English
MR K. SHOTTON
MR J. TOWERS
MRS L. CRAIGS
MR H. DUNFORD
MRS L. LAMBERT
MRS J. EMBLEY
MR J. EELES
These are our department’s aims:
We are committed to the passionate delivery of English Literature, Language and Drama with the aim of developing our students’ appreciation of the power of the spoken and written word.
We are committed to developing our students’ moral, social and cultural understanding through our teaching.
We will try to promote and encourage the use of ICT to prepare our students for the needs of the world beyond this institution.
We will inspire our students to analyse and appreciate the world around them through the provision of a wide variety of extra-curricular activities.
We will encourage our students to reach their full potential through short term target setting and regular discussion about their progress.
We will regularly celebrate the successes of our students and promote a positive learning environment within all of our classes.
We aim to offer as many extra-curricular activities as possible in order to enrich the curriculum we offer our students at all key stages.
A scene from Pygmalion
Some of the highlights include:
- Y11 trip to Newcastle for GCSE Poetry Live!
- Y12 trip to Stratford for those students studying English Literature
- Various theatre trips for all year groups
- Gifted and Talented trip to London in the summer term for Y10.
- F.A.I.N.T drama club run every Thursday after school open to students of all ages
- Targeted revision classes where appropriate
- Local and national debating competitions
- Production of school newspaper
- Opportunity for Y9 students to take part in a “Readathon” for charity in the summer term
- Option to get involved in the school play every November. Since 2000 the department has been proud to present:
May 2000: ‘No Man’s Land’ by Paul Swift
October 2000: ‘Our Country’s Good’ by Timberlake Wertenbaker
October 2001: ‘An Evening with Gary Lineker’ by Arthur Smith
November 2002: ‘The Crucible’ by Arthur Miller
November 2003: ‘1984’ by George Orwell
November 2004: ‘The Clearing’ by Helen Edmondson
November 2005: ‘Pygmalion’ by George Bernard Shaw
November 2006: ‘An Inspector Calls’ by J.B. Preistley
All performances take place in The Alnwick Playhouse and the students benefit from experiencing the thrill of working and performing within a professional theatre.
An enriched and lively curriculum culminating in completion of the SAT exams. Students will take 3 exams at the end of year 9:
Miranda in ‘The Tempest’
Reading – A paper that is 1 hour 15 minutes in length. Students will be given 15 minutes to read several different texts within a booklet and they will then be required to answer a range of short and long answer questions on the material.
Writing - A paper that is 1 hour 15 minutes in length. Students will attempt a shorter writing task and a longer writing task. This paper tests how well students can write for a range of different purposes.
Shakespeare – A paper that is 45 minutes in length. Students will answer a question on “The Tempest” by William Shakespeare which they will have studied in class. The question will be based on two set scenes from the play.
GCSE English Language and GCSE English Literature
(compulsory subjects)
Shakespeare and The Globe
In Y10 students will complete their coursework folder.
This will contain 5 pieces as follows:
- Original Writing
- Media
- Shakespeare
- Drama
- Prose study
In Y11 students will focus on preparing for the 3 examinations. They will study poems/stories contained within an anthology as well as other texts. Students will also complete 3 Speaking and Listening assignments which will make up approximately 20% of their final grades.
The exams are as follows:
GCSE English Language Paper 1 (1 hour 45 minutes)
Section A = Response to media texts
Section B = Writing to argue, persuade, advise
GCSE English Language Paper 2 (1 hour 30 minutes)
Section A = Poems from other cultures and traditions
Section B = Writing to inform, explain, describe
GCSE English Literature (1 hour 45 minutes)
Section A = Response to a prose text
Section B = Response to pre and post 1914 poetry
GCSE Drama (option)
Students have the option of taking GCSE Drama throughout Y10 and Y11. It is an exciting course which allows students to develop and consolidate their dramatic ability on the stage.
The students will do 2 pieces of coursework which are worth 60% of the total grade. Each piece is made up of a 3000 word portfolio based around a 6 hour practical workshop.
Students will then complete one scripted performance exam which is worth 40% of their grade.
English Language & Literature
AS English Language:
Students will study 3 modules testing their ability to respond to and analyse language used in different forms and for different purposes.
Module 1 = Introduction to the study of language (1 hour 30 minutes)
Module 2 = Language and Social Contexts (1 hour 30 minutes)
Module 3 = Original Writing coursework
A2 English Language:
Students who continue to A2 will develop their knowledge of language even further through the study of 3 additional modules.
Module 4 = Investigating Language coursework
Module 5 = Editorial Writing (2 hours 30 minutes)
Module 6 = Language Development (2 hours)
AS English Literature:
Students will study 3 modules testing their ability to respond to and analyse different texts within English Literature.
Module 1 = Introduction to the study of literature (1 hour 15 minutes)
Module 2 = Genre study – Poetry and Drama (1 hour 45 minutes)
Module 3 = Shakespeare coursework
A2 English Literature:
Students who continue to A2 will develop their knowledge of literature even further through the study of 3 additional modules.
Module 4 = Comparing texts coursework
Module 5 = Set Texts – Drama before 1770; Poetry before 1900 (2 hours)
Module 6 = Exploring Texts (3 hours)
The 3 links below should take you to 3 different samples of writing papers, each one testing a different writing triplet.
Students will need to read the reading booklet first and then answer the questions contained in the answer booklet.
For some possible questions on the 2008 set scenes, download the document below.
(Students have their own copies of these set scenes in a booklet)
