English
Introduction from Paul Wilkes
Team Leader for English
Email: Paul Wilkes
English has a pre-eminent place in education and in society. A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them. Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know.
The Key Stage 3 English curriculum at The Corsham School continues to evolve to reflect the changing nature of Language and Literature study. We aim to foster an a love and interest in Literature with an analytical, as well as a creative approach. The majority of our units are anchored with a Literature text (novel, play or collection of poetry), whilst using non-fiction and media texts to aid students’ engagement with context and themes. We include writers and texts from Shakespeare to present day that reflect the diverse society that is Britain in the 21st century.
At GCSE all students study both English Language and Literature courses. The Literature texts have been chosen to link thematically, with Macbeth, A Christmas Carol and Inspector Calls all connected by the themes of guilt and the supernatural. As with Key Stage 3, most of our study of English Language is carried out whilst studying our Literature texts.
We continue to explore all aspects of English with our four A Level courses on offer to Years 12 and 13. Whether students choose English Language, English Literature, Film Studies, or Media Studies, they can choose the texts the write about, or choose creative options for their NEA (coursework).
The English department is committed to encouraging and maintaining a love of English that is evident at Key Stage 2. We offer a range of extra-curricular clubs and competitions to engage our students. We promote student involvement via class discussion, more formal debates, group work tasks and role play. Ultimately, we want our students to be independent critical thinkers.
GCSE specification: AQA English Language – 8700 & English Literature - 8702
A Level English Literature specification: AQA Literature B, 7717
A Level English Language specification: AQA Language, 7702
A Level Film Studies specification: Eduqas - A670QS